Tag: black lives matter
Man Considered FBI’s First ‘Black Identity Extremist’ Speaks Out After Being Jailed, In Part, Over Facebook Post
“I hope to live in a society where the federal government will actually work in the best interest of the people, and not work in interest of oppressing people.”
Article via: Blativity.com
The feds labeling outspoken black activists as terrorists is nothing new. Malcolm X, Huey P. Newton, Martin Luther King Jr. are just a few civil rights leaders who were closely monitored and penalized by the government for exercising their first amendment rights.
More recently, Rakem Balogun was targeted by the FBI, labeled a terrorist and yanked from his home in December 2017 as he and his 15-year-old slept — all because of a Facebook post.
In response to Micah Johnson’s July 2016 rampage, in which he shot and killed five Dallas officers following the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, Balogun took to Facebook to share his sentiments.
According to an interview with Mic in episode 1 of the “Mic Dispatch” Facebook series, he wrote, “One man named Micah X brought the whole Dallas pig department to its knees, protesting police terrorism, and I stand with him.”
Balogun, whose real name is Christopher Daniels, was held in jail and denied bail over a period of five months. He was released in May when the case flopped, as prosecutors were unable to prove the activist is a terrorist. Because, innocent.
Michael German, a fellow with the Brennan Center for Justice, told Mic, “the only evidence prosecution and the judge would have had to justify holding him, was his political activity and online rhetoric, which seemed to be punishment for him, rather than an attempt to protect the public.”
The Texas activist is reportedly the first person prosecuted under the name Black Identity Extremist, according to The Guardian.
BIE was initiated in a U.S. government assessment following Johnson’s deadly rampage.
Little did the social justice warrior know, utilizing his freedom of speech (as a black man) would lead to a series of unfortunate events and run-ins with law enforcement. This would not only cause him to lose his house, car and job, but also his peace of mind.
“Ever since that moment, we have not been able to gain our peace back,” Balogun told Mic.
Mic✔@mic
The police arrested Balogun in a late-night raid on his home, and the event has taken a toll not just on Balogun but also on his family. http://bit.ly/2JwybtU pic.twitter.com/BcX12PcIYI
Mic✔@mic
“You know I’ve lost my job, my apartment, my car, you know, I lost the cohesiveness of my family and my children. And so, you know, every day it’s just a day of me trying to slowly regain that.” — Rakem Balogun http://bit.ly/2LrKglV pic.twitter.com/UoARoIjNnl
In his interview, Balogun tries to clear up the intent behind his support of Johnson.
“I can see why people would misconstrue that,” he said. “I do have the first amendment right to express my opinion — I have the first amendment right to support someone who possibly killed somebody, and I have the right to not empathize with the dead, just like everyone else in this country.”
While this is all true, it’s even more important to understand he has the right to not be racially profiled. What the label BIE does, and what many black activists fear, is it can spark a ripple effect of the persecution of outspoken, black community leaders.
Balogun is the co-founder of two local Texas organizations: Guerrilla Mainframe and the Huey P. Newton Gun Club; both fight against police brutality, and for the rights of black gun owners. Ultimately, a black man fighting for his rights, is a threat to our government.
But justice will eventually prevail, and we will never be silenced, because as Balogun said: “We’re going to keep our foot on the gas and keep moving forward.”
Four Years Later NYPD Prepares to Discipline Cop in Eric Garner’s Death
This article was originally written The Roots by Michael Harriot
1,462 days after Eric Garner wheezed the words “I can’t breathe” before giving up the ghost on a Staten Island sidewalk, the New York Police Department has decided to discipline Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer whose arms just happened to be wrapped around Garner’s neck at the time.
Well … maybe
“Based on our most recent conversations, it has become clear that a definite date by which time a final decision by the U.S. DOJ will be rendered in this matter cannot be predicted,” wrote Lawrence Byrne, the deputy commissioner for legal matters for the NYPD.
According to the Associated Press, Byrne sent a letter to the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, stating: “The NYPD has come to the conclusion that given the extraordinary passage of time since the incident without a final decision on the U.S. DOJ’s criminal investigation, any further delay in moving ahead with our own disciplinary proceedings can no longer be justified.”
On July 14, 2014, Eric Garner died from what the New York City Medical Examiner termed: “Compression of neck, compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police.”
Despite having had 18 allegations of some sort of abuse or misconduct in 14 separate incidents before his encounter with Garner, that police officer, Daniel Pantaleo, is still employed as a police officer earning a six-figure salary after a grand jury declined to indict him in 2014.
Leaked Documents Reveal How the NYPD Ignored Abusive History of the Cop Who Killed Eric Garner
After the incident, President Barack Obama’s attorney general, Loretta Lynch, instructed prosecutors to begin building a case for indictment. But Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has been hesitant to push for prosecution since his boss and CEO of the Keebler elf empire, Jeff Sessions, announced that his Justice Department would not continue the practice of punishing police officers, because it leads to”racial animosity.”
Now the NYPD says it will no longer wait for federal prosecutors and will hand the case over to its Civilian Complaint Review Board. The Department uses CCRB as an “impartial agency that has been independent of the police department since 1993” to review civilian complaints against police.
It is composed of nonpolice investigators who conduct investigations in cases of unnecessary or excessive force, abuse of authority or discourtesy. In theory, it is more effective to have people outside the police department oversee these kinds of allegations.
Although the NYPD typically waits for prosecutors to settle a case before handing it over to the CCRB, the Justice Department says it told the NYPD months ago that the CCRB could move forward, adding that the DOJ “does not have any bearing on the decision-making timeline.”
So four years and a day after Eric Garner was killed; three years, 5 days after the City of New York agreed to pay the family $5.9 million and seven months after the death of his daughter, Erica Garner, someone finally decided to discipline the man who “compressed” Garner to death.
But the most ridiculous response surrounding this news came from Pat Lynch, head of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association who wrote, in a statement, that Daniel Pantaleo, the man who handed Eric Garner a sidewalk death sentence, is “entitled to due process and an impartial consideration of the facts.”
I laughed so hard…
I couldn’t breathe.
READ MORE FROM THE ROOT
Black Lives DON’T Matter TYT Cenk and Ana
LOVE THESE TWO!! They tell the TRUTH
3 women arrested after using bathroom in restaurant claim racial discrimination
Three women are accusing a Georgia restaurant of racial discrimination after being arrested for allegedly taking too long in the bathroom.
WMAZ reports Brittany Lucio, Asia’h Epperson and Erica Walker asked to use the restroom at an Atlanta-area restaurant called Houston’s on Mother’s Day last week. A shift manager claims they were in the bathroom after the restaurant closed at 10 p.m. and, when they refused to leave, asked a police officer who was working security at the restaurant to escort them out.
A police report says the security officer found the women on their phones inside the restroom, ignoring his request to leave. When he grabbed Lucio by the wrist and said “Let’s go,” she pulled away and shouted “Get your hands off of me!”
The situation worsened from there; the officer says Lucio threw a punch, hitting his mouth. He asked Houston’s staff to call 911 for backup while restraining Lucio and Walker outside the restaurant.
Epperson, a former “American Idol” contestant and “Greenleaf” actress, began recording the incident on the phone, showing the officer pinning one of the two women down on the ground.
WSB-TV reports all three were arrested when additional officers arrived, and booked in Fulton County Jail. Lucio was charged with criminal trespass and felony obstruction; Walker and Epperson were charged with criminal trespass.
Lauren Pozen WSB@LaurenPozenWSBThese women were charged with a crime after they say a Houston’s security guard assaulted them. At 5, why they have the support of @Tip and what the security guard says led up to this.
Epperson told WSB-TV on Tuesday that she plans to take legal action against the Atlanta Police Department, claiming the officer lied on the police report. The restaurant was open and “full of people,” she said. They were in the restroom less than 10 minutes, including using a phone to give an Uber driver directions to pick them up, she added.
“We weren’t doing anything wrong. We were never asked multiple times to leave. That is a lie. We are moving forward very rapidly with this matter things will be handled legally,” Epperson said in a statement.
Epperson, 29, was a semi-finalist on “American Idol” season 7 in 2008. She also notably played Felicia in the 2015 movie “Straight Outta Compton” about N.W.A. rappers Ice Cube, Eazy-E and Dr. Dre.
Read more via: 3 women arrested after using bathroom in restaurant claim racial discrimination
Black Lives Matter leader shot dead
The Black Lives Matter leader known for diving over a barrier to snatch a Confederate flag from a protester on live TV last year was shot dead in New Orleans, police said.
Muhiyidin Elamin Moye, who went by Muhiyidin d’Baha, was found dead Tuesday morning after being shot in the thigh while riding his bicycle, the Advocate reported.
New Orleans police spokesman Beau Tidwell said no information about a potential motive or suspects was immediately available.
D’Baha, 32, moved to South Carolina from Poughkeepsie, NY, when he was 13 and was in the Big Easy on a personal trip, his niece Camille Weaver told the Post and Courier.
“He loved Charleston and loved fighting for what’s right,” she said. “I’ve never met anyone more committed and hardworking than him. He was an asset to the Charleston community and will be greatly missed.”
The activist drew national attention last February when he was arrested for jumping over a barricade in an attempt to grab a Confederate flag away from a demonstrator at the College of Charleston.
Members of the South Carolina Secessionist Party had gathered to protest a lecture by activist Bree Newsome, who famously climbed the South Carolina capitol flagpole to remove its Confederate flag in 2015.
D’Baha was slapped with disorderly conduct charges as a result of the incident, which was caught on air.
“Not another generation of people are going to be intimidated by this flag,” he told the Washington Post after the incident, adding he’d tried to wrestle the flag away to “help them understand what it is to meet a real resistance, to meet people that aren’t scared.”
In the hopes of bringing d’Baha’s body back to Charleston for a funeral, his niece started a GoFundMe drive that had raised almost double its $7,500 goal by Wednesday.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/02/07/black-lives-matter-leader-shot-dead/
Public outraged over “Black Lives Matter” gear sold on Walmart.com
SIGH WERE WE GO AGAIN! WHAT IS WITH YOU RACIST, TWISTED WHITE FOLKS?? WHY CAN’T YOU LET US PEOPLE OF COLOR LIVE? Black folks can’t even buy something that’s meaningful to us without ya’ll getting butt ass hurt and want to boycott. YES I REALLY ROLLED MY BROWN EYES!
KFDA –
Walmart is in the hot seat after more people are learning that the company is selling “Black Lives Matter” gear, including a sweatshirt with the slogan “Bulletproof.”
The shirts have been on sale for a few months now, but the addition of the “Bulletproof” line has renewed controversy in the apparel……
The Washington Post The president of the national Fraternal Order of Police, the country’s largest police organization, on Tuesday asked Walmart to stop selling t-shirts and sweatshirts which say “Black Lives Matter” and “Bulletproof” on the department store’s website. On Tuesday night, Walmart said it would remove the shirts which say “Bulletproof,” but not the “Black Lives Matter” shirts.
“Black Lives Matter” is a slogan and protest movement which emerged after the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and police-involved slayings in 2014, and is seen as offensive by many in law enforcement. The website Breitbart.com posted an article last week which said that Walmart was “selling Black Lives Matter clothing and other items,” though the merchandise is actually being sold through Walmart’s….
You know what it is ya’ll are scared we black people are gonna rise up and kill ALL of you and you don’t want us to protect ourselves BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!
Source:
More: http://www.wave3.com/story/34091839/public-outraged-over-black-lives-matter-gear-sold-on-walmartcom