Legacy media outlets were slammed online for their fawning coverage of the alleged Waukesha parade killer’s opening statement.
The outlets were blasted online, accused of attempting to garner sympathy for a mass murderer, after several posted headlines highlighting the defendant’s “tearful opening statement.” The suspect, who is defending himself in court, reportedly broke down in tears during his opening statement, another example of erratic and delusional behavior he has exhibited throughout his court proceedings.
A Twitter account called “End Wokeness” posted screenshots of headlines from national news outlets, all of which used the same phrase to describe the defendant’s opening statement: “Wisconsin Christmas parade defendant gives tearful opening statement: ‘2 sides to every story,’” a USA Today headline reads.”Wisconsin parade suspect gives tearful opening statement,” headlines from the Associated Press, CBS News, and ABC News all read.
“Wtf? Is this how you cover a mass murdering psychopath who mowed down 70 innocent people?” the user commented.
Wtf? Is this how you cover a mass murdering psychopath who mowed down 70 innocent people? pic.twitter.com/4tvz5ZF1hp
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) October 21, 2022
Twitter users slammed the outlets, accusing them of trying to garner sympathy for the alleged killer.
“Apparently, ‘tearful opening statement’ is today’s Universal Mainstream Media tagline for mass murderer sympathy,” one user wrote on Twitter.
“‘Tearful opening’ He ran over children with a car,” wrote another.
“@AP @MSNBC @abcnews @CBSNews this is how we punish a person who killed unarmed elderly, children, and other citizens?! #shame,” another user replied.
“How do you sleep at night?” a user questioned. “We’re supposed to feel sorry for this mass murderer?? You all are sick in the head. @AP @abcnews @CBSNews.”
“This headline is gross and he’s a cold blooded murder,” said another user. “He knew what he was doing and the harm he was inflicting.”
The popular Twitter account Defiant L’s posted a photo comparing the Waukesha headline with another USA Today headline attacking Kyle Rittenhouse for crying on the witness stand at his trial.
— Defiant L’s (@DefiantLs) October 21, 2022
The social media backlash comes even as the legacy media has previously downplayed the Waukesha attack. In the immediate aftermath of the attack in 2021, an Associated Press headline read: “Child is 6th death in Waukesha parade crash; suspect charged”; a tweet from CBS News labeled the attack “deadly Christmas parade crash.” Other outlets referred to the attack as a “tragedy” or a “crash.” But, as The Daily Wire reported at the time, those outlets referred to the 2017 car ramming in Charlottesville, Virginia, as a “car attack.”
The suspect’s outburst is just the latest in a series of erratic behaviors and antics he has engaged in during his trial proceedings.
He has mocked the victims of the attack and demanded that the charges against him be dropped because the victims were not present to accuse him; he has repeatedly yelled at and argued with the trial judge; and he has claimed that he does not identify by his given name, nor does he know anybody by that name. On Friday, the judge was forced to call a recess after he stared her down in court. “This man right now is having a stare-down with me,” the judge said. “It’s very disrespectful. He pounded his fist. Frankly, it makes me scared.”
The defendant, who is not being named in accordance with longstanding Daily Wire policy not to share the names or pictures of perpetrators of mass casualty events, is accused of killing six people, including an eight-year-old girl, and wounding dozens of others by plowing his car through a Christmas parade in Waukesha in 2021.