Summer of 2020---The Civil Unrest Thread--Read OP Before Posting (in memory of George Floyd)

[China]

Prosecutors Want to Use Video of Kyle Rittenhouse Allegedly Expressing Desire to Shoot a Black Man with His ‘AR’

 

Prosecutors in Wisconsin want jurors to know what admitted Kenosha killer Kyle Rittenhouse said about his gun in the weeks before he shot and killed two people and injured a third in August 2020.

 

“Bro, I wish I had my ****ing AR,” the 17-year-old allegedly says on a video some 15 days before the fatal incidents that occurred during a Black Lives Matter protest. “I’d start shooting rounds at them.”

 

In the footage, Rittenhouse and others who appear to be inside a car are referencing a Black man seen jogging out of and away from a CVS Pharmacy. According to prosecutors, Rittenhouse expressed his desire to shoot at “several” such individuals at the drugstore because he believed they were stealing.

 

“The defendant apparently believed, with no actual evidence, that these individuals were shoplifting from the store,” Assistant District Attorney Thomas C. Binger writes in a motion attempting to move the video into evidence. “There is no indication that the defendant had any idea who these people were or what they were doing.”

 

“The defendant had no connection whatsoever with the CVS Pharmacy and did not know anyone who was there,” the government’s motion continues. “The defendant was watching the situation from a vehicle parked across the street and had no actual interaction with anyone involved in the incident. Quite simply, the defendant saw something, jumped to a conclusion based on exactly zero facts, and then threatened to kill someone based on his baseless assumption and wrongful interpretation.”

 

The state obtained the video on Aug. 12, but court papers do not note where the video was sourced. It is widely available on the internet.

 

To hear the prosecution tell it, Rittenhouse’s alleged desire to shoot people is doubly relevant in his upcoming murder trial.

 

“The defendant’s understanding of the proper use of his ‘AR’ and of deadly force is crucial to this case, and this video demonstrates that the defendant was eager to use deadly force in an unlawful situation,” the motion argues.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Protesters clash in NE Portland; shots fired near demonstrators downtown

 

A man fired a handgun near demonstrators in downtown Portland Sunday evening as high-intensity clashes splintered across the city — including an earlier confrontation involving right-wing protesters using paintball guns and fireworks against left-wing counterprotesters in Northeast Portland.

 

Zane Sparling, a reporter for KOIN 6 News’ partner the Portland Tribune, witnessed the shooting event and recorded video of a man firing three shots from a handgun near Southwest 2nd Avenue and Southwest Yamhill Street shortly before 6 p.m. Bystanders told him the shooter pulled the gun as protesters gathered downtown.

 

 

Portland Police Bureau said officers followed the direction the suspect went and arrested 65-year-old Dennis G. Anderson of Gresham.

 

Police seized a gun from Anderson and he was booked in the Multnomah County Detention Center on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon. Records show he was released on bail early Monday morning and is scheduled to be arraigned Monday afternoon.

 

No injuries related to the shooting have been reported. Anyone with video or photos of the incident is asked to contact police.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[tshile]

How is that just unlawful use of a weapon….

[China]

After 2 years, how have the Business Roundtable’s commitments held up?

 

On Aug. 19, 2019, the Business Roundtable, a group of CEOs from some of the country’s biggest companies, announced a new Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation.

 

Nearly 200 CEOs pledged that moving forward, they would “lead their companies for the benefit of all stakeholders — customers, employees, suppliers, communities and shareholders.”

Last October, the Roundtable announced “corporate initiatives and public policy recommendations to advance racial equity and justice.”

 

“Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal spoke with Otis Rolley, senior vice president of the U.S. Equity and Economic Opportunity Initiative at the Rockefeller Foundation, about how corporate America has done with these promises during the pandemic and the ongoing racial reckoning. Below is an edited transcript of their conversation.

 

Kai Ryssdal: So, as you survey the corporate America landscape in light of the past two years, what kind of score do you give them in terms of meeting the obligations of what they had set out to do in that statement a couple of years ago?

 

Otis Rolley: Oh, wow. So, in terms of actually meeting the obligation, I would really have to give them a C-minus. The obligation in and of itself, the statement, was powerful and moving. But so much still needs to be done in terms of their operations, their programs and their funds actually meeting the needs of the community.

 

Ryssdal: Let’s break that down a little bit because the temptation, of course — and look, I’m painting with a broad brush here — but the temptation, of course, for corporate America is to, in the vernacular, throw money at the problem, right, and try to solve it that way. But it’s a more nuanced issue.

 

Rolley: Most definitely. You know, there’s been almost $50 billion that’s been committed toward advancing racial equity, only about $250 million of that has actually been spent or obligated in real, specific initiatives. We need to see them paying their fair share in taxes and advocating for progressive tax codes. We need fair wages. Fifty-three million Americans, or 40% of all workers, are earning low wages, and Black and Latinx Americans disproportionately so. And then finally, I really think it’s just crucial that we see real investing in financial products that offer smaller loans. A lot of times, banks and others don’t really find it profitable to process a small loan, you know, $250,000 or less. And that’s often the difference between aspiration and reality for a lot of small — particularly small Black and Latinx — businesses and entrepreneurs.

 

Click on the link for the rest

 

[EmirOfShmo]

Proud Boys leader who burned BLM flag gets 5 months in jail

 

The leader of the Proud Boys extremist group was sentenced to more than five months in jail on Monday for burning a Black Lives Matter banner that was torn down from a historic Black church in downtown Washington and bringing two high-capacity firearm magazines into the nation's capital days shortly before the Jan. 6 riot.

 

Enrique Tarrio told the court he was “profusely” sorry for his actions, calling them a “grave mistake.”

 

“What I did was wrong,” Tarrio said during the hearing held via videoconference.

 

https://news.yahoo.com/proud-boys-leader-burned-blm-192710631.html

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[Llevron]

29 minutes ago, Cooked Crack said:

 

 

 

This right here is the **** I want to see. This is more important than making example out of cops imo. Make example of the people covering for them. 

[Cooked Crack]

 

[China]

Minnesota State Patrol destroyed texts, emails after riot response

 

Minnesota State Patrol officers conducted a mass purge of emails and text messages immediately after their response to riots last summer, leaving holes in the paper trail as the courts and other investigators attempt to reconstruct whether law enforcement used improper force in the chaos following George Floyd's murder.

 

In a recent court hearing in a lawsuit alleging the State Patrol targeted journalists during the unrest, State Patrol Maj. Joseph Dwyer said he and a "vast majority of the agency" deleted the communiqués after the riots, according to a transcript published to the federal court docket Friday night.

 

This file destruction "makes it nearly impossible to track the State Patrol's behavior, apparently by design," said attorneys for Minnesota's chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is suing the state patrol and Minneapolis police on behalf of journalists who say they were assaulted by law enforcement while covering the protests and riots.

 

"The purge was neither accidental, automated, nor routine," said ACLU attorneys, in a court motion that asks a judge to order the State Patrol to cease attacks on journalists who are covering protests. "The purge did not happen because of a file destruction or retention policy. No one reviewed the purged communications before they were deleted to determine whether the materials were relevant to this litigation."

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Larry]

Let me guess. They also got rid of the records of who did the deleting?  

[PokerPacker]

Time to charge them with conspiracy.

[GhostofSparta]

3 hours ago, China said:

Minnesota State Patrol destroyed texts, emails after riot response

GOP in Congress will obviously spare no time or expense to have several dozen hearings about this, right? Subpoena each person responsible and grill them for 11 straight hours, yeah? Nothing is more sacred to Republicans than public servants using technology correctly, yes?

 

 

 

 

Stop laughing, dammit.

[Cooked Crack]

 

 

[Llevron]

I remember when they did that ****. Most of it was on video the say after they made that post. I'm surprised they didn't get away with it, but I'm glad they mother got paid. ACAB 

[China]

On 8/20/2021 at 1:48 PM, China said:

Prosecutors Want to Use Video of Kyle Rittenhouse Allegedly Expressing Desire to Shoot a Black Man with His ‘AR’

 

Prosecutors in Wisconsin want jurors to know what admitted Kenosha killer Kyle Rittenhouse said about his gun in the weeks before he shot and killed two people and injured a third in August 2020.

 

“Bro, I wish I had my ****ing AR,” the 17-year-old allegedly says on a video some 15 days before the fatal incidents that occurred during a Black Lives Matter protest. “I’d start shooting rounds at them.”

 

In the footage, Rittenhouse and others who appear to be inside a car are referencing a Black man seen jogging out of and away from a CVS Pharmacy. According to prosecutors, Rittenhouse expressed his desire to shoot at “several” such individuals at the drugstore because he believed they were stealing.

 

“The defendant apparently believed, with no actual evidence, that these individuals were shoplifting from the store,” Assistant District Attorney Thomas C. Binger writes in a motion attempting to move the video into evidence. “There is no indication that the defendant had any idea who these people were or what they were doing.”

 

“The defendant had no connection whatsoever with the CVS Pharmacy and did not know anyone who was there,” the government’s motion continues. “The defendant was watching the situation from a vehicle parked across the street and had no actual interaction with anyone involved in the incident. Quite simply, the defendant saw something, jumped to a conclusion based on exactly zero facts, and then threatened to kill someone based on his baseless assumption and wrongful interpretation.”

 

The state obtained the video on Aug. 12, but court papers do not note where the video was sourced. It is widely available on the internet.

 

To hear the prosecution tell it, Rittenhouse’s alleged desire to shoot people is doubly relevant in his upcoming murder trial.

 

“The defendant’s understanding of the proper use of his ‘AR’ and of deadly force is crucial to this case, and this video demonstrates that the defendant was eager to use deadly force in an unlawful situation,” the motion argues.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Kyle Rittenhouse Judge Says ‘White Power’ Gesture Reminds Him of ‘Chef Boyardee,’ Warns ‘Proud Boys’ Link to Defendant Would Be ‘Poison’ at Trial

 

The judge overseeing the murder prosecution of Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse caused quite a stir during a pre-trial hearing focused on evidentiary issues late Friday morning.

 

Kenosha County Judge Bruce Schroeder repeatedly ruled against the government on key requests — including photo evidence that shows the defendant flashing a “white power” or “white supremacy” hand symbol earlier this year while partying with several far-right Proud Boys members at a bar in Racine, Wis.

 

 

“The defendant’s continued association with members of a group that prides itself on violence, and the use of their symbols, raises the significant possibility of future harm,” prosecutors previously wrote in an evidence motion. “Further, this association may serve to intimidate potential witnesses.”

 

The photograph in question has been submitted into evidence by the state. It shows the defendant making the co-opted “OK” sign while posing with unidentified members of the far-right “Western chauvinist” group and smiling while at Pudgy’s Pub with his mother. During that visit, Rittenhouse wore a highly-publicized t-shirt that read: “Free as ****.” The bar-room episode occurred on the night the defendant pleaded not guilty to his charges. After meeting the Proud Boys, Rittenhouse was “loudly serenaded” by the group who sang their anthem to him. Prosecutors said they were trying to valorize his violence.

 

Ruling against the government’s bid to introduce that evidence, the judge said he had “never heard” of the Proud Boys before being assigned the Rittenhouse case and was unsure if the Proud Boys themselves are either violent or a hate group. Assailing the government’s narrative and presentation of that evidence, Schroeder clarified that he would not rely “on a Seattle newspaper” to describe the group because there’s “so many groups” in the country.

 

Click on the link for the full article

 

Is this judge serious about the Proud Boys?  Has he not been paying attention for the last 15 months?

[PokerPacker]

Our judiciary is ****ed.

[China]

Court asked to suspend law licenses of gun-waving couple

 

A Missouri official is asking the state Supreme Court to suspend the law licenses of a St. Louis couple who gained national attention last year when they waved guns at racial injustice protesters outside their home.

 

Missouri Chief Disciplinary Counsel Alan Pratzel, in a court filing reported by KCUR-FM, cited Mark and Patricia McCloskey's guilty pleas to misdemeanors stemming from the June 2020 encounter. Pratzel’s office is responsible for investigating ethical complaints against Missouri lawyers.

 

Mark McCloskey, who is among several Republican candidates for U.S. Senate in 2022, pleaded guilty in June to misdemeanor fourth-degree assault and was ordered to pay a $750 fine. Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment and was ordered to pay a $2,000 fine.

 

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson pardoned them on July 30. Pratzel’s motion said that while a pardon erases a person’s conviction, “the person’s guilt remains.”

 

Click on the link for the full article

[tshile]

Of course that can be parlayed into a career as a senator. 

[China]

Minnesota Trial Court Judge Changes His Mind, Says Derek Chauvin Isn’t Poor After All

 

Convicted murderer Derek Chavin apparently isn’t poor after all — at least in the eyes of the law in Minnesota district court.

 

One day after deciding that Chauvin could proceed with court filings “in forma pauperis” — translated to mean “in the form of a pauper” — Judge Peter Cahill changed his mind and reversed his decision.  Cahill is the same judge who presided over Chauvin’s criminal trial in the death of George Floyd, Jr.

 

Defendants routinely file motions to proceed “in forma pauperis” to avoid paying the usual filing fees and other requisite costs when submitting documents to a court.  On the afternoon of Thursday, Sept, 23, in a document timestamped 4:06 p.m., Cahill determined that Chauvin was, indeed, entitled to be viewed as legally poor and that the much-maligned ex-cop could “proceed in forma pauperis.”

 

“The applicant shall not be required to pay any fees, costs, and security,” that initial and since-rubbished court document explained. “The applicant’s claims are not frivolous and applicant is financially unable to pay any fees and entitled to proceed in forma pauperis.”

 

The perfunctory form was subsequently revoked less than a day later.

 

On the morning of Friday, Sept. 24, Cahill issued what in essence is a complete about face.

 

“Based on the affidavit of the applicant Derek Michael Chauvin and the authority of Minn. Stat. § 563.01 . . . [t]he applicant is not found to be indigent and is not entitled to proceed in forma pauperis.”

 

That document was electronically signed at 11:13 a.m. and filed at 11:30 a.m.

 

The ultimate decision means Chauvin will have to pay filing fees for future court documents in any residual district court proceedings.

 

The move came shortly after Chauvin asked the Minnesota Court of Appeals to examine his murder conviction.  Chauvin issued a laundry list of alleged procedural errors in the trial which resulted in a 270-month sentence.  He’s proceeding with the appeal without an attorney because the Court of Appeals refused to appoint him an appellate public defender.  

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

He Ran Over BLM Protesters—but Apparently That’s Not a Crime

 

Jared Benjamin Lafer, who last September drove his SUV through a tiny assemblage of Black Lives Matter protesters in Johnson City, Tennessee, and then sped away — leaving behind a man with a concussion, brain bleed, and two broken legs — will face no charges.

 

On Monday, a Tennessee grand jury returned a “no true” bill — a declaration by jurors that there was not enough evidence to indict the 27-year-old even after a judge had reduced the charges against him from aggravated assault, a Class C felony, to reckless aggravated assault, a Class D felony. Among the materials that apparently left the grand jurors unmoved was cellphone video documenting Lafer rolling over the protester with his truck, narrowly missing the protester’s dog, and almost striking a second person who jumped out of the car’s unswerving path before it accelerated away from the scene.

 

 

The same footage made the rounds on social media last year as Tennessee police conducted a two-day manhunt for the hit-and-run driver, who they identified as Lafer after witnesses identified his out-of-state licence plate number. Lafer never returned to the scene to check on his victim, but instead drove to his home state of North Carolina, hired a lawyer to talk with the cops on the case, and turned himself in two days after committing the crime.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[China]

Texas man, 24, admits shooting at Minneapolis police station during riot

 

A man who had been part of a far-right group that wants to foment a civil war admitted in federal court Thursday he traveled to Minneapolis from the San Antonio area to sow chaos after the police murder of George Floyd.

 

Ivan Harrison Hunter, 24, of Boerne, Texas, pleaded guilty to a single count of rioting. The charge carries a maximum prison term of five years.

 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Winter said sentencing guidelines call for Hunter to serve between 37 and 46 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Michael Davis said he would schedule a sentencing hearing following a standard pre-sentence investigation.

 

Hunter admitted that he fired 13 rounds from an AK-47-style rifle into the 3rd precinct police station on May 28, 2020, as other rioters looted and set fire to the building after police evacuated. No one was struck by the gunfire.

 

After shooting at the building, Hunter was recorded on video high-fiving another person and yelling "Justice for Floyd!" Investigators matched the skull mask Hunter was wearing in the video to a photo on his Facebook page.

 

Prosecutors say Hunter came to Minneapolis in the days following Floyd’s murder after corresponding on Facebook with Michael Solomon of New Brighton, Minn., and Benjamin Teeter of Hampstead, N.C. The men had been part of the “Boogaloo Bois,” a group that exploits tensions to further violence.

 

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the group presents itself as libertarian and race-blind and calls for armed insurrection against what they see as government tyranny. But the SPLC says the Boogaloo Bois’ origins are violently racist. The group emerged online early in the last decade, and “boogaloo” was associated with a call for a race war. The term is often used by white nationalists and those seeking to generate chaos.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Cooked Crack]

 

[Llevron]

Police think they can get away with anything. And they basically can. I wonder how long they will be allowed to get away with **** like this. 

[Larry]

8 hours ago, Llevron said:

Police think they can get away with anything. And they basically can. I wonder how long they will be allowed to get away with **** like this. 

 

They recorded video of themselves committing organized, premeditated, assaults.  

 

What consequences have they suffered?  Have they even lost their jobs, yet?  

[PokerPacker]

49 minutes ago, Larry said:

 

They recorded video of themselves committing organized, premeditated, assaults.  

 

What consequences have they suffered?  Have they even lost their jobs, yet?  

They probably got a medal.