Category: The Current Situation

Tap the tweet to see the source.

This tweet’s from a couple of years ago, but it’s still just as valid today, as people like the (former) co-owner of Nocturnal Hospitality Group have learned.

Photo by Grace Jensen. Tap to see the source.

When faced down by racist manbaby Jay Snowden at a Black Lives Matter protest in Whitefish, Montana, Samantha Francine pushed up her sunglasses so she could stare right back at him, eye-to-eye, even as he loomed over her with clenched fist and threatening posture. But she did not back down.

Here’s a video of Snowden’s tirade:

According to the report from NBC Montana:

He uses several expletives, knocks signs out of protesters’ hands and yells at an apparent clergyman before police take him away. The crowd around him chants “peaceful!” continuously throughout the nearly 3-minute video.

The man who caught the encounter on video tells NBC Montana it was totally peaceful up until that moment. He says Snowden drove by and flipped off the crowd the night before also.

From the statement issued by the Whitefish police:

Protests over the death of George Floyd have been ongoing in Whitefish since Monday night. Crowds of approximately 60 to 70 individuals have been peacefully protesting adjacent to Whitefish City Hall and at 2nd and Spokane. During last night’s protest an individual became confrontational with the protestors and police intervened, removing the individual from the scene. The subject, Jay Snowden 51 of Whitefish, was charged with one count of disorderly conduct this morning after Whitefish Police consulted with the Whitefish city prosecutor. Snowden has an initial court date of June 17, 2020.

If the name “Whitefish, Montana” rings a bell, it’s because neo-nazi, mentor to Trump senior advisor Stephen Miller, and professional speedbag Richard Spencer is at least a part-time resident. Here’s a Guardian article about it, and here’s a CNN report:

Tap the screenshot to see the source video.

Also covered in Media Matters: Fox News compares stock market performance after high-profile cases of police brutality and violence against Black men.

Found via Oliver Willis.

Tap the image to see it at full size.

Thanks to Mitch Wagner for the find!

The Buffalo-based NPR station WBFO posted the video above and reported this story last night:

Shortly after Buffalo’s curfew started Thursday evening, city police and State Police swept through the area of Niagara Square directly in front of City Hall to clear the area where a protest was finishing. An unidentified, 75-year-old man was shoved by two officers in the line. The man lost his balance and fell to the pavement, audibly hitting his head with blood running out from under his head.

A Buffalo Police spokesman issued a statement at 8:50 p.m. Thursday saying “a 5th person was arrested during a skirmish with other protestors and also charged with disorderly conduct. During that skirmish involving protestors, one person was injured when he tripped & fell.“

It happened:

• In a public place — in Niagara Square, just outside Buffalo’s city hall,
• In front of many witnesses, including the person who shot the video, and
• In front of a number of journalists…

…and yet the Buffalo Police Department’s first statement was to say that the man “tripped & fell” at 8:50 p.m..

At 9:13 p.m., WBFO posted the video above, showing the the police’s statement was a lie. Shortly afterwards, the police announced that they were starting an Internal Affairs investigation and that the two officers involved were immediately suspended without pay.

This morning, the Buffalo Police are “explaining” the “tripped & fell” statement — they’re backpedaling so hard that it might count as cardio. If only they put as much effort into doing their jobs properly.