Category: Intolerance

Trump Campaign Bars Black Attendees in Boca Raton

In a video released this week, a police officer is seen telling a group of black people that Donald Trump’s campaign has banned them from a rally in Boca Raton — while a white man, who admits he is a protester, is allowed to enter.

In the video, an officer Sgt. John Sluth explains to a group of black attendees — including a woman wearing a head covering — that they are not welcome to enter the event, but he says they can voice their opinions in “an area on the other side of the street.”

“We have tickets to the event,” the woman explains.

“That does not matter,” the Sgt. Sluth replies.

“But you don’t even know that we’re here to protest,” the woman notes.

“Does not matter,” the officer insists.

“So, she’s black and she’s wearing something on her head and she has tickets and you’re not letting her in?” Smith interrupts.

“Where did you hear me say that?” the officer asks. “The campaign has told us they don’t want them on the property.”

“What if I have tickets?” Smith presses. “I’m here to protest. And I have tickets.”

“Okay,” the officer shrugs.

“So he gets to go in?” the woman says as Smith walks past the officer into the Trump event.

Reality

The Trump campaign singled out a group of black people from entry into their event, while allowing a white man who identified himself as a protester to walk right by.

When questioned by reporters, law enforcement said it was on request of the Trump staff, and the Trump staff claimed the removal was initiated by law enforcement. The officer in the video makes it clear the Trump campaign singled out the group. If they were really the ones who tried to prevent protesters from entering the event they would have stopped the white guy as well. Logical dictates that the request came from the Trump campaign to refuse entry to the African-Americans.

It is important to note that, since Donald Trump is not the United States government, the First Amendment does not apply. Even though it was on public property, when the government leases public property for an event space, the private lessee may legally exclude individuals. Individuals can be ordered off the property and be arrested for trespassing if they do not comply. The Trump campaign was well within their legal rights to exclude whoever they wish. What is concerning however, is the Trump campaign requesting public law enforcement to remove peaceful citizens based off of the color of their skin.

This was not the only recorded event of non-white attendees being removed for no reason other than not being white. Sun Sentinel columnist Michael Mayo also recorded his removal.

Media

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBY7R054P_k&feature=youtu.be

Links

https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/what-do-if-your-rights-are-violated-demonstration-or-protest

http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/assembly-on-private-property

 

Trump Staff Eject Reporter for Trespassing

Sun-Sentinel columnist Michael Mayo was ejected from a rally and threatened with incarceration for Donald Trump after he filmed attendees leaving the event early.

A Trump campaign official named Justin said something about needing to go to the media pen and Mayo declined. Justin, the campaign official said Mayo couldn’t film, who then chuckled, saying of course I could, seeing as how hundreds if not thousands of other attendees were doing the same thing. The Trump campaign official said Mayo would have to leave, and that they’d need to see law enforcement.

“Tell him we’re trespassing him,” the Trump campaign official told a deputy. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

The campaign official told Mayo to walk with him to talk to a law enforcement officer. Sgt. John Sluth for an explanation on why he had to leave.

“This is not a public park,” Sgt. Sluth said. “Tonight [this amphitheater] is rented by the Donald Trump campaign and they are the ones who say who can come or go … It’s just like if you go to the BB&T Center and a representative from the Florida Panthers comes up and tells you that you have to leave, you have to leave.”

According to Mayo when he appeared on All In With Chris Hayes:

There was no rules or attachment, any guidelines attached to that ticket saying you can’t do this, or they didn’t ask me about if I was a newspaper person. I just showed up, went through the metal detectors like everybody else and was roaming around the crowd. And actually, the crowd everybody in the general admission crowd was using their phones to take photos and videos and was actually encouraged to post to social media by the campaign people and the warm up rallies, they even gave a special hashtag for the event. So they’re encouraging everybody to use their phones, to use social media tweet, Facebook and I did the same.

(h/t Sun Sentinel)

Reality

Mayo was able to get inside but was treated differently, singled out and targeted for ejection. It could have been because, as a reporter at a Trump event, he was not standing in a specially-barricaded “media pen” that credentialed media for the event were restricted to. As with the case with other attendees at the Boca Raton event, it could very well have been the color of his skin.

I did not try to get a media credential for the event. In my mind, there was no need to. I wasn’t writing on deadline, I didn’t have my computer, and I didn’t require any special access. I hadn’t agreed to any special ground rules or conditions, and I was simply doing the same thing that hundreds, if not thousands, of other attendees were doing.

 

I just wanted to be an Average Joe, free to mingle with my fellow South Floridians and experience this event like 6,000 others. As a columnist I often do things that way. It’s the exact same way I covered a Marco Rubio campaign rally on Super Tuesday (March 1) at Tropical Park in Miami.

 

I had no hassles or issues there.

 

But with Trump, as many people are finding out, things are different

It is important to note that, since Donald Trump is not the United States government, the First Amendment protection for peaceful assembly does not apply. Even though it was on public property, when the government leases public property for an event space, the private lessee may legally exclude individuals. Individuals can be ordered off the property and be arrested for trespassing if they do not comply. The Trump campaign was well within their legal rights to exclude whoever they wish.

Media

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/sfl-columnist-kicked-out-trump-rally-boca-video-20160314-premiumvideo.html

Links

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-michael-mayo-reporter-kicked-out-trump-rally-20160314-story.html

Trump Campaign Manager Manhandles Breibart Reporter

In an article in Breibart, reporter Michelle Fields explains how Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski grabbed her by the arm and threw her towards the ground.

When [Trump] approached me, I asked him about his view on an aspect of affirmative action. 

Trump acknowledged the question, but before he could answer I was jolted backwards. Someone had grabbed me tightly by the arm and yanked me down. I almost fell to the ground, but was able to maintain my balance. Nonetheless, I was shaken. 

The event was corroborated by eye-witness and fellow journalist Ben Terris in his Washington Post article. Not surprising, Trump’s campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks claimed the accusation is “entirely false” and said:

As one of dozens of individuals present as Mr. Trump exited the press conference, I did not witness any encounter. In addition to our staff, which had no knowledge of said situation, not a single camera or reporter of more than 100 in attendance capture the alleged incident.

When asked about the incident directly, Donald Trump claimed Fields “made it up.” Then, in a strange twist, the right-wing rage-factory breitbart.com, publicly threw their own reporter under the bus and published an article “debunking” Fields’ claims, going so far to show video just before the incident occurring as evidence that nothing happened. What was most interesting was in the same day Politico published the audio recording of the event.

Fields: “Mr. Trump, you went after the late Scalia for affirmative action, do you — are you still against affirmative action?”

 

Voice (allegedly Corey Lewandowski): “Excuse me, thank you.”

A few moments later (noise of the room can be heard)…

 

Terris: “You OK?”

 

Fields: “Holy sh*t.”

 

Terris: “Yea he just threw you.”

 

Fields: “I can’t believe he just did that that was so hard. Was that Corey?”

 

Terris: “Yeah, like, what threat were you?”

 

Fields: “That was insane. You should have felt how hard he grabbed me. That’s insane. I’ve never had anyone do that to me from a campaign.”

Reality

Also this video showing Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski grabbing reporter Michelle Fields by the arm.

Links

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/14/opinions/breitbart-trump-coverage-bardella/index.html

http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/03/10/breitbart-news-ceo-president-responds-to-donald-trump-campaigns-attack-on-breitbart-news-reporter-michelle-fields/

http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/03/transcript-corey-lewandowski-breitbart-reporter-attack-220589

www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/03/breitbart-michelle-fields-trump-220579

https://twitter.com/MichelleFields/status/708005032839548929

VICE Outlines Fred Trump’s Involvement With the KKK

Fred Trump caught at KKK rally

VICE wrote an article today about all the evidence they complied that linked Donald Trump’s father, Fred Trump, with the KKK. You can read the entire article here.

Reality

It is important to remember to not fall into the guilt by association logical fallacy and instead try to understand the evidence in the context of what we know about Donald Trump.

Links

http://www.vice.com/read/all-the-evidence-we-could-find-about-fred-trumps-alleged-involvement-with-the-kkk

Trump Supporter Sucker Punches Black Protester

Assailant John Franklin McGraw

A black man, Rakeem Jones, protested a Donald Trump rally in North Carolina. As he was being escorted out of the rally by men in “Sheriff’s Office” uniforms, Jones was punched in the face by a Trump supporter, John Franklin McGraw, wearing a cowboy hat. The officers then quickly wrestled Jones (the victim) to the ground, pinned his arms behind his back, and led him out of the venue.

The man who punched the protester, identified as John McGraw, told Inside Edition that his actions were justified.

The next time we see him, we might have to kill him. We don’t know who he is. He might be with a terrorist organization.

When McGraw was charged with assault, Trump contemplated owning up to his promise to pay for an attacker’s legal fees, then walked back his promise. However Trump did later defend McGraw on CNN.

Reality

Trump gave his supporters permission to beat up protestors. What the hell do you think would start to happen?

Protests at Trump rallies do not occur in a vacuum. Since he first announced his candidacy, Trump continues to make racist, sexist, and authoritarian remarks that marginalizes anyone who do not meet his view of white and conservative enough. A full list of protests can be found here.

Update

John Franklin McGraw pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of assault and battery and disorderly conduct. A judge also ordered McGraw to pay $180 in court costs, a $250 fine, and was placed under one year of probation.

Links

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2016/03/donald-trump-supporter-sucker-punches-black-protester

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/5/donald-trump-gives-supporters-permissions-be-viole/

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/03/13/470294270/trump-on-rally-violence-dont-accept-responsibility-might-pay-legal-bills

http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-protester-sucker-punch-legal-pay-2016-3

https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/707988241480286212

http://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2016/03/13/donald-trump-john-mcgraw-legal-fees-punch-orig-vstan-dlewis.cnn

Donald Trump and the “Nazi” Voter Pledge

Donald Trump led a mass rally in taking a pledge affirming their commitment to voting for him, and vowed to broaden existing laws regarding the interrogation of captured terrorist suspects.

The scene unfolded during a raucous rally at a University of Central Florida arena in Orlando, Florida, that featured frequent interruptions by protesters over Trump’s hour-long address.

“Let’s do a pledge. Who likes me in this room?” Trump asked the crowd. “I’ve never done this before. Can I have a pledge? A swearing? Raise your right hand.”

The Republican front-runner then had the audience repeat after him.

“I do solemnly swear that I, no matter how I feel, no matter what the conditions, if there are hurricanes or whatever, will vote on or before the 12th for Donald J. Trump for President.”

The crowd ended the pledge with cheers.

“Now I know. Don’t forget you all raised your hands. You swore. Bad things happen if you don’t live up to what you just did,” Trump said before continuing with his speech.

Reality

Some media sites sold this event as a Nazi salute, but quite frankly I don’t buy that. I think if anything it was bad optics on Trump’s part. If I were voting against Trump I would focus my energy at his comments about broadening illegal torture instead.

See look. Nazis…

Not Nazis…

Links

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/03/05/trump_supporters_raise_right_hands_to_pledge_support_to_donald_trump.html

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/03/08/3757605/donald-trump-nazi-salute-ignorant/

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/05/politics/donald-trump-florida-pledge-torture/

Donald Trump Defends Size of His Penis

Trump shows the crowd his AAA battery sized fingers

Donald Trump assured American voters Thursday night that despite what Marco Rubio had suggested, there was “no problem” with the size of his hands — or anything else.

 “Look at those hands, are they small hands?” the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination said, raising them for viewers to see. “And, he referred to my hands — ‘if they’re small, something else must be small.’ I guarantee you there’s no problem. I guarantee.”

Reality

Commenting about the size and prowess of ones own genitals during a live presidential debate is the farthest possible thing from acting presidential. It’s a disgrace to the office and a disgrace to the political process.

Media

Links

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/03/politics/donald-trump-small-hands-marco-rubio/

Donald Trump Jr. Appears With White Supremacist on Radio Show

One of Donald Trump’s sons appeared along with a white supremacist while giving an interview on a conservative radio show, adding to concerns that the front-runner in the battle to be the Republican candidate in November’s presidential election is willing to accept support from extremist supporters.

Donald Trump Jr., who is actively campaigning for his father, gave an interview on Tuesday on “Liberty Roundtable,” a conservative Utah-based radio show hosted by Sam Bushman.

During the show he was questioned by James Edwards, another radio host whose show “The Political Cesspool” is described by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a leading U.S. civil rights group, as “racist and anti-Semitic.”

During the interview, conducted over the telephone, Trump Jr. talked about what a good father Donald Trump was and how his campaign is changing the Republican Party.

“It’s not a campaign anymore, it’s a movement,” he told his interviewers. (here)

Edwards said on his blog on Tuesday he would rebroadcast the 20-minute interview on Saturday on “The Political Cesspool.” here

The show, founded in 2005 and syndicated by Bushman’s Liberty News Radio organization, has featured such extremists as former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and Holocaust denier Willis Carto.

Edwards also said on his blog he had attended a Memphis rally for the billionaire candidate as a credentialed media member last Saturday.

The Trump campaign, asked about an interview in the presence of the Tennessee-based Edwards, denied any knowledge of it. The campaign also said it did not know about Edwards’ personal views.

“The campaign provided media credentials to everyone that requested access to the event on Saturday in Memphis. There were close to 200 reporters in attendance and we do not personally vet each individual. The campaign had no knowledge of his personal views and strongly condemns them.

“Donald Trump Jr. was not in attendance and although he served as a surrogate for his father on several radio programs over the past week, to his knowledge and that of the campaign, he did not participate in an interview with this individual,“ campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks said in an email.

Edwards, in an email, directed questions about the interview to Bushman, but said in a statement:

“My show, The Political Cesspool, promotes a proud, paleoconservative Christian worldview, and we reject media descriptions of our work as “white supremacist,” “pro-slavery” and other such scare words.

“As I clearly wrote in yesterday’s article, in no way should anyone interpret our press credentialing and subsequent interview with Donald Trump, Jr. as any kind of endorsement by the Trump campaign.”

Donald Trump won a majority of the states holding nominating contests on Super Tuesday, accelerating his march to the Republican nomination.

He has promised to build a wall on the Mexican border, temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States and block Syrian refugees because they might be militants, all policies popular with some U.S. right-wing groups.

Republican leaders in the U.S. Congress on Tuesday condemned white supremacist groups after Trump earlier failed to disavow support for former Klan leader Duke, but the leaders declined further comment on Trump’s White House bid.

House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said any Republican nominee must reject any group “built on bigotry” while Senate leader Mitch McConnell said Senate Republicans condemned groups such as the Klan and “everything they stand for.”

(h/t Reuters)

Reality

Journalists have noticed that Donald Trump Jr. follows and retweets many known white supremacists in the alt-right movement on his Twitter account, including users The Occidental Observer, @Bidenshairplugs and @Ricky_Vaughn99.

Woman Assaulted at Trump Rally

Protester Shiya Nwanguma being forcibly removed.

It wasn’t long before protester, Shiya Nwanguma, was being pushed, shoved, and forcibly removed from a rally by white supremacists after Donald Trump noticed a sign she was holding and yelled, “Get her out of here.”

“I was called a nigger and a cunt and got kicked out,” said Shiya Nwanguma, a University of Louisville student. “They were pushing and shoving at me, cursing at me, yelling at me, called me every name in the book. They’re disgusting and dangerous.”

(h/t Washington Times, Insider Louisville)

Reality

This was not the only incident at the Louisville rally. Donald Trump promised to pay the legal fees if anyone roughs up a protester, what the hell did you think would start to happen?

Thankfully there has been repercussions for at least one of the assailants. Future Marine Joseph Pryor will no longer have the chance to be a future Marine.

Media

 

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