American Uprising

  • Minneapolis’ Police Union Chief Won’t Talk to Reporters. Maybe He Should Admit He’s Married to One.

    June 5, 2020

    Minneapolis Police Union President Lt. Bob Kroll addresses the media in 2018.Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via AP

    Lt. Bob Kroll, the outspoken leader of the Minneapolis police union, is not normally one to shy away from the media spotlight. Last October, he proudly took the stage with President Donald Trump at a televised campaign rally in the city. And over the years he’s been quick to speak with reporters, whether to defend police officers or condemn Black Lives Matter, which he once described as a “terrorist organization.”

    But in the days since George Floyd’s death at the hands of a white officer in Minneapolis, as tens of thousands of people protest around the country, Kroll has been reluctant to comment to the press. Over the past week, as activists call for Kroll to resign and accuse the police union he leads of protecting officers who engage in misconduct, journalists at multiple outlets, including myself, have reached out to Kroll repeatedly and not heard back. On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that Kroll called the police on one of its reporters who had knocked on his door for an interview. The reporter was later pulled over by an officer who said Kroll had reported suspicious activity on his front porch and explained that “he doesn’t want any press.”

    But even as Kroll hides from the press, there’s a fact that he can’t run away from: He’s married to a local television reporter and anchor in Minneapolis, Liz Collin of WCCO-TV, who previously reported on policing in the city—without disclosing their relationship. On Wednesday, protesters showed up at the news agency’s headquarters in downtown Minneapolis and called for Collin to resign from her post. They described her marriage to Kroll as an “obvious conflict of public interest.”

    It’s unclear when Kroll and Collin began dating. In 2016, Collin interviewed Kroll, who has been a frequent subject of reporting for the TV network, about police use of force. Minneapolis-based reporter Becky Dernbach, previously a Mother Jones fellow, learned about their relationship in June 2017, and revealed their marriage in a series of tweets in 2018. Since at least 2013, Collin had been covering the Minneapolis police department for WCCO. In July 2017, Collin reported a story about then-outgoing Police Chief Janee Harteau, who was resigning at the mayor’s request following the fatal police shooting of Justine Damond. Collin did not disclose her relationship with Kroll in the article, even though Harteau had a contentious history with Kroll: In one heated exchange in 2016, the police chief said the union president made “jackass remarks” when he commended officers who walked off their security jobs at a Lynx basketball game to protest players wearing Black Lives Matter warm-up jerseys. Kroll responded to the chief’s criticism by selling #jackass T-shirts to the public.

    Collin and her station, WCCO, say there is no conflict of interest in her marriage to Kroll. In a statement to Mother Jones, a WCCO spokesperson said Collin has not reported on stories about the police department or police union for two and a half years, since around the time that Dernbach started tweeting about their marriage. “We would like to add nothing that goes on our air is the work of just one person,” the spokesperson added. “Our news managers, producers, anchors, reporters, photographers and editors all work together as a team that delivers news everyone in our community can trust to be fair and accurate.” Collin and Kroll did not respond to a request for comment, but Collin made a similar statement in 2019.

    Kroll, meanwhile, has slammed the media for covering his relationship with Collin. In 2019, he threatened to never give another interview to the Minneapolis Star Tribune if it reported on their relationship. (In a profile of the union leader, the paper briefly mentioned their marriage anyway.)

    Kroll has also criticized the media for its coverage of the anti-police protests that have taken place since Floyd’s death, during which Minneapolis’ officers launched tear gas and flash grenades at demonstrators. The day after Floyd died, Kroll put out a statement expressing solidarity with his colleague Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes during the arrest.

    In an email to members of the police union—leaked on Twitter by former police chief Harteau—Kroll described the media coverage as biased and inaccurate. “I commend you for the excellent police work you are doing in keeping your coworkers and others safe during what everyone except us refuses to call a riot,” he wrote in the email. He described the protests as a “terrorist movement” and said the four officers involved in Floyd’s death had been fired “without due process.” “What is not being told is the violent criminal history of George Floyd,” he added. “The media will not air this.” (Floyd was arrested by the four officers for allegedly trying to use a fake $20 bill at a shop. He had a previous arrest record and was sentenced to five years in prison more than a decade ago. But this history appears to have no relevance to his death: Video footage of the arrest does not show him acting violently toward the officers. He went unconscious minutes before Chauvin stopped kneeling on his neck.)

    Kroll chalks up his silence to safety concerns. “Another large reason we have not been more vocal beyond our initial press release is the negative impact and safety implications it would have for you trying to do your work,” Kroll wrote to officers. “I’ve been a visible target from the groups conducting this riot, politicians on the left allowing it and encouraging it, and liberal media. My visibility during this time would only increase your danger.”

    Perhaps it’s not surprising that Kroll, despite his marriage to a journalist, is slamming the media for its coverage of the police and the protests. It was only last October that he stood onstage and praised President Trump for “everything he’s done for law enforcement.” Trump, after all, wrote the playbook for threatening journalists and brushing aside their facts as “fake news.”

  • Trump: George Floyd Is In Heaven and Proud of Our Jobs Report

    June 5, 2020

    ZUMA

    President Donald Trump on Friday was bursting with cheer over the unexpected good news in the latest jobs report, which revealed that the US economy added 2.5 million jobs last month. It’s an encouraging sign, to be sure, but economists warn that the crisis is far from over, as joblessness remains staggeringly high.

    Nonetheless, the president seized on the moment to celebrate at a press conference in the Rose Garden, where he reveled in a familiar set of lies, boasts, and conspiracy theories. Trump’s rosy disposition gave little hint that traumatic events, many of them marked by police brutality, have raged across the country since George Floyd was killed by a white police officer.

    That didn’t mean that Floyd was entirely absent from his mind, however. Surpassing some of his previous moments of breathtaking insensitivity, here’s what Trump had to say:

     

  • Mayor Demands Military and Federal Law Enforcement Leave DC’s Streets

    June 5, 2020

    Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks to media on June 3, 2020, near the White House.Alex Brandon/AP

    Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser asked Donald Trump on Friday to withdraw thousands of federal law enforcement officers and troops that he summoned to DC to quell protests that erupted in the capital following the police killing of George Floyd.

    Bowser also announced an end to DC’s state of emergency related to demonstrations.

    Bowser wrote that the presence of “unidentified federal personnel patrolling the streets of Washington, DC pose both safety and national security risks.” After Mother Jones and other publications highlighted the presence of unidentified law enforcement personnel in the district, the Justice Department said they were special units from the Bureau of Prisons who are trained to quell prison riots. But many demonstrators in DC continue to face federal officers whose names and affiliations are not displayed.

    “When citizens are unable to clearly identify legitimate law enforcement officers, it creates unnecessary risk for both protectors and officers,” Bowser wrote, noting that “identifying insignia is mandatory” in the district. (This law does not cover federal officers.)

    Bloomberg, citing a summary prepared for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reported Thursday that there are 7,600 civilian law enforcement, National Guard, and active-duty Army personnel currently in and around DC. That includes 1,704 active-duty troops who are stationed outside the capital at military bases, who have not been deployed to DC streets.

    There was no indication that Trump and Attorney General William Barr, who have attributed the lack of looting and violence in DC this week to the massive federal presence, will comply with the mayor’s demand. But already, National Guard troops who have occupied DC streets are apparently departing at Bowser’s request, drawing gripes from Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah).

    Lee argued that “rioting, looting, arson, and vandalism have all disappeared [because] these soldiers served.” He presumes that because protests that occurred while the guard troops were deployed were peaceful, the troops prevented violence and crime. But Bowser said that the massive numbers of outside law enforcement and military in DC is “enflaming demonstrators” and “adding to the grievances” of peaceful protesters.

    It’s impossible to prove either case, but one indication will be what happens when these troops and unidentified federal agents depart.

    But Bowser seems newly ready to confront the Trump administration. In a pointed message to federal agencies policing protests, including from helicopters that have hovered over the capital, the district painted “Black Lives Matter” on 16th Street between K and H streets just north of the White House.

  • Here’s Graphic Video of Buffalo Cops Shoving a Protester They Say “Tripped and Fell”

    June 4, 2020

    A man protesting police violence today in Buffalo, New York, in defiance of curfew was violently pushed to the ground by officers, who walked over his bleeding body to rough up other demonstrators. The moment was captured on video, which you can see below and which puts the lie to the cops’ statement that he “tripped & fell.”

    “Emergency medical attention was administered to the victim, who was conscious and visibly bleeding, and taken via ambulance for treatment,” WBEN reports.

    On Wednesday, cops took a knee here when the curfew began.

    Update, 10:41 p.m. ET:

    Update, 11:07 p.m. ET: The Erie County executive says the man is in stable condition.

  • Trump Is Being Sued For Police Firing Tear Gas At Protesters

    June 4, 2020

    Alex Brandon/AP

    On Monday, police fired tear gas at peaceful protesters so that President Donald Trump could pose for a photo. Trump was condemned widely—even by former Defense Secretary James Mattis. Now, he’s being sued.

    The ACLU of DC, on behalf of the DC chapter of Black Lives Matter and individual protesters who were attacked in the president’s stunt, filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Trump, attorney general William Barr, and other federal officials for violating their constitutional rights. According to the lawsuit, the president’s actions are “the manifestation of the very despotism against which the First Amendment was intended to protect.” 

    The events that transpired over the course of 48 minutes in Lafayette Park on Monday have drawn universal outrage. In isolation, a country’s leader gassing protesters for no reason is heinous. In context, it’s hard to fathom how it could be forgivable (even if Republican Senators found a way). Here’s what happened, per Mother Jones‘ Becca Andrews:

    Police fired tear gas to clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House, on Monday evening, just before President Trump delivered an address in which he threatened to deploy “thousands and thousands of heavily armed military personnel and law enforcement officers” to curb protests and enforce curfews. Trump then proceeded to walk across the park to nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church, the site of a fire Sunday night, for a photo op in which he posed with a Bible.

    Since that photo was taken, the Trump administration has gone to great lengths to gaslight the country over what happened during an event that was captured on camera from almost every conceivable angle. The president’s reelection campaign contacted Mother Jones, as well as other news organizations that reported on the spectacle, claiming that tear gas wasn’t used (it was) and demanded a retraction. Meanwhile, the clergy of St. John’s church—some of whom were among the hundreds of protesters who were attacked—has condemned the president’s stunt. They still can’t get back into their church, thanks to Trump. 
     
    “What happened to our members Monday evening, here in the nation’s capital, was an affront to all our rights,” April Goggans, the core organizer of Black Lives Matter DC and the lead plaintiff in the case, said in a statement. “The death of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of police officers has reignited the rage, pain, and deep sadness our community has suffered for generations. We won’t be silenced by tear gas and rubber bullets. Now is our time to be heard.”
     
    Scott Michelman, the ACLU of DC’s legal director, added in a statement that Trump’s actions weren’t just shameless, but indeed unconstitutional and “a criminal attack” against protesters he disagreed with. He also had some choice words for Barr: “When the nation’s top law enforcement officer becomes complicit in the tactics of an autocrat, it chills protected speech for all of us.”
     
    Here’s the full complaint: 
     



    Blmdc v Trump Complaint (Text)

     

  • Democrats Think Officers Policing Protests Need to Identify Themselves. Bill Barr Disagrees.

    June 4, 2020

    Unidentified federal security forces block 16th Street at I Street on June 3.Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

    Over the past few days, Mother Jones and other media outlets have noted the presence of armed personnel with no visible identification confronting the protests in DC that were sparked by the recent police killing of George Floyd. These officers have consistently said that they are “with the Department of Justice” or that they are part of the “federal government.”

    The Justice Department has since said these are officers are from Special Operations Control units in the Bureau of Prisons—that is, officers trained primarily to quell prison riots.

    In response, Democrats in both chambers said Wednesday they would introduce legislation requiring uniformed federal officers doing domestic security work to identify what agency or military branch they represent. Several shared a photo I took on Tuesday. 

    In a letter Thursday to President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) requested a list of the agencies involved in responding to protests in DC and an explanation of the roles different troops and law enforcement agencies are fulfilling. Pelosi also blasted the deployment of officers without clear identification. “The practice of officers operating with full anonymity undermines accountability, ignites government distrust and suspicion, and is counter to the principle of procedural justice and legitimacy during this precarious moment in our nation’s history,” she wrote.

    She noted that the Justice Department has previously warned local police departments against allowing officers to work anonymously.

    Michael Carvajal, the acting BOP director, addressed this criticism in a news conference on Thursday, saying he was not aware of officers being ordered not to identify themselves, and stated the issue was that “within the confines of our institutions and we don’t need to identify ourselves. Most of our identification is institution-specific and probably wouldn’t mean a whole lot to people in DC.” 

    But, he said: “I probably should have done a better job of marking them nationally as the agency. Point is well taken.” 

    Barr, however, was not so conciliatory. In the same press conference Thursday, he defended the use of BOP personnel and said they have “emergency response” training—nevermind that the officers are now confronting peaceful protesters. The attorney general did not acknowledge any problem with using officers who can’t be identified to police protests.

    “In the federal system, the agencies don’t wear badges with their names and stuff like that,” Barr said. “I could understand why some of these individuals simply wouldn’t want to talk to people about who they are, if that in fact was the case.”

    Barr declined to elaborate. And Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec and the BOP’s press office did not respond to specific questions about the legal authority of BOP in Washington and about the number of officers deployed. 

    Unsurprisingly, Barr’s comments aren’t going down well with Democratic lawmakers. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), one of the members pushing legislation to require officers identify themselves, tweeted: “Last time I checked we don’t do secret police in this country.”

    Inae Oh contributed reporting.

  • At George Floyd Memorial Service, Al Sharpton Announces March on Washington to End Police Brutality

    June 4, 2020

    Julio Cortez/AP

    On August 28—the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington, at which Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech—Americans will once again gather in the nation’s capital to protest racism. Civil rights activist Al Sharpton announced the new march, which will focus on ending police brutality, while speaking at a memorial service for George Floyd in Minneapolis on Thursday. As he spoke, Martin Luther King III—who will be involved in organizing the march—sat clapping in the front row.

    “Just like in one era we had to fight slavery, another era we had to fight Jim Crow, another era we dealt with voting rights,” Sharpton said, “this is the era to deal with policing and criminal justice.”

    At Floyd’s memorial service, Sharpton led mourners in an 8-minute, 46-second moment of silence—the amount of time former police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck, killing him. Chauvin has since been charged with second-degree murder. Three other officers involved in Floyd’s death are also facing felony charges.

    “We need to go back to Washington and stand up—Black, white, Latino, Arab—in the shadows of Lincoln, and tell them this is the time to stop this,” Sharpton said.

  • “Finally We’re Starting to See People Care”: Hundreds Peacefully Defy Curfew in Brooklyn to Demand Justice

    and June 3, 2020

    Mother Jones/Mark Helenowski

    Police trailed a raucous, peaceful protest of several hundred people in Brooklyn early Wednesday night, permitting demonstrators to take over streets past curfew. While sporadic confrontations broke out at separate protests later, at least for these twilight hours, the scene provided a striking contrast to days of images dominated by police aggression.

    As the sun set, and a citywide curfew came and went, our digital producer Mark Helenowski followed a sizable group of spirited protesters through the Bushwick and Williamsburg neighborhoods of Brooklyn, just one of many such groups across the city, large and small. Residents shouted support from rooftops; others banged pots while leaning out windows. On the ground, truck drivers, postal workers, and transport officers stopped to cheer on street corners. “Fuck your curfew!” the group chanted. A police officer on the scene said the NYPD would let the protest continue “as long as it stays peaceful.”

    The afternoon’s breaking news that all four officers involved in George Floyd’s death have now been charged won’t abate the defiance and energy of protesters, said Dawaun Hill, a 28-year old accountant. “I wish [the charges] would have happened without the reaction of the people,” he said. “But wait—people have to riot? People have to loot?”

    Kevon, a 35-year old bike messenger, agreed. “I know they’re just token charges. They don’t want any more destruction of property, so they’re going to throw a couple of their own under the bus.”

    “Power to the people!” Courtney Bledsoe, a 33-year-old comedian, yelled from the sidewalk. “Your whole life, you watch black people die. You watch them die. And nobody cares. And finally we’re starting to see people care,” she said, wiping away tears.

    Bledsoe said she hoped these protests marked a threshold moment for public awareness about state-sanctioned violence. “We have marched, and marched, and marched, and it wasn’t until that video of George Floyd that people really woke up. It’s amazing, it’s amazing to see.”

    “The government is starting to realize that this is a real movement going,” said Gary Guzman, a 35-year-old owner of the local Brooklyn Drip clothing store, in between bouts of leading the group in chants. “Every day is getting stronger and stronger.”

    This was his third day of protesting—and he’s not quitting anytime soon: “We won’t stop until we have what we need in this country.”

    Mother Jones/Mark Helenowski

    Listen to Mother Jones reporters cover protests from Minneapolis to New York, on this episode of the Mother Jones Podcast:

  • The Three Cops Who Watched George Floyd Die Have Been Charged

    June 3, 2020

    Brian Branch Price/Zuma

    The three former Minneapolis police officers who stood by as Derek Chauvin held his knee to George Floyd’s neck have been charged with aiding and abetting murder, and the charge against Chauvin has been elevated to second-degree murder, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Wednesday.

    “We’re here today because George Floyd is not here,” Ellison, who became the lead prosecutor in Chauvin’s murder case two days ago, said. “He should be alive, but he’s not.”

    All four officers present at the time of Floyd’s death were fired from their positions on May 26. Five days ago, Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years and entails “perpetrating an act eminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life,” according to Minnesota law. Minnesota is one of only three states to divide murder into three separate charges.

    Second-degree murder, Ellison explained, does not require the intention to cause the death of a human being, but encompasses an unintentional killing that occurs while knowingly committing another felony. “We would contend that George Floyd was assaulted, and so that would be the underlying felony,” he said. “I believe the evidence available to us now supports the stronger charge of second-degree murder.”

    “I strongly believe that these developments are in the interest of justice for Mr. Floyd, his family, his community, and our state,” he said.

  • Follow Our Reporters in DC and NYC as They Cover Tuesday Night’s Protests

    June 2, 2020

    Lenin Nolly/AP

    Tens of thousands of peaceful protesters in New York City and Washington, DC, gathered hours before curfew Tuesday to demonstrate against police violence and, in some cases, clean up after some businesses had been vandalized.

    In DC, today’s protests follow aggressive police action the night before, when those who had gathered near the White House were tear gassed and forcibly removed half an hour before the 7 pm curfew. This was to give President Donald Trump a chance to stand in front of the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church, the site of a fire Sunday night, for a photo op in which he posed with a Bible. That night, police used helicopters, rubber bullets and smoke canisters to disperse those who remained on the streets. 

    Join our reporters Dan Friedman and Will Peischel in DC, and Noah Lanard in New York City, for their coverage of the Tuesday’s marches, into the evening after the curfews drop. 

  • Look at This Influencer Using the Collapse of the American Social Order for a Photo Op

    June 2, 2020

    A new genre reached its hideous apotheosis last night. It’s going to be a long time before I get my head around the fact that the president gassed Americans for the ’gram. 

  • A Black CNN Reporter Was Arrested Live on Air While Reporting in Minneapolis

    May 29, 2020

    CNN reporter Omar Jimenez, along with two members of his producing team, was arrested early Friday morning while covering the Minneapolis protests. Their arrests, which were captured in a live broadcast, came despite Jimenez explaining to Minnesota state patrol officials that they were media.

    “Put us back where you want us, we are getting out of your way, so just let us know,” Jimenez, who is Black and Latino, is heard telling officers before he’s placed in handcuffs. “Wherever you want us, we will go, we’re just getting out of the way.”

    With the camera still rolling, Jimenez continued to explain to viewers the latest from the demonstrations when an officer interrupted, saying, “You’re under arrest.” 

    Another CNN reporter, Josh Campbell, a white man, said that he was nearby the scene and also stopped by police. But after identifying himself as a journalist, as Jimenez did, police allowed Campbell to carry on. “I was treated much differently than [Jimenez] was,” Campbell said.

    Jimenez and his team, producer Bill Kirkos and photojournalist Leonel Mendez, have since been released. In a statement shortly after, the Minnesota State Patrol appeared to misrepresent the incident in order to justify the arrests.