Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King is demanding that the police department of Kenosha, Wisconsin, name the officer who shot Jacob Blake, or risk having its officers doxxed at random.
King sent out the threat on Twitter late Tuesday as the third straight night of violent riots, looting, and destruction rocked the city. Later in the night, two people were killed and one more was injured after shooting broke out among civilians, according to police. King has roughly 1.1 million followers on the platform.
“To the Kenosha Police Department, if you do not name the officer who brutally shot Jacob Blake on Sunday, we will simply begin naming officers from your department who may or may not be him,” King tweeted. “F*** it. Your protection of his identity is unethical. What’s his name?”
To the Kenosha Police Department,
If you do not name the officer who brutally shot Jacob Blake on Sunday, we will simply begin naming officers from your department who may or may not be him.
Fuck it.
Your protection of his identity is unethical.
What's his name?
— Shaun King (@shaunking) August 26, 2020
King said in a later tweet that one officer apparently wrongly accused of shooting Blake has been taken into protective custody over threats to his life, and presumably similar action would need to be taken to protect the lives of officers baselessly accused by King as the one who shot Blake.
“This is what she says about Kenosha Police Officer Luke Courtier. He’s in protective custody in a hotel because people thought he shot Jacob Blake. POLICE COULD END THIS RIGHT NOW,” King tweeted. “They are deliberately protecting the man who shot Jacob. What’s his name?”
This is what she says about Kenosha Police Officer Luke Courtier.
He’s in protective custody in a hotel because people thought he shot Jacob Blake.
POLICE COULD END THIS RIGHT NOW.
They are deliberately protecting the man who shot Jacob.
What’s his name? pic.twitter.com/9OejqkyoM2
— Shaun King (@shaunking) August 26, 2020
Twitter told The Daily Wire in a statement that King’s tweets are “not in violation” of the platform’s rules.
In two more follow-up tweets, King asked his followers to try and identify a police officer in an attempt to name the officer involved in Blake’s shooting.
A police officer shot Blake, a black man, several times on Saturday while police were attempting to arrest him. Video of the arrest shows Blake struggling with officers outside on the passenger side of his SUV, which held Blake’s three children. Officers attempted to use a stun gun on Blake, according to Blake’s attorney, before Blake walked to the driver’s side front door of the vehicle. Blake was leaning inside the vehicle when an officer shot him potentially as many as eight times.
The Kenosha Police Department has released very few details about the officer involved in the incident, except to say that the officer has been suspended while an investigation takes place in line with police department policy.
Blake is recovering from the shooting in a hospital. His attorney has said that at least one of the bullets severed Blake’s spinal cord and that the 29-year-old has little chance of walking again.
The shooting sparked protests that quickly devolved into riots through the streets of Kenosha. Multiple buildings and businesses have been burned, including car dealerships, furniture stores, and city vehicles. The riots escalated further on Tuesday night as two people were killed. The escalation in violence came after Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers refused an offer from President Donald Trump for 500 National Guard troops to come into the city and help restore order.
This story has been updated with a statement from Twitter about King’s tweets.