The MAGA right talks about Black Lives Matter as if it’s some sort of equivalency for 1/6.
— Laurel Mac 🇺🇦 (@MAWoodlandLady) October 7, 2022
These talking points have a way of spreading. Let’s correct them every single time.
📚Researchers at Harvard gathered statistics from 7,305 BLM events.
Here’s what they found:
Category: Black Lives Matter
Black Live Matters protests were peaceful
The Trump cult is wrong to compare them to their insurrection.
A reality check.https://t.co/s1pOQoQ5fS
— Dan Rather (@DanRather) June 10, 2021
Trump’s DHS and the right treat Rittenhouse like a hero
He apparently killed two people. He is not a hero.
Kyle Rittenhouse's lawyers see his case as a battle in their own culture war https://t.co/uMsygC7JRN
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) October 5, 2020
Law enforcement officials "were directed to make public comments sympathetic to Kyle Rittenhouse" in internal DHS talking points, NBC reports.
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) October 1, 2020
One of these is that he "took his rifle to the scene of the rioting to help defend small business owners."https://t.co/22kItkeXlB
Christian group raises over $500K for Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse https://t.co/0femJpPHci pic.twitter.com/6b6FUmL76P
— New York Post (@nypost) September 28, 2020
Kyle Rittenhouse, charged with fatally shooting two people and injuring a third last month in Kenosha, got a standing ovation at a Waukesha County Republican event this week. https://t.co/bLhMZekdSx
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 26, 2020
I think a lot about how large parts of America literally worship violent white men. https://t.co/FgAI5oaCME
— Karen Attiah (@KarenAttiah) September 25, 2020
This is insane. https://t.co/VlkIgWzS3s
— Bakari Sellers (@Bakari_Sellers) September 25, 2020
A standing ovation from Wisconsin Republicans for a 17-year-old who traveled to another state, illegally procured an AR-15, and has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide after fatally shooting two protestors. #wileg pic.twitter.com/lWwqRlvhGr
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) September 25, 2020
Kenosha shooter's defense portrays him as 'American patriot' https://t.co/yBxrJQTvvV
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) September 24, 2020
Just here to add my voice to all the black people calling out this racist crap. He's calling for vigilante violence. https://t.co/vpaUCs3dCm
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) September 24, 2020
It is sort of noteable that Biden is repeatedly pressed to respond to and denounce looting and riots that happen at these protests while Kyle Rittenhouse becomes a folk hero on the right and militias now roam the streets of cities.
— Sam Stein (@samstein) September 24, 2020
Fox is defending a mass murdering 17 yo who went into the street with a rifle to shoot unarmed protesters. If you can’t see that Fox is a malignant tumor on the American mind I can’t help you. https://t.co/MVV93BePdl
— Touré (@Toure) September 23, 2020
He brought a semi-automatic ride to a police brutality protest and has been charged with murder https://t.co/lQWFFXrrnX
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) September 23, 2020
Sen. Ron Johnson just said he supports “citizen soldiers” in Kenosha. Kyle Rittenhouse, who murdered 2 people, is a citizen soldier. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/gAe4B2Z4tA
— Mike 🌊 One-Term Trump 🌊 (@thedecider99) August 30, 2020
Even for Trump, it was a morning of especially wild tweets, advancing conspiracy theories claiming a coup against him and an inflated virus death toll while embracing a call to imprison Cuomo and offering support for Kyle Rittenhouse. https://t.co/PlSF8ft3W2
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) August 30, 2020
No justice for Breonna Taylor
What Kentucky did was ridiculous. Support the Louisville Community Bail Fund. I did. See the first tweet below.
The best way to show up from afar for the city of #Louisville and organizers as they face the grand jury decision in the murder of #BreonnaTaylor is to RT their experiences and help fund & share the bail fund. https://t.co/J3scpnAVQK
— brittany packnett cunningham does not do remixes. (@MsPackyetti) September 23, 2020
Correct. That is the state of human rights in Kentucky. https://t.co/mgHsEcreEG
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) September 23, 2020
So no one in Louisville was responsible for killing Breonna Taylor, but the city awarded $12m to her estate? The city must have thought someone did something to settle like that, no?
— Madhulika Sikka (@madhulikasikka) September 23, 2020
There’s an armed group of Trump white supremacists ready to meet them. This is not a drill. Keep your eyes on Louisville. https://t.co/gvTGmR8g5v
— Akilah Hughes (@AkilahObviously) September 23, 2020
That sums up what Black people are feeling at this moment all over the country about the American promise of equal justice and full citizenship. https://t.co/74OrL1tVtK
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@Sifill_LDF) September 23, 2020
The sobs.
— John Eligon (@jeligon) September 23, 2020
That’s what’s sticking with me here in Louisville as I see the reaction to the Breonna Taylor announcement. I’ve covered a lot of these but I don’t remember ever seeing this much hurt, this much crying from protesters.
Daniel Cameron just called Breonna Taylor’s death “part of a national story.” No, man. Her death is a robbery. Those officers robbed her of her life. They robbed her family and her boyfriend of their loved one. They robbed Louisville of a first responder. Who elected this man?
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) September 23, 2020
Bear in mind that the prosecutor presents information to the grand jury.
— Adrienne Lawrence (@AdrienneLaw) September 23, 2020
It's not a public proceeding, so we don't know what Louisville prosecutors said to those jurors about Breonna Taylor's murder.
But we do know that this indictment is pathetic in light of the evidence.
Celebrities spoke out about the Breonna Taylor case https://t.co/e5VlFvCFkr
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) September 23, 2020
What a racist, bottomlessly narcissistic piece of shit Donald Trump is https://t.co/4fyz8oOWDC
— Daniel Gilmore (@gilmored85) September 23, 2020
Surreal scene here on Bardstown Road in Louisville….100 police officers with lights and riot gear on…Protesters around the streets
— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) September 23, 2020
And then an Ice Cream truck drives up with its music playing right in the middle
A woman scream “READ THE ROOM ICE CREAM MAN!!!!”
Nobody will stand trial in the death of Breonna Taylor because that's the way things work in the world created by our misbegotten "war" on drugs, a world in which very few of us live, and that even fewer of us understand. https://t.co/BeZXli74Qd
— Charles P. Pierce (@CharlesPPierce) September 23, 2020
Cameron is not, to my mind, a “sellout.” He’s just a tool. A tool of the White supremacist system unable or unwilling to oppose it. He didn’t betray anybody because ain’t nobody who knows what he’s about counted on him to be any better than he is.
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) September 23, 2020
— Maya Wiley (@mayawiley) September 23, 2020
Police in Louisville tonight pic.twitter.com/t262TgTc5W
— Shimon Prokupecz (@ShimonPro) September 23, 2020
This has become a national phenomenon with enormous dangers going forward: https://t.co/ePaopRCJTE
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) September 23, 2020
So it turns out they can arrest someone without waiting six months? https://t.co/VxND9K9e5w
— John Iadarola (@johniadarola) September 23, 2020
Take note that the (Democratic) prosecutors who whiffed the ball on grand juries for Tamir Rice and Michael Brown were subsequently voted out of their jobs. Just leaving that right there for ole Mr. Cameron. #getthisdance
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) September 23, 2020
Another misleading Trump ad
This is the supporter of Biden and Black Lives Matter who appeared in a Trump ad, cleaning up after violence while a narrator extolled Trump's greatness. He's speaking up. Backstory here: https://t.co/G6rTVS6NdL https://t.co/EhoqxO2rSO
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) September 6, 2020
More than 80 black people have been killed by police since Breonna Taylor died in March
The Black lives that don’t make headlines still matter https://t.co/dpJCRxm0EV
— Vox (@voxdotcom) September 5, 2020
The right wing is treating the Kenosha killer as a hero
He murdered two people. He is not a hero. Trump defended him. So did Trump.,Jr.
“We all do stupid things at 17.” — Donald Trump Jr.https://t.co/itzTtwNGTt
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) September 9, 2020
I'm flabbergasted by this. #KyleRittenhouse killed two people and blew the arm off a third, and this #GOP politician praises him for "restraint".
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) September 6, 2020
America, what the hell is going on here? https://t.co/5gEPdZg5RT
Kyle Rittenhouse’s attorney resigns after @willsommer expose. https://t.co/TRk676TDo8
— Noah Shachtman (@NoahShachtman) September 5, 2020
Now that MORE Boogaloo Bois are charged for working with terrorists, here is a quick reminder that there was a story last week connecting
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) September 5, 2020
the boogaloo bois to Killer Kyle Rittenhouse, hero of Fox News https://t.co/wMk21NGAVv
Kyle Rittenhouse's attorney argued in now-deleted tweets that the Kenosha shooter is the first hero of a new American Revolution https://t.co/WcojUWbbCA
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 5, 2020
"The fetishization of Kyle Rittenhouse by some people on the right is one of the most dangerous, irresponsible actions we have witnessed in a long time."https://t.co/cVNtWab1Uw
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) September 2, 2020
The United States Of America 2020 in one tweet: pic.twitter.com/5nzy9saxhM
— Tom Morello (@tmorello) September 1, 2020
“He’s a hero.” “Free him! Free Kyle”
— Christopher Cadelago (@ccadelago) September 2, 2020
Move over McCloskeys, the right & MAGA set has a new cause célèbre facing far more serious charges: Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old accused of killing two men & wounding another in Kenosha
w/ @natashakorecki https://t.co/jQxEhg08DB
There it is. https://t.co/lT5zt2gYQF
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) September 1, 2020
Rittenhouse drove to Kenosha from Illinois carrying an illegal weapon and shot three people. We already know he wasn’t a law-abiding citizen trying to protect anything. https://t.co/bM1GMptmxl
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) September 1, 2020
Trump on Kyle Rittenhouse: "That was an interesting situation. You saw the same tape as I saw, and he was trying to get away from, it looks like, and he fell. And then they very violently attacked him… But I guess he was in very big trouble. He probably would have been killed."
— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) August 31, 2020
During this news conference, the president is resolutely refusing to condemn supporters who have shot at protestors, and is in fact defending them.
— Michael Barbaro (@mikiebarb) August 31, 2020
President Trump is now saying Kyle Rittenhouse might have been killed if he didn't shoot three people — killing two. He said the Trump administration is looking at the case.
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) August 31, 2020
That was quite a statement.
Some will no doubt see that as Trump justifying Rittenhouse's actions.
Everything about the vigilante shooting in Kenosha is infuriating, but among the most galling is how benignly the shooter was treated by police, before and after he started acting like he too had the power of life and death over anyone he chose. https://t.co/QTK1CvyrPG
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) August 27, 2020
We don't know why the shooter in Kenosha opened fire. We don't even know why he was there with his rifle. But we do know that his being there is the direction in which a lot of recent rhetoric has pointed, including on Monday night. https://t.co/HxoqEheFLv
— Philip Bump (@pbump) August 27, 2020
93% of of racial justice protests have been peaceful
The media overemphasizes the violence and the looting because they are more photogenic on TV.
About 93% of racial justice protests in the US since the death of George Floyd have been peaceful and nondestructive, according to a new report https://t.co/wLtHdlqF2s
— CNN (@CNN) September 5, 2020
93 percent of protests nonviolent. This is an important read from a sweeping report https://t.co/bQ0Xp0UiNv
— Margaret Sullivan (@Sulliview) September 4, 2020
Right-wing extremists and evangelicals raising money for Kenosha killer
It’s unbelievable that people would support a kid who apparently murdered two people. Trump won’t disown him either. He went to a Trump rally.
“Christian” fundraising site @GiveSendGo has earned over $250,000 for #Kenosha killer Kyle Rittenhouse.
— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) August 31, 2020
So #evangelicals have gone from turning a blind eye to #racism to raising money for a murderer? And if you’re pro-life, why raise money for a killer? https://t.co/ije0yRKY3o
The same Christians who lynched Black people after church Sunday morning. https://t.co/QGXf8txf0M
— Benjamin Dixon (@BenjaminPDixon) August 30, 2020
Trump liked a tweet describing Kyle Rittenhouse, a supporter of his who is charged with murdering two protesters in Kenosha, as “a good example of why I decided to vote for Trump” pic.twitter.com/aqIACrwIb8
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 30, 2020
While Tucker Carlson is praising the Kenosha killer – here is his boy Kyle Rittenhouse sucker punching a GIRL a few months back…pic.twitter.com/wgOeUQdVDC
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) August 29, 2020
Trump had a chance to condemn murderer Kyle Rittenhouse. He didn't.
— Wajahat "Wears a Mask Because of a Pandemic" Ali (@WajahatAli) August 29, 2020
There it is.
Like the McCloskeys, charged with unlawful use of weapon after they aimed guns at protestors, he is now a Republican icon.
This is the present & future of the party. White vigilante violence.
Maryland official fired over social media posts defending teen shooting suspect in Wisconsin https://t.co/wgTtRFvkbe
— WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore (@wbaltv11) August 29, 2020
ASU student group College Republicans United is raising funds for Kenosha protest shooter Kyle Rittenhouse. The group told an @azcentral reporter “they do not speak to journalists with pronouns on their Twitter page" and to "get a real job.” https://t.co/U87WUCvqC3
— Rachel Leingang 🌵 (@rachelleingang) August 29, 2020
College Republicans, a GOP candidate, and conservative media are all proudly supporting a teenager who shot and killed Black Lives Matter protesters.
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) August 29, 2020
The fact that elements of one political party openly support extrajudicial killings is terrifying, and will only lead to more. pic.twitter.com/H8XHUPfnsy
Further evidence @realDonaldTrump is fanning the flames of violence. https://t.co/sZSPSyjxKd
— Brian J. Karem (@BrianKarem) August 31, 2020
Vigilante violence in Kenosha
The police didn’t prevent it. Facebook did nothing. The right wing complains about the protestors but ignore the white vigilantes with guns in Kenosha, Idaho, Michigan and elsewhere.
If you’re wondering why the white kid who shot & killed multiple protestors could walk calmly to police immediately after without getting apprehended, here he is minutes earlier going up to their armored trucks to get water they offered him & his armed militia crew. https://t.co/KHUfCxOJDG
— Malaika Jabali (@MalaikaJabali) August 26, 2020
Every American needs to watch and share the words of Letetra Widman – Jacob Blake’s sister.
— Nick Knudsen 🇺🇸 (@DemWrite) August 26, 2020
“I'm not sad. I stopped crying years ago. I‘ve been watching police murder people who look like me for years," she said. "I don't want your pity, I want change." pic.twitter.com/A9CM5ryFX9
BREAKING: Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, of Antioch, IL, has been charged with first-degree murder in Kenosha, Wisconsin, according to Lake County, Illinois Clerk of Courts records https://t.co/8SxvbgrfFe pic.twitter.com/kBoz6RwUJB
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) August 26, 2020
This is Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, an Illinois resident who was just charged with first-degree murder of two people last night in Kenosha, Wisconsin. This teen, whose social media history is full of misogyny and white supremacy, had easy access to an AR-15.
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) August 26, 2020
pic.twitter.com/OsfXzSHy5M
It is being reported that the shooter is a 17 year old who drove to #Kenosha from Antioch, Illinois with an AR-15 looking for trouble. He murdered 2 people and wounded a man who will lose his arm as a result.
— Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) August 26, 2020
Where is @realDonaldTrump complaining about outside agitators? pic.twitter.com/dBaF7R88zK
It is what it is https://t.co/nQZZQdmsSB
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) August 26, 2020
At least two Facebook users reported the Kenosha Guard account for inciting violence prior to the killings. In each case, the group and its counter-protest event were examined by Facebook moderators and found not to be in violation, the Verge reports.https://t.co/uYnJz4Aroi
— Hamza Shaban (@hshaban) August 26, 2020
"Footage from the Des Moines, Iowa rally on January 30 show Rittenhouse feet away from the president, in the front row, to the left of the podium. He posted a TikTok video from the event."https://t.co/JBHmzoyKmN
— Hamed Aleaziz (@Haleaziz) August 26, 2020
Facebook let a self styled militia group use the platform to organize and promote an event in Wisconsin last night.
— Donie O'Sullivan (@donie) August 26, 2020
They have a huge platform, but surely they should have special teams monitoring for stuff like this around hugely volatile situations like this.
I can’t recall any pairing of events as closely-comparable-yet-starkly-different:
— James Fallows (@JamesFallows) August 26, 2020
-Black man is shot in the back 7 times, while getting in car w his kids;
-White youth carrying AR-15 walks away, after killing people.
By the same police force, in the same town, in the same week.
Baby hands and forearms on an AR-15. Rittenhouse will be tried as an adult for his actions, as he should be. He pulled the trigger. But millions of Americans are complicit in the policies that put such a weapon into such hands and left two families so preventably bereaved. pic.twitter.com/3CPhpjHH4O
— David Frum (@davidfrum) August 26, 2020
Sad! 