Ben Crump is an American attorney who specializes in civil rights and personal injury cases, such as wrongful death lawsuits. In recent years, his practice has increasingly focused on accusations of police brutality.
As a result, Crump routinely appears as one of the central figures in high-profile cases regarding alleged police brutality and so-called “systemic racism.”
However, time after time, Crump has — either intentionally or unintentionally — spread misinformation regarding his cases, often with disastrous consequences.
Here is a list of times when Crump effectively promoted misinformation regarding high-profile cases of alleged &#8220;racial violence.&#8221;
Michael Brown
In 2014, Crump helped propagate the false “hands up, don’t shoot!” narrative following the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
&#8220;Regardless of the decision of the grand jury, this will be a defining moment in the history of the state of Missouri,&#8221; <a href="https://archive.ph/20141119005842/http://www.ksdk.com/story/news/local/2014/11/13/michael-baden-grand-jury-testimony/18959707/#selection-4347.0-4351.125">said</a> Crump, while it was being determined whether charges should be filed against Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson.
Crump also said at the time that he and others believed &#8220;there is evidence that shows Michael Brown had his hands up.&#8221; He was asked if there&#8217;s any doubt, and Crump responded, &#8220;there&#8217;s no doubt about that.&#8221;
Barack Obama’s Department of Justice, headed by Attorney General Eric Holder, decided that this version of events was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/haworth-biden-kamala-ignore-obama-biden-administrations-own-findings">untrue</a>, finding in its exhaustive investigation of the case that witness accounts and forensic evidence overwhelmingly indicated that Brown did not hold up his hands and surrender.
“As detailed in its famous <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1681212/doj-report-on-shooting-of-michael-brown.pdf">final report</a>, Obama-Biden administration ultimately concluded that all the available evidence painted an entirely different story than the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/03/16/lesson-learned-from-the-shooting-of-michael-brown/">racially charged narrative</a> that sparked the Ferguson protests and riots. The administration found that evidence indicated that Brown assaulted Officer Wilson, attempted to steal his firearm, and then charged at him,” reported <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/haworth-biden-kamala-ignore-obama-biden-administrations-own-findings">The Daily Wire</a>.
Breonna Taylor
Weeks after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/myths-misconceptions-about-the-breonna-taylor-case">Breonna Taylor</a> was “shot and killed by plainclothes police officers who raided her Louisville, Kentucky, home” in March 2020, Crump tweeted, “Louisville Police fatally shot #BreonnaTaylor. They had the wrong address AND their real suspect was already in custody. 2 months later, no one has been held accountable for her death…but we will change that!”
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Louisville Police fatally shot <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BreonnaTaylor?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BreonnaTaylor</a>. They had the wrong address AND their real suspect was already in custody. 2 months later, no one has been held accountable for her death&#8230; but we will change that! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JusticeForBreonnaTaylor?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SayHerName?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SayHerName</a> <a href="https://t.co/wytTAozY5l">pic.twitter.com/wytTAozY5l</a>
&mdash; Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/AttorneyCrump/status/1259867794239258628?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 11, 2020</a></blockquote>
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As noted by The Daily Wire, “the post contained at least four incorrect or misleading statements about the case that still influence the national discussion today.”
The officers who raided Breonna’s home were not at the wrong address, the purpose of the raid was to find evidence and not to arrest “their real suspect,” they did knock before entering the apartment, neither Walker nor Taylor were in bed when police entered the apartment, and Taylor was not shot eight times.
George Floyd
After the death of George Floyd, Crump called for “first-degree murder charges” to be leveled against Derek Chauvin.
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The police were supposed to protect and serve George Floyd. They FAILED. Now I’m calling for first-degree murder charges in the police-involved killing of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GeorgeFloyd?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GeorgeFloyd</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JusticeForGeorgeFloyd?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackLivesMattter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlackLivesMattter</a> <a href="https://t.co/CI0W3QIz9N">pic.twitter.com/CI0W3QIz9N</a>
&mdash; Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/AttorneyCrump/status/1269758805576949760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 7, 2020</a></blockquote>
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In <a href="https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/609.185">Minnesota</a>, first-degree murder requires both intent and premeditation, meaning that Crump believes that Chauvin set out that day planning to kill George Floyd.
Crump made this claim in a piece for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/29/george-floyd-death-benjamin-crump-jasmine-rand">The Guardian</a> in May 2020, writing, “The video evidence clearly shows that the officers acted with the intent to kill and with premeditation. Floyd told the officers he could not breathe 12 times, including within the first few seconds of the video.”
Video evidence showed that Floyd complained of breathing difficulties both while they attempted to place him in the police car, and when he was detained on the ground outside the car.
Jacob Blake
Sharing initial footage, Crump reacted to the shooting of Jacob Blake.
“Wow. This Black man was shot several times in the back by [Kenosha Police] today. He was getting into his car after apparently breaking up a fight between two women. He’s in critical condition now. We demand JUSTICE!” Crump tweeted.
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Wow. This Black man was shot several times in the back by <a href="https://twitter.com/KenoshaPolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KenoshaPolice</a> today. He was getting into his car after apparently breaking up a fight between two women. He’s in critical condition now. We demand JUSTICE! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlackLivesMatter?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlackLivesMatter</a> <a href="https://t.co/I1reDEp4nw">pic.twitter.com/I1reDEp4nw</a>
&mdash; Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/AttorneyCrump/status/1297721479711334401?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 24, 2020</a></blockquote>
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According to an audio recording of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-authorities-release-the-911-recording-that-jacob-blakes-ex-girlfriend-made-to-police">911 call</a> that was made, Jacob Blake’s ex-girlfriend, Laquisha Booker, “reported that Jacob Blake would not give her back the keys to her rental vehicle and she was afraid he was going to take that vehicle and crash it. She reported he had done that before. So now police know there’s a vehicle in dispute, Jacob Blake already has the keys, and the concern is will he crash that vehicle in an effort to leave.”
According to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/08/28/this-is-why-jacob-blake-had-a-warrant-out-for-his-arrest/">New York Post</a>, Blake had an open arrest warrant at the time for felony sexual assault, with Blake’s ex-girlfriend alleging that he “used his finger to sexually assault her, sniffed it and said, ‘Smells like you’ve been with other men.’”
After violently resisting arrest, Blake was shot while reaching into his car, and later admitted that he was in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-wisconsin-doj-finds-jacob-blake-had-weapon-on-floorboard-of-car">possession of a knife</a>.
Regardless of the facts of the case, riots ensued in Kenosha, Wisconsin, causing damage <a href="https://www.kenoshanews.com/news/local/damage-due-to-rioting-unrest-in-kenosha-tops-50-million-2-000-guard-assisted-here/article_26473ec9-c08a-5490-9d09-cc2b840b65f1.html">estimated to exceed</a> $50 million.
Daunte Wright
Crump claimed that the reportedly accidental shooting of Daunte Wright — the man killed after resisting police who were attempting to arrest him on <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/daunte-wright-had-outstanding-warrant-for-attempted-aggravated-robbery-when-he-was-killed">charges</a> related to an armed robbery attempt — was deliberate. The officer who shot Wright now faces second-degree manslaughter charges.
“You can spot the difference between a gun and a taser from a mile away! Do you really think a 26 year veteran cop would get the two confused, especially after holding it out infront of her for so long?! The shooting of [Daunte Wright] was NO accident,” he tweeted.
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You can spot the difference between a gun and a taser from a mile away! Do you really think a 26 year veteran cop would get the two confused, especially after holding it out infront of her for so long?! The shooting of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DaunteWright?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DaunteWright</a> was NO accident. <a href="https://t.co/cDO3imnGw2">pic.twitter.com/cDO3imnGw2</a>
&mdash; Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/AttorneyCrump/status/1382827826651357187?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 15, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Ma’Khia Bryant
Most recently, Crump responded to the police shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant in Columbus, Ohio.
“As we breathed a collective sigh of relief today, a community in Columbus felt the sting of another police shooting as [Columbus Police] killed an unarmed 15yo Black girl named Makiyah Bryant. Another child lost! Another hashtag,” Crump tweeted.
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As we breathed a collective sigh of relief today, a community in Columbus felt the sting of another police shooting as <a href="https://twitter.com/ColumbusPolice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ColumbusPolice</a> killed an unarmed 15yo Black girl named Makiyah Bryant. Another child lost! Another hashtag. ✊🏾🙏🏾<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/JusticeForMakiyahBryant?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#JusticeForMakiyahBryant</a> <a href="https://t.co/9ssR5gfqm5">https://t.co/9ssR5gfqm5</a>
&mdash; Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/AttorneyCrump/status/1384667861642358785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
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According to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-rush-to-declare-that-makhia-bryant-was-unarmed-proves-that-narrative-matters-more-than-truth">video footage</a> released soon after the event by the police department, Ma’Khia Bryant was armed with a knife and was in the active process of attacking a potential victim.
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WARNING, GRAPHIC: Columbus Police show body cam footage of officer shooting, killing knife-wielding teen girl &#8211; <a href="https://t.co/627TrzbD9n">https://t.co/627TrzbD9n</a> <a href="https://t.co/bW6wgWlFsb">pic.twitter.com/bW6wgWlFsb</a>
&mdash; Breaking911 (@Breaking911) <a href="https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1384721705004933122?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/ighaworth">@ighaworth</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Ben Crump

From Michael Brown To Ma’Khia Bryant: Meet The Lawyer Whose False Claims Fueled A Generation Of Black Lives Matter Violence

Benjamin Crump

Black Lives Matter

Breonna Taylor

Daunte Wright

George Floyd

Jacob Blake

Ma'Khia Bryant

Michael Brown

Riots

Trayvon Martin

There is a contradictory narrative promoted by the American Left that racism is both an integral part of the American psyche and a phenomenon that burst onto the political scene when Donald Trump became president. While there are certainly aspects of Trump’s political history and rhetoric which have exacerbated existing tensions, it is incorrect to place the blame for the breakdown in race relations squarely at the feet of the current president. Indeed, if we follow the Left’s advice and pay attention to the “science,” <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/1687/race-relations.aspx">poll data</a> suggests that race relations collapsed from 2013 onwards. The occupant of the White House at that point was, of course, not Donald Trump but Barack Obama. In 2016, a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/10/05/politics/obama-race-relations-poll/index.html">CNN/ORC poll</a> suggested that the majority of Americans said that “relations between blacks and whites in the US have worsened under President Barack Obama.”
Obama is routinely presented as an almost messianic figure by the political Left, an adoring mainstream media, and American culture at large. Through the flawed lens of intersectionality, Obama’s impact on race relations in the United States is often assumed to be positive based solely on the fact that he was the first African-American president. When presented with data suggesting that race relations deteriorated under Obama, his supporters will often reject any notion that Obama was responsible, instead preferring to claim that Obama’s political ascendency was simply the catalyst for the further awakening of innate “American racism.”
This is a predictably simplistic conclusion. If we can argue that Trump is uniquely responsible for the further decline of race relations, we must at least consider that Barack Obama could also have had an impact. Additionally, when we consider that Obama won the 2008 election with an overwhelmingly dominant 192 electoral vote lead over his opponent John McCain (with almost 10 million more votes than the Arizona Senator), and the 2012 election by 126 electoral votes (with almost 5 million more votes than Mitt Romney), one must ask how Americans could be so inescapably racist that they single-handedly fuel the collapse of nationwide race relations, while simultaneously voting for the United States’ first African American president on two occasions by large margins.
The truth, as always, is more complicated than “Republican bad, Democrat good.” In reality, Obama’s undeniable popularity is not a valid proxy for his role in the explosion of the racial tensions we continue to witness today. Three distinct moments during his presidency demonstrate Obama’s abandonment of his 2008 vision for a “post-racial America” in favor of the ideological profit that can be achieved by fanning the flames of race.
Trayvon Martin
In 2012, Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/04/11/150449405/zimmerman-arrested-on-murder-charge-in-martin-case">charged</a> with second-degree murder, and on July 13th 2013, he was found <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324879504578603562762064502">not guilty</a>. According to the only eyewitness account who saw the end of the confrontation, Martin was on top of Zimmerman, punching him as Zimmerman screamed for help. According to autopsy reports, Martin was shot at close range, leading to widespread and contentious debates regarding the subjects of self-defense and “stand your ground” laws.
Setting aside the unknown details of the case, eyewitness testimony suggests that Martin was assaulting Zimmerman, and that Zimmerman defended himself, fatally shooting Martin. That doesn’t absolve Zimmerman of responsibility for his part in the lead-up to the confrontation, but it does counter the narrative promoted to this day that Martin was “killed for a packet of Skittles.”
<div id="attachment_138640" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-138640" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-138640" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Barack-Obama-Trayvon-Martin.jpg" alt="US President Barack Obama speaks about race in the context of the not guilty ruling of George Zimmerman in the killing of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin in February 2012, as he appears at the start of the Daily Press Briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, July 19, 2013. AFP PHOTO / Saul LOEB " width="800" height="489" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/Barack-Obama-Trayvon-Martin.jpg 859w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/Barack-Obama-Trayvon-Martin-300x183.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/Barack-Obama-Trayvon-Martin-768x469.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" />Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images</div>
After Zimmerman’s acquittal, Obama had the opportunity to articulate the admittedly difficult but crucially important level of objectivity required to analyze individual cases which touch upon broader and deeper issues of racially motivated violence. Instead, Obama’s response was not only weak, it promoted continued distrust in the justice system, using racial tensions as a surrogate for substantive evidence of bias in this particular case.
Speaking from the White House, Obama <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2013/07/19/remarks-president-trayvon-martin">proclaimed</a> that “The African-American community is also knowledgeable that there is a history of racial disparities in the application of our criminal laws — everything from the death penalty to enforcement of our drug laws. And that ends up having an impact in terms of how people interpret the case.” Obama failed to provide evidence that this was in any way relevant to Zimmerman’s acquittal.
In addition, Obama deliberately used Martin’s death to narcissistically draw a <a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/01/barack-obama-race-relations-213493">shallow connection</a> between himself and the 17 year-old based on their shared skin color. “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.” Obama’s hypothetical son’s likeliness to Martin is irrelevant when it comes to matters of innocence, guilt, or the alleged details of this case. The intentional dilution down to nothing but race, with the rejection of any notion of responsibility or context, results in the racist conclusion that guilt and innocence can be assigned by skin color alone. Such logic, which only divides by race, can never result in progress.
Michael Brown
After Barack Obama’s election in 2008, there was a hopeful spike in positivity regarding the state of race relations in the United States, with a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/2017/01/10/how-america-changed-during-barack-obamas-presidency/">44%</a> difference between all adults saying race relations are “generally good” and those saying “generally bad.” That difference dropped to 3% in August of 2014, coinciding with the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9th.
On August 12th, Obama released a <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/08/12/president-obama-issues-statement-death-michael-brown">statement</a>, describing Michael Brown’s death as “heartbreaking,” sending “deepest condolences” to Brown’s family and his community. While Obama was always hugely careful with his language, one line provided understated yet significant impact. “I know the events of the past few days have prompted strong passions, but as details unfold, I urge everyone in Ferguson, Missouri, and across the country, to remember this young man through reflection and understanding.”
<div id="attachment_138647" style="width: 949px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-138647" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-138647" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Ferguson-Riot-939x576.jpg" alt="Demonstrators celebrate as a business burns after it was set on fire during rioting following the grand jury announcement in the Michael Brown case on November 24, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Ferguson has been struggling to return to normal after Brown, an 18-year-old black man, was killed by Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson police officer, on August 9. His death has sparked months of sometimes violent protests in Ferguson. A grand jury today declined to indict officer Wilson. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)" width="939" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/Ferguson-Riot-939x576.jpg 939w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/Ferguson-Riot-300x184.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/Ferguson-Riot-768x471.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/Ferguson-Riot.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 939px) 100vw, 939px" />Scott Olson/Getty Images</div>
The details which later unfolded showed that the entire narrative of Michael Brown’s shooting was false, with Brown being shot after committing a strong-arm robbery, assaulting a police officer, and attempting to steal his weapon, before finally rushing at Officer Wilson. When <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/obama-ferguson-reaction-doj-115839">questioned</a> in 2015 on his Department of Justice’s decision not to charge the officer, Obama’s tone was recognizable. Careful, non-committal, and evasive, stating “You can’t just charge him anyway because what happened was tragic.” In 2014, following the announcement that a grand jury found “no probable cause” to charge Officer Wilson, Obama <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/11/24/366442184/obama-to-discuss-ferguson-jury-decision">stated</a> that &#8220;There are Americans who agree with it, and there are Americans who are deeply disappointed — even angry. It&#8217;s an understandable reaction.&#8221;
By arguing that anger is justified regardless of the existence of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2015/03/16/lesson-learned-from-the-shooting-of-michael-brown/">clear evidence</a> that Brown’s shooting was an act of self defense, Obama crossed a dangerous line, demonstrating a dismissive attitude towards the reality that law enforcement officers are often compelled to defend themselves against acts of violence. Obama achieved this by masterfully blurring the reaction to Michael Brown’s death with the reaction to the concerning results of a federal investigation into accusations of racism within the Ferguson police department, <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/obama-ferguson-reaction-doj-115839">stating</a> that “Ferguson residents had valid complaints about the police force.” This same conflation is seen today, with violent riots justified by the mere existence of supposedly “valid concerns.”
This deliberate tactic is highly effective, and continues to cause further societal damage. Protesting valid accusations of racism within a police department is entirely justifiable, but destructive riots fueled by false narratives are not. Obama had the chance to make that principal distinction, and cease the promulgation of the “hands up, don’t shoot” lie. By failing to do so, that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/haworth-biden-kamala-ignore-obama-biden-administrations-own-findings">same false slogan</a> is chanted at Black Lives Matter protests, and repeated by his contemporaries for political effect, to this day.
<div id="attachment_138645" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-138645" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-138645" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Hands-Up-Dont-Shoot-Protest-993x576.jpg" alt="Chanting, &quot;Hands up, don't shoot!&quot; more than one thousand demonstrators gather on the steps of the National Portrait Gallery the day after the Ferguson grand jury decision to not indict officer Darren Wilson in the Michael Brown case November 25, 2014 in Washington, DC. A St. Louis County grand jury decided to not indict Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown in August that sparked riots in Ferguson, Missouri, resulting in violence there Monday night. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)" width="800" height="464" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/Hands-Up-Dont-Shoot-Protest-993x576.jpg 993w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/Hands-Up-Dont-Shoot-Protest-300x174.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/Hands-Up-Dont-Shoot-Protest-768x446.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/Hands-Up-Dont-Shoot-Protest.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" />Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</div>
Dallas Massacre of Police Officers
With racial tensions reaching staggering levels after the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling in 2016, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/09/us/dallas-police-shooting.html">Micah Johnson</a> “gunned down police officers in downtown Dallas,” having “specifically set out to kill as many white officers as he could.” Five officers were killed, and nine were injured. The attacks occurred days after the police killings of Sterling and Castile.
The country’s largest police union criticized President Obama for his initial response to the shootings, <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/police-union-criticizes-obama-shooting-response-calls-for-hate-crime-investigation-154938936.html">stating</a> “We’d like to see the president make one speech that speaks to everybody instead of one speech that speaks to black people as they grieve and one speech that speaks to police officers as they grieve.”
Perhaps, given this request, it was Obama’s intention to speak to everybody during his <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/president-obamas-dallas-speech-cheap-politics/">3,600</a> word speech at the Dallas police memorial service which commemorated the five officers who were murdered by Johnson. Unfortunately, <a href="https://time.com/4403543/president-obama-dallas-shooting-memorial-service-speech-transcript/">Obama missed the mark</a>, and chose to divide rather than unify by using the memorial as a political platform to call for gun control, to reference the victims of police killings (thereby raising the justification presented by the man who committed the massacre), and to make presumptive (and often statistically unsupported) claims of systemic racial bias in law enforcement.
<div id="attachment_138651" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-138651" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-138651" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Barack-Obama-Dallas-Memorial-899x576.jpg" alt="U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a speech during a memorial service for the victims of the Dallas police shooting at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Texas, USA on July 12, 2016. (Photo by Bilgin S. Sasmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)" width="800" height="513" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/Barack-Obama-Dallas-Memorial-899x576.jpg 899w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/Barack-Obama-Dallas-Memorial-300x192.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/Barack-Obama-Dallas-Memorial-768x492.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2020/08/Barack-Obama-Dallas-Memorial.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px" />Bilgin S. Sasmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images</div>
There is nothing unifying about the dilution of a memorial, and certainly not in a manner which Obama would never attempt in reverse. Would he be applauded for commemorating the lives of specific police officers killed by black men during a memorial for a black person killed by a police officer? Probably not.
The point is not that you shouldn’t be able to mourn for multiple groups of people. We absolutely should be able to unify over shared grief for the loss of members of our communities. The point is that Obama was deliberately selective with the targets of his so-called “unification” strategy, and demonstrated an utter shamelessness while using the memorial service for murdered police officers to subtly criticize the law enforcement community as subconsciously — and therefore irrefutably — bigoted.
***
Through the damning limitations of binary thought, we are too often driven to conclude that “our president” is a hero while “their president” is a villain. In reality, the truth lies in the deep chasm which separates the two unobtainable titles. Under Donald Trump, race relations have undoubtedly worsened, with Trump and his rhetoric playing a role. However, it’s an act of ignorance or naivety to argue that Obama did not also play a part by laying the foundation of racial divisiveness he twisted for his own gain.
He’s not a hero. He’s not a villain. He’s a politician.
More from Ian Haworth: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bidens-decline-why-we-must-question-mental-fitness">Biden’s Decline: Why We Must Question Mental Fitness</a>

Obama visits Chicago to tout immigration action, cites Ferguson controversy

HAWORTH: Moments In Obama’s Presidency That Fueled Racial Tensions

Barack Obama

A man with a long-standing beef against the Annapolis, Maryland, newspaper Capital Gazette entered the paper&#8217;s headquarters with a shotgun and murdered five staffers. It represents the deadliest attack on U.S. reporters in modern history.
Before learning about the suspect&#8217;s mental issues and his long-standing feud with the newspaper, some in the media blamed President Donald Trump. After all, critics said, Trump routinely denounces &#8220;fake news&#8221; as an existential threat to our republic. Connect the dots, they said. Blame Trump! CNN aired a montage of Trump&#8217;s attacks on the media. Rob Cox, a Reuters editor, tweeted: &#8220;This is what happens when @RealDonaldTrump calls journalists the enemy of the people. Blood is on your hands, Mr. President.&#8221; Another reporter, who later resigned, even falsely tweeted that the shooter was wearing a MAGA cap. How do you get that wrong?
How dare the President call out the anti-Republican media for its decades of biased reporting? Pew Research, in 2013, found that only 7 percent of reporters called themselves Republican. How dare Trump attack The New York Times, which has not endorsed a Republican presidential candidate since 1956? How dare Trump go after The Washington Post, which has never endorsed a Republican presidential candidate. And how dare Trump refer to CNN &#8212; one of whose &#8220;news&#8221; anchors, Don Lemon, has called Trump &#8220;a racist&#8221; &#8212; as fake news.
Did the media hold President Barack Obama responsible for the murders of 10 cops in Dallas, Baton Rouge and New York City, all at the hands of black men apparently incited by their belief that cops murder blacks without consequence? After all, Obama frequently criticized the police and bemoaned America&#8217;s racism as &#8220;part of our DNA.&#8221;
President Obama&#8217;s anti-cop rhetoric started right after he took office. Obama&#8217;s friend, a black Harvard professor, was arrested in his home. Professor Henry Louis Gates, back from a trip, couldn&#8217;t open his front door and reportedly asked his driver to help. A neighbor, observing two people trying to force open the front door of Gates&#8217; home, called 911. But when the cops arrived and asked Gates to exit the home so he could determine its ownership, Gates mouthed off and was briefly arrested. Obama said, &#8220;The Cambridge police acted stupidly.&#8221; The Cambridge Police Superior Officers Association and the Cambridge Police commissioner insisted the officer followed protocol. Obama&#8217;s statement infuriated officers all across the country and set up a template for the Obama administration: Cops engage in unlawful anti-black racial profiling.
Obama and his attorney general also offered verbal support to the so-called Black Lives Matter movement that argues, without facts, that blacks are regularly and illegally profiled by an institutionally, systemically and structurally &#8220;racist&#8221; criminal justice system. It did not help that during the first six years of the Obama administration, the anti-police incendiary Rev. Al Sharpton, according to The Washington Post, visited the White House 72 times. What kind of message did that send to the police?
When a Sanford, Florida, neighborhood watch captain, George Zimmerman, shot and killed a black 17-year-old named Trayvon Martin, President Obama promptly sided with the deceased teen, saying, &#8220;If I had a son, he&#8217;d look like Trayvon.&#8221; A jury found Zimmerman not guilty, and one juror later said that during the deliberations, race never came up.
Then there&#8217;s Ferguson. A grim President Obama, at an address before the United Nations, said: &#8220;In a summer marked by instability in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, I know the world also took notice of the small American city of Ferguson, Missouri &#8212; where a young man was killed, and a community was divided. So yes, we have our own racial and ethnic tensions.&#8221;
But the Ferguson grand jury did not indict the officer who shot and killed Michael Brown, and a Department of Justice report exonerated the cop. Contrary to the lies told by his friend who witnessed the shooting, Michael Brown did not have his hands up when the officer shot and killed him. Brown, did not say, &#8220;Hands up. Don&#8217;t shoot.&#8221; Yet before the investigation even began, Obama&#8217;s BFF, Sharpton, took to the streets of Ferguson yelling, &#8220;No justice, no peace.&#8221;
The DOJ&#8217;s investigation of Ferguson&#8217;s nearly all-white police department criticized its alleged &#8220;institutional racism.&#8221; But its actual findings do not support that conclusion. Ferguson, the investigation noted, is 67 percent black, but 85 percent of its traffic stops involve black drivers. To the DOJ, this 18-point statistical imbalance equals systemic racism. But in New York City, where the department consists mostly officers of color, 55 percent of traffic stops involve a black driver in a city with a 25 percent black population. This is a 30-point statistical imbalance. Wouldn&#8217;t this make the NYPD even more &#8220;institutionally racist&#8221; than the Ferguson PD?
Trump, say the media, has created an atmosphere that puts reporters in danger. Obama often unfairly criticized the police. But the media did not blame Obama for the murder of officers by angry black men consumed with the wrongheaded belief that blacks are victimized by the &#8220;institutional racism&#8221; of the criminal justice system.
Larry Elder is a best-selling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host. To find out more about Larry Elder, or become an &#8220;Elderado,&#8221; visit www.LarryElder.com. Follow Larry on Twitter @larryelder. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

ELDER: Trump Blamed For Death Of Reporters: Did Media Blame Obama For Cop Killers?

Donald Trump

Ferguson

George Zimmerman

Law Enforcement

Media

The parents of Trayvon Martin are suing The Weinstein Company for at least $150,000 over a TV series about their son that never came to fruition.
Sybrina Fulton and Tracy Martin filed court papers last week at a federal bankruptcy court in Delaware against the entity, according to the <a href="http://apnews.com/4f307633eda54186839f641927af5bff/Trayvon's-parents-say-Weinstein's-company-owes-them-$150,000">Associated Press</a>. The couple is claiming that the now-bankrupt Weinstein Company, which was formerly run by disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, owes them &#8220;executive producer services&#8221; fees for their work on a TV series about their teen son that has yet to air.
&#8220;The parents claim they are owed $150,000 for their roles as executive producers of a TV series that has been filmed but has yet to be broadcast,&#8221; <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/389110-trayvon-martins-parents-file-150k-claim-against-the-weinstein-company">reports</a> The Hill.
In 2012, Trayvon, 17, was shot dead in Florida by 28-year-old neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in self-defense. The case gained national attention due to allegations of racism surrounding Zimmerman, who is Hispanic. Then-President Barack Obama notably fanned the flames, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAPtUfOs7Gs">saying</a>, &#8220;If I had a son, he would look like Trayvon.&#8221; The controversial case is credited with helping to spark the Black Lives Matter movement.
Zimmerman was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/us/george-zimmerman-verdict-trayvon-martin.html">acquitted</a> of the manslaughter charge.
In March, The Weinstein Company filed for bankruptcy after New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) filed a suit against the business for violating their employees&#8217; rights to be protected from &#8220;pervasive sexual harassment, intimidation, and discrimination.&#8221; Ironically, Schneiderman has since <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/nyregion/new-york-attorney-general-eric-schneiderman-abuse.html">resigned</a> from his post for alleged sexual misconduct and harassment claims, ranging from physical abuse to racially-charge verbal abuse, from numerous women.
As noted by the AP, several dozen others from the entertainment world have also sued The Weinstein Company for money.

Trayvon Martin’s Parents Sue Weinstein Company For $150,000

Harvey Weinstein

Rapper Talib Kweli Greene, hearkening back to a year-old tweet issued by Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro regarding Trayvon Martin, called him a racist, precipitating an exchange on Twitter in which Shapiro proceeded to demolish him. The exchange was triggered by Greene responding to a woman who tweeted Shapiro was her hero:
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" alt src="https://dw-wp-dev.imgix.net/2019/09/shapiros_my_hero.jpg" /></div>
That triggered this classic response from Shapiro:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Hey look, <a href="https://twitter.com/TalibKweli">@TalibKweli</a> is calling me a &#8220;racist ass.&#8221; Um, dude&#8230; <a href="https://t.co/ty4BeF7LKq">https://t.co/ty4BeF7LKq</a> <a href="https://t.co/R0Uzg3Tple">pic.twitter.com/R0Uzg3Tple</a>
&#8212; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/861644061555306497">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
Greene decided to dig the pit he was in a little deeper:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
What&#8217;s the problem white boy? You think &#8220;white boy&#8221; is racist? Wow. You&#8217;re dumber than I thought. <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro">@benshapiro</a> <a href="https://t.co/L4Jd8gl6cv">https://t.co/L4Jd8gl6cv</a>
&#8212; Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) <a href="https://twitter.com/TalibKweli/status/861645609954095105">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
Shapiro responded:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Thanks for calling me a racist without evidence, person who calls people &#8220;coon&#8221; and &#8220;white boy&#8221; on Twitter. <a href="https://t.co/iRFlOeNqTx">https://t.co/iRFlOeNqTx</a>
&#8212; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/861652531272744960">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Great, now <a href="https://twitter.com/TalibKweli">@TalibKweli</a> is spamming my timeline with explanations for how &#8220;white boy&#8221; isn&#8217;t racist. Which is something racists do.
&#8212; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/861652815780790272">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
Greene, headed for the cliff at full speed, redoubled his efforts:
</div>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro">@benshapiro</a> why can&#8217;t you explain how white boy is racist? You claim it is. I say you&#8217;re full of shit. Prove me wrong. Why can&#8217;t you?
&#8212; Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) <a href="https://twitter.com/TalibKweli/status/861653818811068418">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
Duh: 
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Because referring to someone&#8217;s race in derogatory fashion is the definition of racism. Jeez. <a href="https://t.co/Ms4vm3iCKB">https://t.co/Ms4vm3iCKB</a>
&#8212; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/861654735895396352">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
Greene, closer to the cliff:
</div>
</div>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/NotKirbyMack">@NotKirbyMack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro">@benshapiro</a> how exactly is white boy racist, white boy? Cuz white boys say so? <a href="https://t.co/JyZqYss3Sa">pic.twitter.com/JyZqYss3Sa</a>
&#8212; Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) <a href="https://twitter.com/TalibKweli/status/861655201434001409">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
Well, he asked for it: 
<div class="embed tweet"></div>
<div class="embed tweet"></div>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Please explain how this tweet was false. I&#8217;ll wait. <a href="https://t.co/K2TH2runGI">https://t.co/K2TH2runGI</a>
&#8212; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/861660222917492736">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/TalibKweli">@TalibKweli</a> says &#8220;white boy&#8221; and &#8220;coon&#8221; aren&#8217;t racist, but saying Trayvon was killed b/c he banged a dude&#8217;s head on the ground is. Welp.
&#8212; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/861665153799999489">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="embed tweet">
 Greene, nearing the cliff:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
You are a racist piece of shit for this tweet. <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro">@benshapiro</a> <a href="https://t.co/51EQKsc7qu">https://t.co/51EQKsc7qu</a> <a href="https://t.co/UfwqPLTecC">pic.twitter.com/UfwqPLTecC</a>
&#8212; Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) <a href="https://twitter.com/TalibKweli/status/861666286136414208">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
And one final push to send him over: 
</div>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
No, see, this is stupid because I think it&#8217;s racist to call people [FILL IN THE RACE] boy. Man oh man. <a href="https://t.co/cn5NeHU4pG">https://t.co/cn5NeHU4pG</a>
&#8212; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/861668548531298305">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Really? Because, um, evidence. <a href="https://t.co/qUpBJoixHS">https://t.co/qUpBJoixHS</a> <a href="https://t.co/pgv7M1iOSX">pic.twitter.com/pgv7M1iOSX</a>
&#8212; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/861669650878283776">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
UPDATE: There was more later in the day. Though Shapiro signed off Twitter, Greene kept up the barrage. Shapiro noticed, and tweeted:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
I left and did productive stuff with the rest of my day after my exchange with <a href="https://twitter.com/TalibKweli">@TalibKweli</a>. He, however, is still tweeting the same crap.
&#8212; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/861729480171061248">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
Which prompted Greene to fire back:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro">@benshapiro</a> I have no problem being your beautiful boogeyman. I drink racists tears. You replenish me.
&#8212; Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) <a href="https://twitter.com/TalibKweli/status/861731039491895296">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
Shapiro replied:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Then y u so mad bro? <a href="https://t.co/Bo0fpu6cvP">https://t.co/Bo0fpu6cvP</a>
&#8212; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/861732610468229120">May 9, 2017</a></blockquote>
But Greene wouldn&#8217;t leave well enough alone:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
I&#8217;m literally better than you at every aspect of life. While tweeting more. Racist fuck boy. <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro">@benshapiro</a> <a href="https://t.co/RoEJoMAA1p">https://t.co/RoEJoMAA1p</a>
&#8212; Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) <a href="https://twitter.com/TalibKweli/status/861730505213054976">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
To which Shapiro responded:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
I humbly submit that your vocabulary is substantially inferior. <a href="https://t.co/pWeynWZCag">https://t.co/pWeynWZCag</a>
&#8212; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/861730821018746880">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
Greene still didn&#8217;t get the hint:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro">@benshapiro</a> you write racist drivel for the Daily Wire. You&#8217;re nowhere near my level by any metric.
&#8212; Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) <a href="https://twitter.com/TalibKweli/status/861730710490578944">May 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
So Shapiro ended the conversation:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Do I get to pick the metric? I pick IQ points. <a href="https://t.co/Pg2Wvz30uD">https://t.co/Pg2Wvz30uD</a>
&#8212; Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) <a href="https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/861733209117032448">May 9, 2017</a></blockquote>
Ouch.

shapiros_my_hero

Rapper Calls Shapiro ‘Racist Ass.’ So Shapiro Breaks Him On The Wheel Of Logic. [UPDATE: The Carnage Continues]

Ben Shapiro

Racism

A Florida university will honor Trayvon Martin with a posthumous Bachelor of Science Degree in Aviation at a May 13 commencement ceremony. The degree will be accepted by his parents, Tracy Martin and Sabrina Fulton. 
Seventeen-year-old Martin was killed in February of 2012 by former neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman, who is Hispanic, in self-defense. After a long, racially-charged public debate and court trial, Zimmerman was completely exonerated in July of 2013. 
Florida Memorial University officially <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FLMemorialUniv/">announced </a>the posthumous degree via Facebook on Wednesday. 
&#8220;The University will confer upon TRAYVON MARTIN a posthumous degree in Aeronautical Science with a concentration in Flight Education, in honor of the steps he took during his young life toward becoming a pilot,&#8221; says the Facebook post. &#8220;This particular Bachelor&#8217;s degree is designated for those studying to be pilots. Martin&#8217;s parents, both social justice activists and co-founders of The Trayvon Martin Foundation &#8230; will accept the degree on behalf of their son.&#8221;
<div class="embed"><iframe frameborder="0" height="792" width="500"></iframe></div>
&#8220;Of special significance is awarding posthumously the Bachelor of Science Degree in Aviation to Trayvon Martin. Sybrina, our alum, epitomizes strength and dignity as she uplifts other victims of violence while effecting change for a more equal and just society,&#8221; said Florida Memorial University President Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis. 
Additionally, the school will host a post-commencement fundraiser which will partly support The Trayvon Martin Foundation.

University To Award Trayvon Martin With Posthumous Degree In Aviation

Florida

A Palm Beach, Florida high-school senior decided to make a political statement using her prom dress, which showed pictures of 15 African-Americans who were killed in police-involved shootings, including Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, and Michael Brown.
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
This Florida teen made a statement at prom by wearing a dress with Trayvon Martin&#8217;s face on it. <a href="https://t.co/T8I8Cnw7aF">pic.twitter.com/T8I8Cnw7aF</a>
&#8212; NBC News (@NBCNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/856960384825249793">April 25, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
Milan Bolden-Morris, 17, told designer <a href="https://www.instagram.com/terrencetorrence/">Terrence Torrance</a>, who <a href="http://metro.co.uk/2017/04/24/teenager-wears-stunning-black-lives-matter-dress-to-prom-6593467/">described</a> the dress as &#8220;pretty with a purpose,&#8221; &#8220;O.K., I&#8217;ll do whatever you need me to do.&#8221; She added, &#8220;I feel like it was a very vital issue.&#8221; Torrence had designed Morris&#8217; cousin&#8217;s wedding dress.
Morris posted a picture of herself in the dress on Instagram with this statement: &#8220;Yes I&#8217;m black. Yes I&#8217;m 17. Yes GOD is using me to convey a message that&#8217;s bigger than me. <a data-ios-link="tag?name=AllLivesMatter%E2%9D%A4%EF%B8%8F" data-log-event="tagvisit" href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/AllLivesMatter%E2%9D%A4%EF%B8%8F/">#AllLivesMatter&#65039;</a><a data-ios-link="tag?name=BlackLivesMatter" data-log-event="tagvisit" href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/BlackLivesMatter/">#BlackLivesMatter</a> <a data-ios-link="tag?name=MoveWithPurpose" data-log-event="tagvisit" href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/MoveWithPurpose/">#MoveWithPurpose</a>.&#8221;
After she wore the dress to the Pahokee High School prom last Friday, Morris told <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/24/us/black-lives-matter-prom-dress-trnd/">CNN</a>, &#8220;When someone loses a mother, father or child in unnecessary circumstances, it should not be overlooked but addressed.&#8221; Torrence said, &#8220;With all the killings that was going on, it just hit me one day: you should put that into a dress. I wanted to paint a picture and put a story out there through my fashion, and I wanted to show we could spread out message with not just posters and fliers but also with garments.&#8221;
Morris, who played basketball in high school, will attend Boston College in autumn 2017.

High School Senior Wears Prom Dress With Pictures Of Trayvon Martin, 14 Other Blacks Killed In Shoot-Outs

High School

The left has a bad habit of allowing their protests to descend into rioting and violence, particularly over the last several years. Whether it&#8217;s a police shooting or just being angry about the democratic election of President Donald Trump, destructive riots seem to have become the status quo for the left&#8217;s &#8220;demonstrations.&#8221;
Here are all the leftist violent protests and riots that have occurred over the past several years.
The protests following <a href="http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/BART-Officer-Johannes-Mehserle-to-Take-Stand-in-Oscar-Grant-Civil-Trial-262692861.html">the Oscar Grant shooting</a>. In 2009, a police officer for Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) shot Grant as he was being detained, later claiming that he thought he was firing his taser. Since the shooting involved cop and a black victim, protests ensued in Oakland, CA. The protests quickly disintegrated into <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Protests-over-BART-shooting-turn-violent-3255351.php">rioting and looting</a>.
Occupy Wall Street. The <a href="http://dailysignal.com/2011/11/08/morning-bell-occupy-wall-street-gets-more-violent/">left-wing movement</a> in 2011 spawned numerous sexual assaults, rapes, destruction of property and all kinds other shocking and nonsensical violence.
The riots in <a href="http://abc7news.com/archive/9172087/">Oakland</a> and <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-23332602">Los Angeles</a> after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the Trayvon Martin shooting. In Oakland, the protesters were chucking bottles and rocks at police officers and attacked a reporter, photographer and TV cameraman. They also slowed down traffic. In Los Angeles, numerous protesters vandalized cars and businesses as well as assaulted people on the street.
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" alt height="478" src="https://www.dailywire.com/sites/default/files/styles/wysiwyg/public/uploads/2015/10/ferguson_riots_ap.jpg?itok=twtoW6IS" width="780" /></div>
Numerous riots in Ferguson, MO following the Michael Brown shooting. A whole host of violent riots broke out after the shooting. The UK Telegraph has a full timeline of it <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11242108/Ferguson-timeline-of-events-since-Michael-Browns-death.html">here</a>.
The <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/27/us/baltimore-unrest/">riots</a> in Baltimore, MD after Freddie Gray&#8217;s death. Baltimore was literally on fire at the end of April 2015:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Tense moments witnessed by one photographer as protests turned to looting. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BaltimoreRiots?src=hash">#BaltimoreRiots</a> <a href="http://t.co/in2gyPFcHo">https://t.co/in2gyPFcHo</a> <a href="http://t.co/c4krNsR9Dp">pic.twitter.com/c4krNsR9Dp</a>
&#8212; CNN iReport (@cnnireport) <a href="https://twitter.com/cnnireport/status/592887686903521280">April 28, 2015</a></blockquote>
A senior center was even set on fire.
Businesses were also vandalized and rioters were throwing cinder blocks at police officers.
The protests that shut down Trump&#8217;s March campaign rally in Chicago, IL. Trump had to cancel his rally due to security concerns, as there were some <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/12/us/trump-rally-in-chicago-canceled-after-violent-scuffles.html">fights</a> between the anti-Trump protesters and Trump supporters, even after the event had been canceled. For instance, a woman <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/2016/03/11/trump-rally-canceled-due-to-security-concerns-protesters/81671860/">punched</a> a 20-year-old man for simply being a Trump supporter in front of a crowd of anti-Trump protestors, including a 10-year-old girl that was with her.
Anti-Trump thugs attack Trump supporters in San Jose, CA. When Trump came to San Jose for a rally in June, the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/06/03/ugly-bloody-scenes-in-san-jose-as-protesters-attack-trump-supporters-outside-rally/?utm_term=.28fddc8bbeb8">following occurred</a>:
<blockquote>
Protesters jumped on cars, pelted Trump supporters with eggs and water balloons, snatched signs and stole &#8220;Make America Great&#8221; hats off supporters&#8217; heads before burning the hats and snapping selfies with the charred remains.
Several people were caught on camera punching Trump supporters. At least one attacker was arrested, according to CNN, although police did not release much information.
</blockquote>
The Daily Wire&#8216;s James Barrett highlighted the worst instances of violence outside the rally <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/6276/anti-trump-protesters-riot-streets-san-jose-here-james-barrett">here</a>.
Riots in Milwaukee, WI after <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/8362/milwaukee-pd-officer-who-shot-armed-black-man-was-james-barrett">a black police officer shot and killed an armed black man</a>. The rioters attacked police officers and journalists and set police cars, a gas station and a bank ablaze in flames. The Daily Wire&#8216;s Michael Qazvini reported on the full details <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/8355/7-things-you-need-know-about-milwaukee-riots-michael-qazvini">here</a>.
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" alt height="383" src="https://www.dailywire.com/sites/default/files/styles/wysiwyg/public/uploads/2016/08/milwaukee_riot_car_burn.jpg?itok=HMo-GKJ-" width="780" /></div>
Riots in <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/09/21/charlotte-police-man-killed-officers-holding-gun-not-book/90774106/">North Carolina</a> following the shooting of Keith Scott. The riots ensued shortly after Scott&#8217;s death, another case of a black man shot and killed by a police officer. It was the usual scene of rioters throwing objects at police officers and lighting objects on fire. Four officers were injured and one person was shot during the riots. A state of emergency was declared.
The riots in Portland, OR, that ensued following Trump&#8217;s upset victory in November. The protests were <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/11/11/anti-trump-protesters-pepper-sprayed-demonstrations-erupt-across-us/93633154/">reportedly</a> peaceful at first until an anarchist group joined in. The protesters/rioters quickly turned to breaking windows and throwing objects and police officers.
The protests in Washington, D.C. on the weekend of Trump&#8217;s inauguration. A slew of anti-Trump thugs assaulted Trump supporters, injured police officers by throwing bottles and rocks at them and set a limousine fire. The worst moments were highlighted by the Daily Wire <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/12630/11-worst-protest-moments-inauguration-weekend-aaron-bandler">here</a>.
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" alt height="422" src="https://www.dailywire.com/sites/default/files/styles/wysiwyg/public/uploads/2017/01/burning_limo_gi.jpg?itok=xsC-S82r" width="780" /></div>
The riots that occurred at U.C. Berkeley in response to the planned Milo Yiannopoulos speaking event. Not only did the riots cause the event to be canceled, the <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/13079/domestic-terrorism-hits-uc-berkeley-and-our-media-john-nolte">following</a> also occurred:
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>A woman wearing a &#8220;Make America Great Again&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/janeygak/status/826998516144697344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">pepper sprayed in the face</a></li>
<li>Using metal poles, black-clad thugs <a href="https://twitter.com/KGBVeteran/status/827027135533559812?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">chased down and beat Milo supporters</a></li>
<li>More Trump/Milo supporters <a href="https://twitter.com/kiarafrobles/status/827007290272149505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">pepper sprayed</a>, presumably by <a href="https://twitter.com/alexnazaryan/status/827013815380291586">these same thugs</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/kiarafrobles/status/827029548206133248">Vandalism</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/JxhnBinder/status/827007066615197696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">Property damage</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/OakMorr/status/827023774302117888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">Looting</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/kiarafrobles/status/827035087157858304">Property damage</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://thetab.com/us/uc-berkeley/2017/02/02/exclusive-footage-anarchist-group-smashes-windows-sets-fire-sproul-riots-uc-berkeley-milo-yiannopouloss-talk-cancelled-3244">Physical assault</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/Cernovich/status/827014773942333440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">Physical assault</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/MisterMetokur/status/826991184635654145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">Physical assault</a>.</li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/PhillyD/status/826986245939040256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">Property lit on fire</a>.</li>
<li>Roaming masked-thugs <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnRiversX9/status/827013901439086592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">commit property damage</a>.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
And it doesn&#8217;t appear as if the left-wing violent protests/riots are going to let up anytime soon.
Follow Aaron Bandler on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/bandlersbanter">@bandlersbanter</a>.

Here Are All The Left-Wing Violent Protests Over The Past Several Years

Police

Race

Trump Administration

On Monday, 38-year-old Matthew Apperson, the man who shot at George Zimmerman during a road-rage incident in May of 2015, received a 20-year prison term from a district court in Seminole County, Florida. 
Apperson was convicted of second-degree murder, shooting into a vehicle, and armed aggravated assault last month. 
In court, his defense team argued that he acted in self-defense against Zimmerman. The jury didn&#8217;t buy it. 
&#8220;Zimmerman disputed Apperson&#8217;s claim, testifying that Apperson pulled up next to his pickup and shot him &#8212; the bullet missing and striking the passenger side window. Zimmerman suffered minor injuries from the broken glass,&#8221; <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/10/17/george-zimmerman-matthew-apperson-prison-sentencing/92291518/?utm_source=feedblitz&amp;utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&amp;utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories">reports</a> USA Today. Zimmerman managed to walk away from the incident with only minor injuries.
During the trial, the prosecution cited a 911 call made to Lake Mary Police in 2015. In the recording, you can hear the voice of an unidentified male speaker <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/10/17/george-zimmerman-matthew-apperson-prison-sentencing/92291518/?utm_source=feedblitz&amp;utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&amp;utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories">telling</a> the dispatcher the following:
<blockquote>
A guy just said he had to pull a gun on a guy &#8230; he had to shoot at somebody&#8230;He&#8217;s driving an Infinity. He said it was George Zimmerman.
</blockquote>
The road-rage incident in May of 2015 wasn&#8217;t the first time Zimmerman and Apperson had engaged in an altercation.
&#8220;Back in September 2014, the two men reportedly shouted at each other, with Apperson claiming Zimmerman threatened to kill him during a confrontation in their vehicles. Apperson &#8212; who called the authorities &#8212; decided not to press charges,&#8221; notes USA Today.
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" alt class="media-element file-default" data-fid="12802" data-media-element="1" height="616" src="https://dw-wp-dev.imgix.net/2019/09/george_zimmerman_gi_0.jpg" width="1024" /></div>
Zimmerman first gained notoriety following the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in 2012. The shooting sparked the first embers of the controversial Black Lives Matter movement. 
Although Zimmerman was acquitted of any wrongdoing in a court of law, he was forced to go into hiding after receiving a flood of death threats.
To this day, the half-white, half-Hispanic former neighborhood watchman is widely reviled by the activist-Left and BLM supporters eager to enact revenge. 
Top image (Getty Images): Matthew Apperson is fingerprinted after his sentencing at the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center on Monday morning, Oct. 17, 2016 in Sanford, Fla.

Zimmerman-Apperson trial

The Guy Who Shot At George Zimmerman Just Got Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison

Shooting

Ken Bone, the undecided voter in the now-iconic red sweater, the man who the mainstream media turned into a pop culture sensation after last Sunday&#8217;s presidential debate, has just been found guilty of a ThoughtCrime, and now our Ruling Class has decided he must be personally destroyed in one of their neverending Show Trials.
Gizmodo, a popular science-fiction website owned by the left-wing Spanish-language <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gizmodo">news outlet Univision</a>, discovered that Bone is guilty of the unforgivable crime of agreeing with a Florida jury. Yes, gasp-of-gasps, mild-mannered Bone believes the shooting of Trayvon Martin was &#8212; wait for it, wait for it &#8212; justified.
(NOTE: I will not link the Gizmodo site. Feel free to Google it.)
Bone wrote, quite thoughtfully I should add, that&#8230;
<blockquote>
From what I&#8217;ve read about the case the shooting of Trayvon Martin was justified. &#8230; but from what I&#8217;ve read about Zimmerman &#8230; he is a big ole shit bird. Bad guy legally kills kid in self defense. Sucks for everybody.
</blockquote>
But Univision wasn&#8217;t done. No, now it was time to hold this poor man up to the world and slowly pull off both of his wings. Gizmodo dug up some old Reddit posts where Bone reveals he enjoys porn and sex with his own wife.
You have to give our Ruling Class credit. When it comes to using porn against us, they have managed to have it both ways. If you enjoy porn and sex, you are a pig worthy of public ridicule. If you oppose porn, you are a Puritan ChristianTard.
<blockquote>
My guess is that Bone&#8217;s other sin is his electoral fence-sitting.

</blockquote>
My guess is that Bone&#8217;s other sin is his electoral fence-sitting. Now that Univision knows he sided with that Florida jury, this is a pre-emptive strike against an everyday civilian for fear he might come out and choose Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton.
No one is safe in the media&#8217;s ongoing Social Justice Warrior witchhunt to destroy ThoughtCriminals, not the police, not black neighborhoods, not even an everyday American in a red sweater who takes his civic duty seriously and enjoys sex with his own spouse.
One final note: Haim Saban, the owner of Univision, <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article107565637.html">is a Hillary Clinton supporter with no small amount of sway over her campaign</a>.
See The Matrix.
Buy guns.
Stay ungovernable.

Follow John Nolte on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/NolteNC">@NolteNC</a>

See the Matrix: Why the Elite Media Is Now Destroying Ken Bone

Hillary Clinton

<a href="http://bluelivesmatter.blue/">Blue Lives Matter</a>, a law enforcement organization, is accusing CNN of deceptively editing the cellphone video taken by Keith Lamont Scott&#8217;s widow, Rakeyia Scott, the day her husband was shot by police in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Here&#8217;s CNN&#8217;s edited version of the Scott video:
<iframe loading="lazy" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6jlvHmNh76E" width="560"></iframe>
And here&#8217;s the unedited version (WARNING: Graphic Content):
<iframe loading="lazy" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IPHcTjvw9no" width="560"></iframe>
In the unedited version, police officers can be heard telling Scott to &#8220;drop the gun&#8221; a minimum of 11 times. In the edited version, every single call by the officers to &#8220;drop the gun&#8221; is omitted.
Blue Lives Matter released a <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/10/04/bias-alert-police-group-accuses-cnn-deceptive-edit-charlotte-shooting.html">statement</a> that reads in part:
<blockquote>
&#8220;The editing was clearly intended to give viewers the impression that Scott wasn&#8217;t armed. By intentionally excluding information to promote the false narrative that the officer-involved shooting of Keith Scott was unjustified, CNN directly contributed towards inciting violence and destruction in the Charlotte riots. Innocent citizens were hurt during the Charlotte riots, but editing like this also incites violence against police officers long after the riots are over.&#8221;
</blockquote>
This isn&#8217;t the first time CNN has been accused of selective editing as it relates to race issues.
In August, following the shooting death of Sylville Smith in Milwaukee, CNN played a clip of Smith&#8217;s sister &#8220;<a href="http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/kristine-marsh/2016/08/15/cnn-selectively-edits-police-shooting-victims-sisters-words">calling for peace</a>&#8220;:
<iframe loading="lazy" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_QZNdjEoOHo" width="560"></iframe>
In reality, CNN left out a critical part of Smith&#8217;s words:
<iframe loading="lazy" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ajNyVcXAJxM" width="560"></iframe>
This type of bias by omission isn&#8217;t uncommon. Other media outlets have made similar edits to serve a racism-based narrative.
After George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin in 2012, NBC selectively edited Zimmerman&#8217;s 911 call, making him appear racist:
<iframe loading="lazy" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xf_AtDnVhyA" width="560"></iframe>
NBC <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/trayvon-martin-nbc-news-fires-third-employee-319991">fired three employees</a> after the edit was caught, and Zimmerman filed a <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/trayvon-martin-george-zimmerman/os-george-zimmerman-nbc-suit-dead-20140630-story.html">defamation lawsuit</a> against the network. The suit was eventually dismissed.
Top image (Getty Images): Protesters march in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 23, 2016 following the shooting of Keith Lamont Scott by police three days earlier and subsequent unrest in the city.

Police Group Accuses CNN of Dangerously Deceptive Edit in Charlotte Shooting Video

Charlotte

Keith Scott

Media Bias

CNN contributor and former South Carolina state representative Bakari Sellers described the mothers of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown as &#8220;heroes&#8221; during commentary he provided at last week&#8217;s Republican National Convention (RNC). He drew a parallel between the alleged heroism of the black mothers and the actual heroism of military servicepersons such as Marcus Luttrell, Mark &#8220;Oz&#8221; Geist, and John &#8220;Tig&#8221; Teigen.
Last Tuesday saw the RNC host Luttrell, Geist, and Teigen as featured speakers. Kayleigh McEnany, a supporter of Donald Trump&#8217;s and CNN contributor, heralded the heroism of the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lone-Survivor-Eyewitness-Account-Operation/dp/031632406X">Lone Survivor</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4172430/">Secret Soldiers of Benghazi</a>. Sellers responded by attributing heroism to Sybrina Fulton and Lezley McSpadden, the mothers of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, respectively.
&#8220;I think what we saw tonight was better than seeing celebrities, because we didn&#8217;t see celebrities, we saw real heroes,&#8221; said McEnany. &#8220;We saw Marcus Luttrell, who, his three comrades in battle were killed in front of his very eyes. We saw two men in Benghazi who fought for their lives for thirteen hours. We saw Sheriff Clarke who took to our streets and defended our people every single day. These were real people. These were heroes. It&#8217;s like nothing we&#8217;ve ever seen at a convention.&#8221;
Sellers sought to prime his colleagues for his upcoming racial demagoguery in which he will cast the mothers of Martin, Brown, and other left-wing racial martyrs as &#8220;heroes.&#8221;
&#8220;Next week, when we&#8217;re sitting at the CNN Grill in Philadelphia, we have to use the same standard when you have the <a href="http://fusion.net/story/326016/mothers-of-the-movement-hillary-convention/">Mothers of the Movement</a> go up there, which are real heroes,&#8221; said Sellers. &#8220;Because they lost their sons to unjustifiable violence at the hands of the state. So I mean, you have to be able to use that same standard, and if we do, that&#8217;s fine. I mean, I don&#8217;t mind doing that.&#8221;
None of the panelists challenged Sellers&#8217;s description of the black mothers as heroic.
Hillary Clinton, Democrats, and ideologically-aligned media and cultural figures <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/7588/6-figures-speaking-dnc-who-will-make-you-sick-ben-shapiro">are working with</a> Fulton, McSpadden, and other such mothers as a get-out-the-vote strategy targeting black voters with racial agitation and grievance mongering. 

Follow Robert Kraychik on <a href="https://twitter.com/kr3ch3k">Twitter</a>.
<div class="embed video fluid-video"><iframe loading="lazy" width="480" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c2oTKOynEIY?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>

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