Hurricane Laura toppled Louisiana Confederate statue that local officials had voted to keep
LAKE CHARLES, Louisiana — Just days ago, officials in Louisiana’s Calcasieu Parish voted not to move a Confederate statue from its prominent place in front of the courthouse. Then Hurricane Laura came along and toppled it.
The South’s Defenders Monument was knocked off its pedestal as the Category 4 monster swept through the southwestern Louisiana parish. On Thursday morning it could be seen lying on its side next to its still-standing base – broken tree branches strewn on the grass around it – as a steady stream of onlookers took photos.
Dozens of similar statues are scattered across the United States, mostly in the South, and many are conspicuously located in front of courthouses or in the town square.
Residents against removal argue the monuments are pieces of Southern heritage that are historically educational and honor fallen relatives. But opponents insist they are brutal reminders of slavery and Black oppression.
Officials in many cities and states have decided to remove Confederate statues from places of honor over the past few months amid nationwide protests against racial inequality and police brutality. New Orleans took a similar step to remove four controversial monuments in 2017.
The statue in Lake Charles was dedicated on June 3, 1915, according to the American Press. The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, the parish’s governing body, voted Aug. 13 to keep the monument in its place after a sometimes heated public debate involving parish residents.
One of them, Lois Malveaux, spoke in favor of the statue’s removal.
“The Confederate soldiers were in favor of slavery. Being a Black woman, the pain is real in my soul. God is destroying all evil symbols of hatred across the world,” she told the jurors, according to the newspaper.
via: https://abc13.com/confederate-statue-toppled-hurricane-laura-calcasieu-parish-louisiana/6393564/
Photo Credit: usatoday.com
Kyle Rittenhouse Defended Himself, ‘Did Nothing Wrong,’ Attorney Says
The attorneys representing Kyle Rittenhouse, the Antioch 17-year-old charged with the shooting deaths of two protesters in Kenosha, released a statement Friday night, saying the teen “did nothing wrong” and acted in self-defense.
Earlier in the day, a judge agreed to delay for a month a decision on whether Rittenhouse should be returned to Wisconsin to face charges.
Rittenhouse faces five felony charges, including first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree reckless homicide, and a misdemeanor charge for possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor.
Rittenhouse, a white teen who was armed with a semi-automatic rifle as he walked Kenosha’s streets with other armed civilians during this week’s protests, would face a mandatory life sentence if convicted of first-degree intentional homicide. Under Wisconsin law, anyone 17 or older is treated as an adult in the criminal justice system.
According to Pierce Brainbridge, the lawfirm representing the Antioch teen, on the day of the shooting, the 17-year-old worked as a community lifeguard in Kenosha, and later on, he went to the local public high school to remove graffiti.
Many buildings were tagged with graffiti and several were destroyed when unrest ensued in the days following the shooting of Jacob Blake by a Kenosha police officer.
On Tuesday, according to attorneys, Rittenhouse and a friend received information about a call for help from a local business owner, whose downtown Kenosha auto dealership was largely destroyed and needed help protecting his business. Kyle and the friend armed themselves with rifles and headed to the business.
The attorneys stated that protesters threatened and taunted Rittenhouse several times as he and his friend stood guard at the business. They claim the 17-year-old became concerned about protesters injured in clashes with police, and went to provide first aid, according to NBC affiliate WTMJ in Milwaukee.
Rittenhouse eventually made his way toward a second auto shop where he was confronted by protesters, according to a news release.
“Upon the sound of a gunshot behind him, Kyle turned and was immediately faced with an attacker lunging towards him and reaching for his rifle,” the attorneys said. “He reacted instantaneously and justifiably with his weapon to protect himself, firing and striking the attacker.”
Kyle stopped to ensure care for the wounded person, but faced a “growing mob,” according to the lawfirm.
“In fear for his life and concerned the crowd would either continue to shoot at him or even use his own weapon against him, Kyle had no choice but to fire multiple rounds towards his immediate attackers, striking two, including one armed attacker,” the statement from the lawfirm added.
The lawyers contend the 17-year-old “exercised his God-given, Constitutional, common law and statutory law right to self-defense.”
““A 17-year old child should not have to take up arms in America to protect life and property,” the statement read. “That is the job of state and local governments. However, those governments have failed, and law-abiding citizens have no choice but to protect their own communities…”
Photo Credit: nbcchicago.com
‘Black Panther’ star Chadwick Boseman dies of cancer at 43
Actor Chadwick Boseman, who played Black icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown before finding fame as the regal Black Panther in the Marvel cinematic universe, died Friday of cancer, his representative said. He was 43.
Boseman died at his home in the Los Angeles area with his wife and family by his side, his publicist Nicki Fioravante told The Associated Press.
Boseman was diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago, his family said in a statement.
“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much,” his family said in the statement. “From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and several more- all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy. It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther.”
Boseman had not spoken publicly about his diagnosis.
via: https://variety.com/2020/film/news/chadwick-boseman-dead-dies-black-panther-1234753232/
Photo Credit: Washington Post
White woman slapped black child, used racial slur at Florida park
A white woman in Florida slapped an 11-year-old black child in the face and called him a racial slur when he crashed into her from behind on a go-kart track, police said.
Haley Erin Zager, 30, of Lantana, told police in Boca Raton she had stopped her ride at Boomers amusement park on Saturday when another go-kart rear-ended at “full speed,” according to an arrest report obtained by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Zager said she then “tapped” the boy’s face when he didn’t apologize, police said.
Zager admitted to police she shouldn’t have struck the boy, but told an employee at the amusement park after the crash that the “f–king n—-r” hit her in the back, according to the arrest report.
Three employees at the park saw Zager hit the youngster after getting out of her go-kart, police said.
The boy’s father said the crash occurred after another go-kart rammed into a row of vehicles on the track, setting off a chain of collisions sending the boy’s cart into Zager’s, police said.
Another boy at the park said Zager slapped the 11-year-old child with an open palm before telling a bystander “the n—-r hit me,” according to the arrest report.
The 11-year-old recalled the same version of events leading up to the crash, saying his go-kart was unintentionally pushed into the woman’s. He told police he didn’t hear what she said because he was so startled by being slapped by the woman, the arrest report states.
The boy, who had swelling on his left cheek, was treated by paramedics at the scene who gave him an ice pack, the newspaper reports.
Zager, who was charged with second-degree felony child abuse, admitted to officers that she hit the boy, but denied using the slur, court records show.
Police said they also found an Altoids tin packed with various pills in Zager’s underwear during a search as she was arrested. She was also charged with four counts of drug possession for the prescription pills, according to the arrest report.
Zager, who was released from jail Monday, declined comment when reached Tuesday by the Palm Beach Post, the newspaper reports.
With Post wires
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/27/white-woman-called-black-child-racial-slur-in-florida-cops/
Photo Credit: Palm Beach County Sherrif’s Office
Store owner sobs after business of 40 years is burned down during Kenosha riots
A business owner sobbed uncontrollably after seeing her furniture store reduced to ashes during the fiery protests sparked by Jacob Blake’s police shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
“It’s all gone … we didn’t do nothing to nobody,” Linda Carpenter said while comforted by her son, Scott, as they surveyed their completely destroyed B & L Office Furniture, which had been in business for 40 years and was “still burning,” she said.
“I don’t think it’s justifiable for anyone to destroy anybody else’s property,” she told Town Hall reporter Julio Rosas Tuesday.
Her son said that although they were covered by insurance, it “isn’t there so somebody can destroy your things.”
“It’s basically theft. Whoever did this stole from us,” he said.
Protesters started torching cars and businesses hours after video first emerged of local dad Blake, 29, getting shot several times in the back by a local officer Sunday.
Stores were also looted — forcing a local gaming business to announce it was having to close up for good because of it.
“Everything in the store was taken and the place was destroyed. For a business that was struggling to get back to normal and pushing through these hard times we will not be able to come back from this,” the Gravity Gaming Lounge announced on Facebook.
“The damage to our building and the cost to replace the exterior damage and to top it off to replace everything stolen is going to be catastrophic … at this point we will be closing down completely.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/26/kenosha-store-owner-in-tears-as-she-sees-business-burnt-to-ground/
Photo Credit: Courtesy TMJ4
Covington Catholic graduate from viral protest video speaks at RNC, slams mainstream media and states “our president, Donald Trump, has distinguished himself as the most pro-life president in the history of our country”
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Kentucky teenager known for video of his interaction with a Native American man at the Lincoln Memorial last year said Tuesday that the “full war machine of the mainstream media revved up into attack mode” against him without knowing all the facts.
Nick Sandmann told the virtual Republican National Convention that he believes news outlets were driven by “anti-Christian, anti-conservative, anti-Donald Trump” bias in reporting on the incident.
“And if advancing their narrative ruined the reputation and future of a teenager from Covington, Kentucky, well, so be it,” Sandmann said in a pre-recorded message from the Lincoln Memorial.
He was among the students from Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, Kentucky, who participated in an anti-abortion march in Washington in January 2019. Sandmann said that after the demonstration, he purchased and donned a red “Make America Great Again” cap “because our president, Donald Trump, has distinguished himself as the most pro-life president in the history of our country.”
The students were on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial when footage showed Sandmann in his cap and interacting with Nathan Phillips, who was participating in a separate demonstration supporting Native American rights. It spread quickly online.
Both Sandmann and Phillips later said they were trying to defuse tensions among groups that had held competing demonstrations. Video of the encounter showed Sandmann and Phillips standing very close to each other, with Sandmann staring, and at times smiling, at Phillips as Phillips sang and played a drum.
Sandmann on Tuesday said that he was mistakenly portrayed as “the aggressor with a ‘relentless smirk’ on my face.” Sandmann said that he actually kept his hands behind his back and smiled so as not to “further agitate” Phillips, or embarrass his family or school.
Sandmann later settled lawsuits he filed against CNN and other media outlets. At the convention, he blamed the rush to judgment against him on “cancel culture,” which Trump and some Republicans have cast as a phenomenon pushed by Democrats that seeks to eradicate non-politically correct aspects of American life.
“But I would not be canceled,” said Sandmann, who pulled on a red “Make America Great Again” cap as he finished his address. “I fought back hard to expose the media for what they did to me and I won a personal victory.”
He spoke on the same night as first lady Melania Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as the convention focused on many hot-button issues, including abortion and Middle East policy, and portrayed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden as too extreme to win November’s election.
Still, Sandmann’s appearance, and that of speakers like Maine lobster fisherman Jason Joyce and Mark and Patricia McCloskey — the white couple facing felony charges for waving guns during a recent Black Lives Matter protest in St. Louis — have offered a GOP counter to some of the everyday Americans who spoke via the internet during last week’s Democratic National Convention.
Those praising Biden included New York security guard Jacquelyn Brittany, whose interaction with the former vice president in an elevator went viral, and Kristin Urquiza, whose Trump-supporting father died of coronavirus. Brayden Harrington, 13, talked about working to overcome his stutter with support from Biden, who had a severe stutter himself as a child.
Photo: kmov.com
Elderly man defending store during Kenosha riots has jaw broken
An elderly man’s jaw was broken in a sickening caught-on-camera attack as he tried to protect a store that was eventually torched during the Kenosha protests, according to reports
The man — only identified as Robert and in his 70s — ran toward a mattress store where he works and used a fire extinguisher to chase away arsonists who broke in Monday night during protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, his bosses told Fox6.
“They just threw a bottle at this guy,” a woman filming a now-viral video complained — seconds before a man dressed all in black ran up and knocked him down with a punch to the head.
“No! No! No!” the videographer repeatedly cried as the senior collapsed to the ground, leaving a woman crying hysterically.
He was shown with blood all over the right side of his face as a small group raced to give first aid. “Turn his head … he’s drowning on his blood!” someone warned.
“He was trying to defend his building and they beat the s–t out of him!” the videographer sobbed in the clip.
“We need to move him across the street because his building is on fire,” she warned, begging someone to call 911.
“He didn’t deserve any of this — any of it!” she screamed, as at least one Black Lives Matter protester argued with her.
His bosses at the store later told Fox6 that they “broke his jaw” and left him with “lacerations to his head” — and completed destroyed their business which was razed in one of numerous fires across the city.
“We support the protest — we don’t support this shit, though,” store owner Keith McCoy told the local station.
The man will survive, they said. Fox6 said police did not reveal if arrests have been made for the attack.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/26/elderly-man-defending-store-during-kenosha-riots-has-jaw-broken/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
BLM protesters accost white diners for not raising fists
A group of young Black Lives Matters protesters harassed several white diners in Washington, DC, on Monday night for not raising their fists in solidarity.
One of the dramatic scenes, which has since gone viral, was captured by Washington Post reporter Fredrick Kunkle and posted to Twitter.
The video shows a crowd of young, mainly white demonstrators closely surrounding and berating the woman, identified as Lauren Victor.
“White silence is violence!” the crowd screamed. “Put your fist up!” others yelled.
Victor, an urban planner sitting across from another white woman who was raising her right fist, told Kunkle she felt like she was under attack.
“In the moment, it didn’t feel right,” she told the reporter.
“I wasn’t actually frightened. I didn’t think they’d do anything to me,” Victor said. “I’m very much with them. I’ve been marching with them for weeks and weeks and weeks.”
A similar scene played out at at least one other DC restaurant Monday night, where protesters targeted a young white couple.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/25/blm-protesters-harass-white-diners-for-not-raising-fists-in-dc/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Florida man who thought COVID-19 was a hoax loses wife to virus
A Florida man who believed COVID-19 was a “fake crisis” before he fell sick himself has lost his wife to the virus.
Brian Hitchens and his wife, Erin, were both skeptical of the virus before she died this month of heart problems linked to the illness, BBC reported.
The Jupiter couple ignored recommendations to wear masks when the virus spread through the US — believing the pandemic had been “blown out of proportion.”
“I thought it was maybe the government trying something, and it was kind of like they threw it out there to kinda distract us,” Hitchens told news station WPTV.
He continued to downplay the pandemic until he began feeling sick, the outlet reported. A few days later, his wife also began experiencing symptoms.
When their conditions worsened, they went to Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center.
“They admitted us right away and we both went to ICU. I started feeling better within a few days but my wife got worse to the point where they sedated her and put her on the ventilator,” he wrote in a lengthy Facebook post in May.
Hitchens continued saying that he wished that he had begun listening to health experts’ advice sooner.
“Looking back I should have wore a mask in the beginning but I didn’t and perhaps I’m paying the price for it now but I know that if it was me that gave it to my wife I know that she forgives me and I know that God forgives me,” he said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/25/florida-man-who-believed-covid-19-was-a-hoax-loses-wife-to-virus/
Photo Credit: facebook
Illinois teen Kyle Rittenhouse charged in fatal shooting of two Kenosha protesters
A 17-year-old Illinois man has been charged in the shooting death of two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, late Tuesday, according to a report.
Kyle Rittenhouse has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Molly Beck posted on Twitter Wednesday.
He was part of the group of armed men at the scene. We have been identifying them as a local militia group. Rittenhouse hails from Antioch, Illinois — about 12 miles away across state lines.
Dramatic video and images from the Wisconsin city show an armed man — allegedly Rittenhouse — walking down the street with protesters in pursuit after one man was shot in the head, according to reports.
The gunman stumbles and is attacked by protesters, then opens fire and strikes two more people.
The shooting came on the third night of unrest in the city of 100,000 in the wake of Jacob Blake’s shooting by police on Sunday.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/26/illinois-teen-charged-in-fatal-shooting-of-2-kenosha-rioters/
Photo Credit: nypost.com