CNN ran a segment on the unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday night that featured a chyron claiming that the protests were “fiery but mostly peaceful” as a reporter who was on the ground stood in front of a city that was on fire.
“What you’re seeing behind me is one of multiple locations that have been burning in Kenosha, Wisconsin, over the course of the night,” the CNN reporter said. “A second night since Jacob Blake was seen shot in the back seven times by a police officer.”
“And what you are seeing now, these images came and come in stark contrast to what we saw over the course of the daytime hours in Kenosha and into the early evening, which were largely peaceful demonstrations in the face of law enforcement,” the reporter continued. “It wasn’t until night fell that things began to get a little bit more contentious, things were thrown back and forth. Police started using some of those crowd disbursal tactics like teargas, even playing really loud sounds to push them out.”
“And then, what you are seeing, the common that ties all of this together, is an express of anger and frustration over what people feel like has become an all too familiar story playing out in places from across the country, not just here in Kenosha, Wisconsin,” the reporter added.
WATCH:
You cannot make this up… A CNN reporter is standing in front of a building engulfed in flames and CNN's chyron reads:
"FIERY BUT MOSTLY PEACEFUL PROTESTS AFTER POLICE SHOOTING" pic.twitter.com/4OHvKnh63u
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) August 27, 2020
Earlier this week, CNN removed the word “violent” from their chyron after they briefly described the riots as “violent protests.”
The Daily Wire reported:
CNN changed a chyron during a segment early this week on the violent protests in Wisconsin over the weekend, removing the word “violent” from the chyron—even though the protests were, in fact, violent.
During a live broadcast on CNN’s “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” the network aired the following chyron: “8PM CURFEW ORDERED AFTER VIOLENT PROTESTS OVER POLICE SHOOTING OF UNARMED BLACK MAN IN WISCONSIN”
Several seconds later the chyron was taken down and was then put back up on the screen after the network removed the word “violent” from it: “8PM CURFEW ORDERED AFTER PROTESTS OVER POLICE SHOOTING OF UNARMED BLACK MAN IN WISCONSIN”
WATCH:
Someone at CNN didn’t like the violent protests in Wisconsin being described as “violent” (observe the chyrons) pic.twitter.com/oDN5V2muUN
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 25, 2020
Late on Wednesday, the Wisconsin Department of Justice released a statement that said that Blake, who was shot as he resisted law enforcement and tried to enter his car, had a weapon in his vehicle.
“Mr. Blake walked around his vehicle, opened the driver’s side door, and leaned forward,” the department said. “While holding onto Mr. Blake’s shirt, Officer Rusten Sheskey fired his service weapon 7 times. Officer Sheskey fired the weapon into Mr. Blake’s back. No other officer fired their weapon.”
“During the investigation following the initial incident, Mr. Blake admitted that he had a knife in his possession,” the department added. “DCI agents recovered a knife from the driver’s side floorboard of Mr. Blake’s vehicle. A search of the vehicle located no additional weapons.”