Enemy of the People?

Posted on by Thor

Freedom of the press is the right of newspapers, magazines, TV Radio, etc., to report news without being controlled by the government. The First Amendment of the United States constitution states… “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Journalists have been under attack since the first nights of protest of the George Floyd murder in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25, 2020. Some are sustaining serious injuries. Demonstrations have continued for the past 22 days despite the police violence. As of 9pm Thursday June 5, 2020, the US Press Freedom Tracker had received 192 reports of journalists being attacked by police while covering the protests across the US.

“When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” Donald Trump tweeted as mass unrest unfolded in America following the death of George Floyd. This seemed to set the tone of the police violence to follow. Since then, the president has called protesters thugs, terrorists and hoodlums. He tweeted… “If you watch Fake News CNN or MSNDC [sic], you would think that killers, terrorists, arsonists … would be the nicest, kindest most wonderful people in the world.”  And then, shortly after: “It is almost like they are all working together?”

“When the president declares you an enemy of the state … Well the police, their job is to protect the state, right? So if they view us as the enemy they will treat you any way they choose,” says Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist Barbara Davidson. “I think the police see journalists as attacking their tribe – they feel they are getting a lot of bad press because of what happened to Floyd and so I think they are retaliating against us.” she added. If police terrorize the journalists into going away, they can do as they please to the protesters with no chance of accountability.

“There are a lot of Trump supporters in police departments,” said Christopher Mathias. He pointed out the speech made by Trump in Long Island in 2017, when a crowd of officers clapped as he encouraged them to rough people up.

On the third night of protests May 29, 2020 a CNN new crew was arrested live on national TV. On the same day Breonna Taylor and her crew were shot at by police live on TV while covering a protest protest in Louisville. Police fired off paint balls and tear gas at reporters in Denver. The photographer got hit four time and the camera lens was destroyed. Photographer Hyoung Chang was hit with two pepper balls in Denver. Juliette Martinelli in Atlanta, said, cops came from 3 directions and closed around people in an intersection throwing tear gas and pepper spray.

On Saturday May 30, 2020, Photojournalist Ed Ou was attacked by police. He had documented civil unrest in the Middle East, Ukraine and Iraq, where he learned a few things: never get in the police’s way, find cover and always have an escape route. He was shocked by the direct attack, saying, “They literally started throwing concussive grenades in our direction, in the middle of the journalists.” The police approached Ou directly and maced him in the face, spraying his camera, too. What ensued was a prolonged attack that involved being hit at with batons, being teargassed, dodging concussive grenades and begging for help. Los Angeles Times’ Carolyn Cole, who incurred an eye injury, and Molly Hennesy-Fiske, who was shot with rubber bullets several times in the leg  described the journalists as having been “completely against the wall, in an alcove, at least 15ft off the road to allow the police line to pass.” Linda Tirado, a photojournalist, was hit in the face with a tracer round, resulting in loss of sight in one eye. MSNBC reporters were almost hit with concussive grenade by law enforcement officers in Minneapolis. In Atlanta, Linda Tirado was hit in the eye with a tracer bullet blinding her.

May 31, 2020 Michael Anthony Adams, a Vice News Corespondent who was seeking shelter in a gas station, was thrown to the ground and sprayed with pepper spray. He identified himself as press and the officer shouted “I don’t care!” Radio Canada journalists and many others in Minneapolis had their car tires slashed. Star Tribune reporter, Ryan Faircloth was cut by flying glass when police shot out his car window as he was  driving through Lake and Chicago.

Monday June 1, 2020 close to the White House. Police were dispersing protesters and an officer used his shield to attack an Australian cameraman who was part of a team reporting live in front of the White House. The dramatic footage was criticized by the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne who said in a Tuesday interview with ABC that the Australian government has officially requested an investigation into the incident. WCCO photojournalist Tom Aviles was struck by rubber bullet fired by the police. He was later arrested, as well.   NBC News reporter Garrett Haake was hit as police clash with protesters near White House.

June 2, 2020 A tear gas canister just bounced off of MSNBC’s  Joling Kent while she was live on the air from Seattle.

June 9, 2020 A staff photographer/reporter for the USA Today Network was jailed by Delaware State Police while covering a protest near the state’s capital. This arrest was caught live on Facebook live.

These incidents of violence against the press are just the tip of the iceberg. The point is, these incidents are not isolated these are a concerted attack on freedom of the press. Trump wants to fan the flames of discord and then run a re-election campaign claiming he will “dominate” the streets. He wants a police state and so do the police. Few stand against this treat to democracy. GOP senators do all they can to distance themselves but fear crossing the POTUS for his insane conspiracy tweet. This willingness to lie down is what gives any wanna be dictator his strength. Perhaps the only way to stay in power is if there is no election.

The inhabitants of a police state may experience restrictions on their mobility, or on their freedom to express or communicate political or other views, which are subject to police monitoring or enforcement. Political control may be exerted by means of a secret police force (or just tape over badges) that operates outside the boundaries normally imposed by a constitutional state.

General James Mattis put it well saying Trump is a threat to the American Constitution. “I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled,” Mattis wrote. “The words ‘Equal Justice Under Law’ are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.” He continued, “We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.”

Blackhawk

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As a show of force, Donald Trump positioned at least 60 National Guard troops clad in riot gear on the steps of the Lincoln memorial. Many wore masks and protective eye covering but some followed the presidents lead and ignored the Covid-19 virus threat. The scene came a day after President Trump threatened to send in soldiers to patrol the streets of D.C. and other US cities. They faced off a crowd of perhaps a hundred protestors gathered at the reflection pool, standing in the same spot where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his iconic ‘I have a dream’ speech half a century ago. The monument is a symbol of emancipation and justice but on this day it was a symbol of strong arm militarization against the American public. This is also the spot where Forest Gump was reunited with Jenny. In this fictitious movie Forest and Jenny crossed a divide, fining hope and love in the face of civil unrest.

16 statues and memorial were defaced during the Sunday May 31, 2020 protests. The graffiti on this public art was removed by Tuesday June 2, 2020. The Shaw Memorial, dedicated 123 years ago on May 31st, the same day it was defaced. The memorial celebrates the first African American volunteer infantry unit, the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, that fought after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. At the Lincoln Memorial vandals wrote “Yall not tired yet?” in black spray paint. There was also some spatter at the base of Lincoln’s legs. It is strange that vandals would attack a monument to someone who fought for their freedom. Because of the actions of the vandals, peaceful protestors would suffer.

A US Park Police spokesperson said Friday in an interview it was a “mistake” to insist in a statement on Tuesday June 2, 2020, that it didn’t use tear gas in Lafayette Square, near the White House, to disperse a crowd ahead of President Trump’s photo op, at Saint Luke’s Church, explicitly noting that pepper balls shot by officials irritate the eyes and cause tears. The White House insisted on semantics, asking the press to retract their earlier reports. The reports were accurate. “Tear gas” is a broad term, often defined as a synthetic chemical irritant. Pepper spray is a naturally derived chemical irritant that causes many effects similar to that of common types of tear gas, including temporary blindness and a burning sensation in the nose. Regardless of the gas used by the various agencies, it was an attack on peaceful demonstrators as seen in video shot during the attack.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper joined Donald Trump on the walk across the street to St Luke’s Church after the attack that cleared the street. He claimed ignorance over the church stunt, saying, “I didn’t know where I was going.” He claimed that he was going along to inspect damage to the vandalized bathroom across from the church. He didn’t have much time to inspect the urinals since Trump marched across the street where he was handed a bible for a photo op. I couldn’t get the thought of him going to inspect the urinals. Up until the 60s bathrooms and water fountains were segregated, with signs for Blacks and Whites. It is as if Trump wants to use the military to bring us back to those days. Regardless it isn’t reassuring that the defense secretary had no idea where he was going. He was just along for Trumps wild ride.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi  said Thursday June 4, 2020 that it was “stunning” and “scary” to see uniformed troops standing on the steps of Lincoln Memorial. “They crossed a threshold,” She said at a news conference in the Capitol. “While I have great respect for men and women in uniform, I don’t think it was appropriate to have them on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial,”

When Esper realized the Church stunt made him look like a fool, he broke with the president and said he didn’t think the troops should be used to police American citizens. Later that day he was called in to the White House and he reversed his decision deciding to leave troops in DC. 200 soldiers with the 82nd Airborne remained in DC. Finally two days later Esper ordered the active duty troops who were moved to the Washington DC area back to their home base of Fort Drum in New York.

On Tuesday June 2, 2020 Trump ordered military helicopters to fly low over protestors in DC. The National Guard is investigating this unusual show of force. The War Zone reported, that one UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter struck a tree and caused a branch to fall, narrowly missing people below. Another FBI-operated Blackhawk flew low over the capital carrying members of the bureau’s elite hostage rescue team, dressed in camouflaged clothing and wearing night vision goggles. Still another helicopter, a U.S. Army or Washington D.C. UH-72 Lakota, flew so low over protesters that the down wash from the main rotors kicked up dirt and debris. The overflight was done deliberately to intimidate or disperse protesters on the ground.

Former General James Mattis strongly denounced the actions of Donald Trump who had turned the military against American citizens. While Esper caved to his ideals as Trump used the Military as his personal play thing, Mattis felt he had to stand against his former commander in chief.

Friday June 5, 2020 saw another record number of new cases of Covid-19 since the sate re-opened with 1,495 cases reported. That is over 4,000 new cases in three days.

Virus of Injustice

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A medical examiner’s autopsy found that George Floyd was infected with Covid-19 at the time he was murdered by Minneapolis police. Floyd’s death was ruled a homicide. All four officers, in the video taped murder now face charges. CNN reported that Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes, was charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. That charge was updated to second-degree murder indicating he killed Floyd “without intent” in the course of committing assault in the third degree, according to an amended complaint. The other officers, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao are now charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. It should be noted that none of the officers that man handled George had face masks, visors or gloves.

Huge protests have swept the nation with peaceful protestors lying in the streets. New York City Mayor Andrew Cuomo said that protestors should assume they have been exposed to the virus and should get tested. Young protestors might consider themselves invincible, but they should get tested to protect friends and family. They can spread the virus without showing any symptoms themselves. Protestors have been advised that they should tell anyone they lie with that they should also get tested. Charts were shown of states that had re-opened and many including Florida showed a spike in new cases after the stay at home orders had been eased. Florida just had its highest number of new cases on June 3, 2020 with 1419 new confirmed cases. It will take several weeks before we see how many protestors might have been infected.

The virus has spotlighted the countries other pandemic of racism. Two employees from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles have been fired for their remarks toward protesters, according to the department. These comments were made on social media and by text. They were hateful, racist and threatening remarks directed at protestors.

In Orlando over 2000 protestors walked from City Hall to the Police Department. After the city’s 10 p.m. curfew went into effect, Orlando Police  officers deployed tear gas and smoke after “a few remaining participants” started throwing rocks and bottles at them. Tear gas will cause people to cough and tear up which is the best way to spread the Covid-19 virus. Some protestors wore masks but even fewer think to protect their eyes. A study from from Hubei Province, China has found the the virus spread when people wipe their eyes.

The Florida Department of Health said 1,702 Covid-19 tests were damaged in transit. Anyone who used a damaged test will have to be retested. Advent Health announced that 25,000 Covid-19 tests are unreliable. There has been no mention to date of tests specifically for those who have protested.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Wednesday he opposes using the U.S. military to quiet domestic unrest in a break with President Donald Trump who threatened to deploy federal troops to “dominate the streets.” He then revered his position by keeping military in the capitol. Task Force 504, an infantry battalion from the 82nd Airborne remains in DC.

After military helicopters were used a a show of force against protestors, former Secretary of Defense James Mattis on Wednesday June 3, 2020 said, “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.”

Lying down as a sign of protest may become a reality as military may be called on by Trump to bring shock and awe to American citizens.