mintpressnews--2020-06-17--Murderous US Military Agents and Left-wing Extremists Share Stage in the Fake News Sweepstakes

On Tuesday , the U.S. Department of Justice brought first-degree murder and attempted murder charges against active duty Air Force Sergeant , Steven Carrillo and his accomplice , Robert A. Justus Jr. for the killing of a federal security officer outside of a U.S. courthouse in Oakland , California and the wounding of Santa Cruz police officers in a subsequent armed confrontation that concluded the eight-day manhunt that resulted in Carrillo ’ s capture .
The original crime was carried out in a “ drive-by ” shooting that occurred during a protest at the Oakland courthouse on May 29 over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the hands of Minneapolis police .
Justus , the getaway driver , as well as Carrillo , the shooter , have been linked to an amorphous online extremist group dubbed Boogaloo in the media , whose members have self-described as a “ libertarian , ” while also expressing support for BLM on occasion , according to Forbes and lending credence to pushback offered by some members against claims it is a right-wing outfit .
Some followers have even called the group the real Antifa .
The group ’ s name is said to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called “ Breakin ’ 2 : Electric Boogaloo , ” although followers reject the moniker and use that name only to denote what they believe will be a new civil war triggered by the government ’ s confiscation of guns , reflecting the common ground among members of various viewpoint , who communicate through online forums like 4-Chan and Reddit , of support for originalist sentiments about the second amendment .
The group has sought to visually differentiate themselves by wearing Hawaiian shirts when participating in public rallies , in a quasi-branding practice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of social media .
But , the group also recently made headlines when three of their members were apprehended over a supposed plot to “ terrorize ” protestors at a rally in Las Vegas that took place in April .
According to the criminal complaint in that case , the broader goal of these violent acts is to force “ the government to show its hand ” and bring about some kind of revolution in the United States .
So far , members of the group have been arrested for trying to incite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ large portion of those apprehended have ties to the U.S. Military , which in itself , raises suspicions about the true nature of the group and its ostensibly seditious plans .
Meanwhile , on the other end of the spectrum , so-called Antifa and Black Lives Matter ( BLM ) groups have continued to prolong the ant-police brutality protests , entrenching themselves around the country in large gatherings reminiscent of the Occupy movement .
So-called “ autonomous ” zones have sprung up in cities like Seattle , where a protest outside of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and police over several days until Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan deescalated the situation by issuing a 30-day moratorium on tear gas and ordering the evacuation of the police precinct .
Protestors have since remained in the area , declaring it a “ police-free zone.
” Originally called Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone ( CHAZ ) , it has been renamed Capitol Hill Organized Protest ( CHOP ) by its BLM contingent .
CHOP has attracted hundreds of people to the 11th and Pine intersection on Capitol Hill for a largely peaceful expression of civil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ground , conservative news media outlets like Fox and The Blaze , among others , have tried to characterize it as an agglomeration of “ domestic terrorists , ” going so far as doctoring photos to push that narrative forward .
Fox News was forced to issue a formal apology after it published digitally-altered photos combining images of CHOP with older images of smashed windows and other acts of vandalism that occurred in other parts of the country .
In one photo , an armed man is superimposed onto a stock photo of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s barriers to propagate a false story that claimed armed guards were protecting the area and that demonstrators were extorting local businesses .
The egregious disinformation put out by Fox has even led other conservative news media outlets , like Politico , to call for people to ignore their coverage .
The inflammatory language used by Fox News hosts and others describe the scene at CHOP as a “ totalitarian takeover ” and disseminating racist dog-whistles such as the portrayal of rap artist , Raz Simone as the “ Black George Zimmerman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leading “ a privatized police force ” on the streets of Seattle .
These blatant misrepresentations are nonetheless acquiring a life of their own on platforms like Twitter and Reddit , where tensions based on literal “ fake news ” are buttressing the narratives coming out of the White House , which has consistently blamed the George Floyd protests on “ external actors ” and the so-called Antifa movement ; itself a vague category of supposed provocateurs .
Same Side of the Two Coins The acrimony that has built up in the United @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which has reached fever pitch ever since the public execution of another unarmed Black man is being fueled by the prevailing news media paradigm intent on stoking the flames of division .
In both the case of the “ boogaloo bois ” and Antifa , the real nature and composition of these groups continue to be a mystery for the viewing public , which serves to feed into the imaginations of under-informed people looking to place blame on something for the ills of a system on the brink of collapse .
Both of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for radical reform and fundamental transformation of the policing structure in America .
Curiously , they each seem designed to appeal to either side of the political divide in the United States .
While Antifa captures the impetus of multi-cultural viewpoints and proponents of identity politics , the “ boojahideen ” attract the more nationalistic-minded , free-market Second Amendment types also intent on replacing the current shape of government .
The contrast between their high visibility and clear lack of organization or cogent demands raises doubts about the sincerity behind either of these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Boogaloo , in particular , the tell-tale signs of a contrived psyop seem almost too obvious .
Reuters reported a surge of tens of thousands of people joining the group ’ s Facebook groups over a 30-day period between March and April of this year .
Together , with their apparent ties to the U.S. Military , the dubious assortment of gun-rights activists angling for war against the liberal establishment , according to the ADL , dovetails perfectly with the Q-Anon phenomenon so popular among large segments of Trump ’ s base @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believers and their loyalty to the pathologically mendacious man sitting in the White House have revealed a disturbing reality of modern-day America , where misinformation and preposterous conspiracy theories guide the choices of the electorate and effectively neuters informed assessments of the actual policies being enacted in Washington and at the state level .
The same can be said about the “ extreme ” left , as Antifa is often described , which concentrates on the most particular aspects of social justice and balkanizes the grander concept of civil and equal rights into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ renders it powerless .
In both cases , the calls for justice ring hollow .
Feature photo | People , including those associated with the boogaloo movement , pray as they demonstrate against business closures due to concern about COVID-19 , at the State House in Concord , N.H. , May 2 , 2020 .
Michael Dwyer | AP

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice brought first-degree murder and attempted murder charges against active duty Air Force Sergeant, Steven Carrillo and his accomplice, Robert A. Justus Jr. for the killing of a federal security officer outside of a U.S. courthouse in Oakland, California and the wounding of Santa Cruz police officers in a subsequent armed confrontation that concluded the eight-day manhunt that resulted in Carrillo’s capture.
The original crime was carried out in a “drive-by” shooting that occurred during a protest at the Oakland courthouse on May 29 over the brutal slaying of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Justus, the getaway driver, as well as Carrillo, the shooter, have been linked to an amorphous online extremist group dubbed Boogaloo in the media, whose members have self-described as a “libertarian,” while also expressing support for BLM on occasion, according to Forbes and lending credence to pushback offered by some members against claims it is a right-wing outfit. Some followers have even called the group the real Antifa.
The group’s name is said to come from a mid-80s dance battle movie called “Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo,” although followers reject the moniker and use that name only to denote what they believe will be a new civil war triggered by the government’s confiscation of guns, reflecting the common ground among members of various viewpoint, who communicate through online forums like 4-Chan and Reddit, of support for originalist sentiments about the second amendment.
The group has sought to visually differentiate themselves by wearing Hawaiian shirts when participating in public rallies, in a quasi-branding practice that has become ubiquitous in the age of social media. But, the group also recently made headlines when three of their members were apprehended over a supposed plot to “terrorize” protestors at a rally in Las Vegas that took place in April.
According to the criminal complaint in that case, the broader goal of these violent acts is to force “the government to show its hand” and bring about some kind of revolution in the United States. So far, members of the group have been arrested for trying to incite violence in five different states and a large portion of those apprehended have ties to the U.S. Military, which in itself, raises suspicions about the true nature of the group and its ostensibly seditious plans.
Camera Left
Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, so-called Antifa and Black Lives Matter (BLM) groups have continued to prolong the ant-police brutality protests, entrenching themselves around the country in large gatherings reminiscent of the Occupy movement.
So-called “autonomous” zones have sprung up in cities like Seattle, where a protest outside of a police precinct had seen clashes between demonstrators and police over several days until Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan deescalated the situation by issuing a 30-day moratorium on tear gas and ordering the evacuation of the police precinct. Protestors have since remained in the area, declaring it a “police-free zone.”
Originally called Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), it has been renamed Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP) by its BLM contingent. CHOP has attracted hundreds of people to the 11th and Pine intersection on Capitol Hill for a largely peaceful expression of civil disobedience. Despite the reality on the ground, conservative news media outlets like Fox and The Blaze, among others, have tried to characterize it as an agglomeration of “domestic terrorists,” going so far as doctoring photos to push that narrative forward.
Fox News was forced to issue a formal apology after it published digitally-altered photos combining images of CHOP with older images of smashed windows and other acts of vandalism that occurred in other parts of the country. In one photo, an armed man is superimposed onto a stock photo of a sign at one of the zone’s barriers to propagate a false story that claimed armed guards were protecting the area and that demonstrators were extorting local businesses.
The egregious disinformation put out by Fox has even led other conservative news media outlets, like Politico, to call for people to ignore their coverage. The inflammatory language used by Fox News hosts and others describe the scene at CHOP as a “totalitarian takeover” and disseminating racist dog-whistles such as the portrayal of rap artist, Raz Simone as the “Black George Zimmerman” and “rapper-turned-warlord” who is leading “a privatized police force” on the streets of Seattle.
These blatant misrepresentations are nonetheless acquiring a life of their own on platforms like Twitter and Reddit, where tensions based on literal “fake news” are buttressing the narratives coming out of the White House, which has consistently blamed the George Floyd protests on “external actors” and the so-called Antifa movement; itself a vague category of supposed provocateurs.
Same Side of the Two Coins
The acrimony that has built up in the United States over the last several years and which has reached fever pitch ever since the public execution of another unarmed Black man is being fueled by the prevailing news media paradigm intent on stoking the flames of division.
In both the case of the “boogaloo bois” and Antifa, the real nature and composition of these groups continue to be a mystery for the viewing public, which serves to feed into the imaginations of under-informed people looking to place blame on something for the ills of a system on the brink of collapse.
Both of these ostensibly separate ideological groups are calling for radical reform and fundamental transformation of the policing structure in America. Curiously, they each seem designed to appeal to either side of the political divide in the United States. While Antifa captures the impetus of multi-cultural viewpoints and proponents of identity politics, the “boojahideen” attract the more nationalistic-minded, free-market Second Amendment types also intent on replacing the current shape of government.
The contrast between their high visibility and clear lack of organization or cogent demands raises doubts about the sincerity behind either of these so-called movements. In the case of the Boogaloo, in particular, the tell-tale signs of a contrived psyop seem almost too obvious. Reuters reported a surge of tens of thousands of people joining the group’s Facebook groups over a 30-day period between March and April of this year. Together, with their apparent ties to the U.S. Military, the dubious assortment of gun-rights activists angling for war against the liberal establishment, according to the ADL, dovetails perfectly with the Q-Anon phenomenon so popular among large segments of Trump’s base.
The wild anti-government theories of Q-Anon believers and their loyalty to the pathologically mendacious man sitting in the White House have revealed a disturbing reality of modern-day America, where misinformation and preposterous conspiracy theories guide the choices of the electorate and effectively neuters informed assessments of the actual policies being enacted in Washington and at the state level.
The same can be said about the “extreme” left, as Antifa is often described, which concentrates on the most particular aspects of social justice and balkanizes the grander concept of civil and equal rights into ever-more minute silos and, thereby, renders it powerless. In both cases, the calls for justice ring hollow.
Feature photo | People, including those associated with the boogaloo movement, pray as they demonstrate against business closures due to concern about COVID-19, at the State House in Concord, N.H., May 2, 2020. Michael Dwyer | AP
Raul Diego is a MintPress News Staff Writer, independent photojournalist, researcher, writer and documentary filmmaker.


mintpressnews--2020-06-17--“Most Overpaid Cops in the Country” Seattle Police Rake in up to $300k per Year

Even after a month of nationwide police repression and malfeasance responding to the George Floyd protests , the behavior of the Seattle Police Department ( SPD ) has stood out as among the most questionable .
Viral images show a Seattle cop brutalizing a protestor , putting his knee on his neck in exactly the same fashion that Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin used to kill George Floyd .
Last week , Nikolas Fernandez sped his car into demonstrators at the city ’ s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone .
When stopped by the crowd , he brandished a handgun with an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shot protester Daniel Gregory at point-blank range .
As the crowd scattered in terror , Fernandez calmly walked towards the police , still holding his weapon , where he was apprehended .
The police surrounded Fernandez , facing the crowd , shielding him from a non-existent threat and apparently totally unconcerned at turning their backs on an armed man who had just shot someone .
Earlier , Seattle police were caught on camera smashing the widows of a local Target store .
In the first week of protests alone , the SPD received @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its officers .
Last week , the American Civil Liberties Union and Black Lives Matter fought for and won a temporary restraining against Seattle Police , prohibiting the use of chemical agents and other less than lethal weapons against protestors .
Foreign countries , including Scotland , have banned the export of tear gas , rubber bullets and other riot gear to the U.S. amid images of brutality .
The city ’ s police chief Carmen Best opposed the order , ominously stating that they were now “ back to batons , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insisted on reoccupying and controlling the East Precinct , part of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone , on the grounds that it could never be a “ place of unity and reconciliation and community ” without the police there .
However , opinion appears to be against Best ’ s police force as the City Council has already begun an inquest into their actions and their bloated budget .
Washington State police are paid among the most in the country .
Local news outlet Kiro7 reported that the Seattle Police Department has a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 82 percent of which goes to the salaries , overtime and benefits of roughly 2,000 employees .
If this is correct , then that translates to an average income of $ 168,000 per employee – five times the median personal income of individuals in the United States .
Local newspaper , the News Tribune , published a searchable database app of wages of Seattle ’ s public employees .
In 2018 , Best herself made over $ 300,000 .
Yet the police chief was not even the highest paid cop on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many of the best paid police officers have long histories of violence and corruption .
Lieutenant Michael Kebba , the highest paid member of the SPD , received over $ 336,000 in 2018 .
Ten years previously , he had attempted to suppress a police brutality complaint when an officer kicked a man in the head .
Witnesses claimed the officer said , “ I ’ m going to kick your ass when I catch you ” before the man gave up , going to the ground .
Kebba dismissed the claims because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and “ an officer knows better whether he is in danger than even two civilian witnesses.
” Lieutenant Thomas Yoon also made more than Best ( over $ 311,000 ) .
In 2015 he shot nine blast ball grenades into a crowd of Mayday protesters , seriously injuring a number of medics .
Another Police Lieutenant , James Arata , admitted to , as an act of revenge , sending anonymous letters to his own department full of false information about fellow officers who had helped get him disciplined .
He was promoted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ day .
Arata makes nearly $ 308,000 per year .
Perhaps most notable of the Seattle Police ’ s highest earners , however , is Lieutenant Greg Sackman .
In 2005 , Sackman led a gang of four police officers who brutally beat an African-American man for questioning their motives while ticketing his friend for littering .
Sackman and the others rammed the handcuffed man ’ s head into a wall , kicked and stomped on it so badly that his face was left bloodied , swollen and unrecognizable .
Seattle police paid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or around 8 months of Sackman ’ s salary .
The lawsuit notes that Sackman held “ far more blame ” than the others for the attack .
Yet the Seattle Police declined to discipline him at all ; in fact , he was promoted to lieutenant very shortly afterward .
While policing is often thought of as a blue-collar job , across the U.S. , and especially in Seattle , officers receive enormous compensation for controlling and suppressing the population .
If the city ’ s council is looking to save money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ obvious place to start is with their top cops ’ salaries .
Feature photo | Seattle Police take cover behind a barricade as protesters fill the street in front of the Municipal Court of Seattle , across from Seattle City Hall , June 3 , 2020 , in Seattle .
Elaine Thompson | AP Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

Even after a month of nationwide police repression and malfeasance responding to the George Floyd protests, the behavior of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) has stood out as among the most questionable. Viral images show a Seattle cop brutalizing a protestor, putting his knee on his neck in exactly the same fashion that Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin used to kill George Floyd. Last week, Nikolas Fernandez sped his car into demonstrators at the city’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone. When stopped by the crowd, he brandished a handgun with an extended magazine holding 32 rounds, immediately shot protester Daniel Gregory at point-blank range. As the crowd scattered in terror, Fernandez calmly walked towards the police, still holding his weapon, where he was apprehended. The police surrounded Fernandez, facing the crowd, shielding him from a non-existent threat and apparently totally unconcerned at turning their backs on an armed man who had just shot someone. Earlier, Seattle police were caught on camera smashing the widows of a local Target store. In the first week of protests alone, the SPD received over 12,000 complaints alleging serious misconduct by its officers.
Watch this. After a Seattle officer put his knee on the neck of someone he was helping arrest tonight, observers shouted for him to stop. Then the other officer reached over and physically pulled his partner's knee off the neck. https://t.co/lrLowpnXa3 — Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) May 31, 2020
Last week, the American Civil Liberties Union and Black Lives Matter fought for and won a temporary restraining against Seattle Police, prohibiting the use of chemical agents and other less than lethal weapons against protestors. Foreign countries, including Scotland, have banned the export of tear gas, rubber bullets and other riot gear to the U.S. amid images of brutality.
The city’s police chief Carmen Best opposed the order, ominously stating that they were now “back to batons,” without their superior weapons. She also insisted on reoccupying and controlling the East Precinct, part of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, on the grounds that it could never be a “place of unity and reconciliation and community” without the police there.
However, opinion appears to be against Best’s police force as the City Council has already begun an inquest into their actions and their bloated budget. Washington State police are paid among the most in the country. Local news outlet Kiro7 reported that the Seattle Police Department has a budget of $409 million for 2020, 82 percent of which goes to the salaries, overtime and benefits of roughly 2,000 employees. If this is correct, then that translates to an average income of $168,000 per employee – five times the median personal income of individuals in the United States.
Seattle Police are some of the most overpaid cops in the entire country. While thousands struggle to pay their bills, SPD is running a protection racket and literally refusing to answer 911 calls. This after using weapons of war on peaceful protesters. pic.twitter.com/IJ1qzUcwVg — Puget Sound Socialist Party (@PugetSPUSA) June 12, 2020
Local newspaper, the News Tribune, published a searchable database app of wages of Seattle’s public employees. In 2018, Best herself made over $300,000. Yet the police chief was not even the highest paid cop on the city’s books. Worryingly, many of the best paid police officers have long histories of violence and corruption. Lieutenant Michael Kebba, the highest paid member of the SPD, received over $336,000 in 2018. Ten years previously, he had attempted to suppress a police brutality complaint when an officer kicked a man in the head. Witnesses claimed the officer said, “I’m going to kick your ass when I catch you” before the man gave up, going to the ground. Kebba dismissed the claims because the officer said he was in danger and “an officer knows better whether he is in danger than even two civilian witnesses.”
Lieutenant Thomas Yoon also made more than Best (over $311,000). In 2015 he shot nine blast ball grenades into a crowd of Mayday protesters, seriously injuring a number of medics. Another Police Lieutenant, James Arata, admitted to, as an act of revenge, sending anonymous letters to his own department full of false information about fellow officers who had helped get him disciplined. He was promoted from sergeant to acting lieutenant the next day. Arata makes nearly $308,000 per year.
Perhaps most notable of the Seattle Police’s highest earners, however, is Lieutenant Greg Sackman. In 2005, Sackman led a gang of four police officers who brutally beat an African-American man for questioning their motives while ticketing his friend for littering. Sackman and the others rammed the handcuffed man’s head into a wall, kicked and stomped on it so badly that his face was left bloodied, swollen and unrecognizable. Seattle police paid him $185,000 in a lawsuit, or around 8 months of Sackman’s salary. The lawsuit notes that Sackman held “far more blame” than the others for the attack. Yet the Seattle Police declined to discipline him at all; in fact, he was promoted to lieutenant very shortly afterward.
While policing is often thought of as a blue-collar job, across the U.S., and especially in Seattle, officers receive enormous compensation for controlling and suppressing the population. If the city’s council is looking to save money by cutting the police budget, the obvious place to start is with their top cops’ salaries.
Feature photo | Seattle Police take cover behind a barricade as protesters fill the street in front of the Municipal Court of Seattle, across from Seattle City Hall, June 3, 2020, in Seattle. Elaine Thompson | AP
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-06-17--The Murders of Floyd and Halak Exposed the US and Israel as Settler-Colonial Enterprises

The slow , agonizing death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the torturous murder of Iyad Halak in Jerusalem have a great deal in common .
Testimony I heard from a member of Iyad ’ s family who wished not to be identified is chilling .
That testimony doesn ’ t make up for the video footage that Israeli police refuse to release that show the moments he was executed in Jerusalem , but they do provide a chilling dimension to the murder .
Iyad had an identity card on him that identified him as a person with special needs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ told the police that Iyad has special needs .
After they shot him the first time and he lay wounded on the ground next to a garbage can , his caretaker begged the police to leave him alone .
One of the officers decided to execute the helpless Palestinian and shot him several more times until this gentle man , who had never hurt a soul , was dead .
George Floyd was strangled for eight minutes and forty-six seconds under the knee of another man .
It was filmed , people made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ slow suffocation of Floyd could have been stopped at any moment during that time , it was not stopped until he was dead .
After seeing and hearing about these two ruthless executions , no one should ever talk about Black violence or Palestinian terrorism .
Whatever resistance took place by Blacks in America , whatever protests were held , whatever crimes may or may not have been committed , none come close to this execution .
None except for the initial crime , the mother of all sins , slavery , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that same cold-blooded racism .
In both cases , there were bloodthirsty men , armed and in uniform , representing the “ state , ” executing a helpless , innocent victim in broad daylight .
In both cases , the “ state ” presents itself as a democracy in which cold-blooded executions of innocent citizens by official agents are not permissible .
Yet two men were brutally executed in broad daylight , and the executioners felt they had no reason to fear or hide their actions .
People of color in America , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down by the authorities all the time .
Palestinians are hunted down by Israeli authorities on a regular basis , and in both cases , it is so prevalent that it is hardly news .
The name of one victim is forgotten as soon as the next is killed .
As hard as it may be to believe , in Israeli society , there is less regard for the life and civil rights of Palestinians than there is regard for people of color in the U.S. Israeli society has accepted that Palestinians are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is by and large acceptable .
Even if it is done mistakenly , the mistake is always viewed in the larger context of Israel ’ s fight for survival and is therefore understandable .
Even Israelis who have family members with special needs and who view the murder of Iyad Halak as a tragedy , comment that under such “ difficult ” circumstances where the officers never know who the enemy in a crowd might be , this is understandable .
But is it ?
The problem is not finding out who the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carrying a knife , the problem is that the Old City of Jerusalem is militarized to a point that no Palestinian is safe in the city .
Between the regular police , the border police , the military , the secret police in plain clothes , and the private security contractors , Palestinians are constantly looked at by trigger happy , armed Israelis who view all Palestinians as suspected terrorists .
There are those who will say the same about police in cities across America who have to deal with “ dangerous ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ example .
They must be alert at all times and , people will claim , mistakes do happen .
After all , we are all human .
Perhaps we are all human but clearly not equal in our rights as humans .
Some humans are predators with a license to kill while others are prey to be watched , suspected , and killed when there is doubt .
If we are indeed all human , then where was that humanity when George Floyd was helplessly restrained on the ground begging for his life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s caretaker screamed at the top of her lungs that he had special needs , and showed the police an identity card that was displayed stating his condition ?
Where was humanity when Iyad lay on the ground by a dumpster , already wounded by a shot to the leg and helpless before he shot again and executed ?
Perhaps it would be easier to understand and accept this if we stop pretending that the United States and Israel are actual democracies .
Perhaps it is time to refer to both Israel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racist , genocidal , settler-colonial enterprises who could care less for the rights of people .
While hatred and cruelty can be found everywhere , one can expect things to be worse when a state suffers from systemic racism and has violent tendencies .
The United States and Israel suffer from systemic racism and violent tendencies and unless they are cured of these two maladies , there will be more grotesque killers like those that killed George Floyd and Iyad Halak .
Feature photo | Palestinians walk past an artist painting a mural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ murdered by Minneapolis police , in Gaza City , June 16 , 2020 .
Hatem Moussa | AP Miko Peled is an author and human rights activist born in Jerusalem .
He is the author of “ The General ’ s Son .
Journey of an Israeli in Palestine , ” and “ Injustice , the Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five .
”

The slow, agonizing death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the torturous murder of Iyad Halak in Jerusalem have a great deal in common. Testimony I heard from a member of Iyad’s family who wished not to be identified is chilling. That testimony doesn’t make up for the video footage that Israeli police refuse to release that show the moments he was executed in Jerusalem, but they do provide a chilling dimension to the murder.
Iyad had an identity card on him that identified him as a person with special needs and had a caretaker with him that told the police that Iyad has special needs. After they shot him the first time and he lay wounded on the ground next to a garbage can, his caretaker begged the police to leave him alone. One of the officers decided to execute the helpless Palestinian and shot him several more times until this gentle man, who had never hurt a soul, was dead.
Cold-blooded racism
George Floyd was strangled for eight minutes and forty-six seconds under the knee of another man. It was filmed, people made comments, and yet even though the slow suffocation of Floyd could have been stopped at any moment during that time, it was not stopped until he was dead. After seeing and hearing about these two ruthless executions, no one should ever talk about Black violence or Palestinian terrorism. Whatever resistance took place by Blacks in America, whatever protests were held, whatever crimes may or may not have been committed, none come close to this execution. None except for the initial crime, the mother of all sins, slavery, and the execution of George Floyd stems from that same cold-blooded racism.
In both cases, there were bloodthirsty men, armed and in uniform, representing the “state,” executing a helpless, innocent victim in broad daylight. In both cases, the “state” presents itself as a democracy in which cold-blooded executions of innocent citizens by official agents are not permissible. Yet two men were brutally executed in broad daylight, and the executioners felt they had no reason to fear or hide their actions.
People of color in America, and particularly Black men, are hunted down by the authorities all the time. Palestinians are hunted down by Israeli authorities on a regular basis, and in both cases, it is so prevalent that it is hardly news. The name of one victim is forgotten as soon as the next is killed.
Predators and prey
As hard as it may be to believe, in Israeli society, there is less regard for the life and civil rights of Palestinians than there is regard for people of color in the U.S. Israeli society has accepted that Palestinians are the enemy, and therefore killing them is by and large acceptable. Even if it is done mistakenly, the mistake is always viewed in the larger context of Israel’s fight for survival and is therefore understandable. Even Israelis who have family members with special needs and who view the murder of Iyad Halak as a tragedy, comment that under such “difficult” circumstances where the officers never know who the enemy in a crowd might be, this is understandable. But is it?
The problem is not finding out who the enemies are, or which Palestinian is carrying a knife, the problem is that the Old City of Jerusalem is militarized to a point that no Palestinian is safe in the city. Between the regular police, the border police, the military, the secret police in plain clothes, and the private security contractors, Palestinians are constantly looked at by trigger happy, armed Israelis who view all Palestinians as suspected terrorists.
There are those who will say the same about police in cities across America who have to deal with “dangerous” populations, like the Black population for example. They must be alert at all times and, people will claim, mistakes do happen. After all, we are all human. Perhaps we are all human but clearly not equal in our rights as humans. Some humans are predators with a license to kill while others are prey to be watched, suspected, and killed when there is doubt.
Settler-colonial enterprises
If we are indeed all human, then where was that humanity when George Floyd was helplessly restrained on the ground begging for his life? Where was humanity when Iyad Halak’s caretaker screamed at the top of her lungs that he had special needs, and showed the police an identity card that was displayed stating his condition? Where was humanity when Iyad lay on the ground by a dumpster, already wounded by a shot to the leg and helpless before he shot again and executed?
Perhaps it would be easier to understand and accept this if we stop pretending that the United States and Israel are actual democracies. Perhaps it is time to refer to both Israel and the U.S. as two violent, racist, genocidal, settler-colonial enterprises who could care less for the rights of people.
While hatred and cruelty can be found everywhere, one can expect things to be worse when a state suffers from systemic racism and has violent tendencies. The United States and Israel suffer from systemic racism and violent tendencies and unless they are cured of these two maladies, there will be more grotesque killers like those that killed George Floyd and Iyad Halak.
Feature photo | Palestinians walk past an artist painting a mural of George Floyd, a black American murdered by Minneapolis police, in Gaza City, June 16, 2020. Hatem Moussa | AP
Miko Peled is an author and human rights activist born in Jerusalem. He is the author of “The General’s Son. Journey of an Israeli in Palestine,” and “Injustice, the Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five.”


mintpressnews--2020-06-17--“It Will Take Me Just Under Twenty Five Years to Pay off the First Surgery” – Journalist Blinded by

“It Will Take Me Just Under Twenty Five Years to Pay off the First Surgery” – Journalist Blinded by Cops Speaks Out

Journalist and photographer Linda Tirado was standing near a police line in Minneapolis May 29 , covering the George Floyd protests engulfing the city .
All of a sudden , her face “ exploded ” in her own words .
She had been shot from close range in the eye , permanently blinding her .
Her goggles shattered and tear gas entered the wound , causing even more pain .
The police had shot her .
Protestors pulled her away from her attackers , put her into a vehicle and drove her to the hospital where they were unable to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to give her a $ 58,000 bill , likely the first of many .
Now , in a wide-ranging interview with writer Luke O ’ Neil , she spoke out about the ordeal , brutal policing , and the state of America today .
Tirado revealed that her first reaction to receiving the enormous bill , initially slated to be $ 2,900 per month , was to laugh .
Tirado is a freelance journalist supported by readers via Patreon , not the most lucrative profession .
The hospital finally settled on a $ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take me just under twenty five years to pay off the first surgery , ” she said , adding that she was “ completely fucked.
” “ I ’ m in for $ 58,000 so far between two surgeries .
And those are just the ones I know about .
I ’ ve got a few more surgeries coming up… there ’ s no fuck off way that ’ s going to happen , ” she added .
Tirado is probably best known as the author of the book Hand To Mouth : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the grim reality of how the nearly half of the Americans who live paycheck to paycheck survive , or “ 288 pages of It sucks to be poor , ” in her own words .
She was also the author of a viral article in the Huffington Post that explained to privileged readers why poor people ’ s decisions are not irrational but make perfect sense given the dystopian economic realities they live under .
Growing up poor herself , she says , has given her the strength and perspective to cope @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the only reason I ’ m dealing with this so well is I think poverty and low wage work is just as brutal and visceral as losing an eye to a police bullet .
It ’ s just that people don ’ t think of it that way because it happens to more people , ” she told O ’ Neil .
She compared what happened to her in Minneapolis to her previous jobs on farms and in factories .
“ When that ’ s your job you kind of know that you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at some point , and it ’ s a crapshoot for how many good years you ’ re going to get , ” she said , “ I made it to thirty seven man .
I did ok. And how fucking bleak is that ?
” As a journalist and photographer , Tirado spent a good deal of time in Ferguson , Missouri , a city that exploded in anger after the police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014 .
Yet nothing she saw there prepared her for the violence in Minneapolis .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to be the worst I ever saw .
Then I got to Minneapolis and I was like , holy fuck , it ’ s next level up here , ” she said , “ People had told me you ’ re going to Minneapolis , be careful , those guys don ’ t fuck around.
” While many have tried to downplay the actions of officers like Derek Chauvin , claiming that they represent merely a few bad apples , Tirado sees it a different way , noting that the metaphor explicitly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bunch .
She shared her final photos of the fateful night on her Patreon page , taken right before the incident .
They appear to show Minneapolis police officers pointing weapons directly at her .
She told CNN there is no way they “ could have mistaken me with a professional camera for anything but working press.
” Tirado is currently suing the City of Minneapolis for damages and injunctive relief .
In her announcement , she acknowledged that , because the taxpayer will foot the bill for any damages , a substantial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ local community initiatives .
Since no other group has been documented using foam bullets , it is not certain if the police will argue against their culpability ; “ It could very well have been us , ” stated police spokesperson John Elder , when commenting on the case .
If one good thing has come from the police crackdown , Tirado argues , it is that an increasing number of Americans have come to see the ugly reality of life for so many and have turned against the government and the system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raised on Rush Limbaugh , Trump was a godsend , and his rise deeply troubled her .
“ I ’ ve been using the fascism word openly since 2015 , ” she said , but now so many more are beginning to realize the danger she saw five years ago .
“ The landscape has changed , ” she concluded .
Feature photo | A police officer prepares to shoot tear gas Friday , May 29 , 2020 , in Minneapolis .
John Minchillo | AP Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

Journalist and photographer Linda Tirado was standing near a police line in Minneapolis May 29, covering the George Floyd protests engulfing the city. All of a sudden, her face “exploded” in her own words. She had been shot from close range in the eye, permanently blinding her. Her goggles shattered and tear gas entered the wound, causing even more pain. The police had shot her. Protestors pulled her away from her attackers, put her into a vehicle and drove her to the hospital where they were unable to save her eye, but were able to give her a $58,000 bill, likely the first of many.
Now, in a wide-ranging interview with writer Luke O’Neil, she spoke out about the ordeal, brutal policing, and the state of America today.
I’m “Completely F***ed”
Tirado revealed that her first reaction to receiving the enormous bill, initially slated to be $2,900 per month, was to laugh. Tirado is a freelance journalist supported by readers via Patreon, not the most lucrative profession. The hospital finally settled on a $100 monthly payment. “It will take me just under twenty five years to pay off the first surgery,” she said, adding that she was “completely fucked.” “I’m in for $58,000 so far between two surgeries. And those are just the ones I know about. I’ve got a few more surgeries coming up… there’s no fuck off way that’s going to happen,” she added.
“It sucks to be poor”
Tirado is probably best known as the author of the book Hand To Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America, an account of the grim reality of how the nearly half of the Americans who live paycheck to paycheck survive, or “288 pages of It sucks to be poor,” in her own words. She was also the author of a viral article in the Huffington Post that explained to privileged readers why poor people’s decisions are not irrational but make perfect sense given the dystopian economic realities they live under. Growing up poor herself, she says, has given her the strength and perspective to cope with the ordeal. “I think the only reason I’m dealing with this so well is I think poverty and low wage work is just as brutal and visceral as losing an eye to a police bullet. It’s just that people don’t think of it that way because it happens to more people,” she told O’Neil.
She compared what happened to her in Minneapolis to her previous jobs on farms and in factories. “When that’s your job you kind of know that you’re going to be permanently disabled at some point, and it’s a crapshoot for how many good years you’re going to get,” she said, “I made it to thirty seven man. I did ok. And how fucking bleak is that?”
Living in America means calling the police could kill someone and calling an ambulance could bankrupt someone. — Weston David Pagano (@westonpagano) June 15, 2020
“A few bad apples” spoil the bunch
As a journalist and photographer, Tirado spent a good deal of time in Ferguson, Missouri, a city that exploded in anger after the police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014. Yet nothing she saw there prepared her for the violence in Minneapolis. “I thought St. Louis cops were going to be the worst I ever saw. Then I got to Minneapolis and I was like, holy fuck, it’s next level up here,” she said, “People had told me you’re going to Minneapolis, be careful, those guys don’t fuck around.” While many have tried to downplay the actions of officers like Derek Chauvin, claiming that they represent merely a few bad apples, Tirado sees it a different way, noting that the metaphor explicitly states that bad apples spoil the entire bunch.
She shared her final photos of the fateful night on her Patreon page, taken right before the incident. They appear to show Minneapolis police officers pointing weapons directly at her. She told CNN there is no way they “could have mistaken me with a professional camera for anything but working press.”
Tirado is currently suing the City of Minneapolis for damages and injunctive relief. In her announcement, she acknowledged that, because the taxpayer will foot the bill for any damages, a substantial portion of anything won will go towards local community initiatives. Since no other group has been documented using foam bullets, it is not certain if the police will argue against their culpability; “It could very well have been us,” stated police spokesperson John Elder, when commenting on the case.
If one good thing has come from the police crackdown, Tirado argues, it is that an increasing number of Americans have come to see the ugly reality of life for so many and have turned against the government and the system itself. She said that for generations raised on Rush Limbaugh, Trump was a godsend, and his rise deeply troubled her. “I’ve been using the fascism word openly since 2015,” she said, but now so many more are beginning to realize the danger she saw five years ago. “The landscape has changed,” she concluded.
Feature photo | A police officer prepares to shoot tear gas Friday, May 29, 2020, in Minneapolis. John Minchillo | AP
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-06-17--The System Is Rigged: Qualified Immunity Is How the Police State Stays in Power

CHARLOTTESVILLE ( Rutherford ) –– The system is rigged , the government is corrupt , and “ we the people ” continue to waste our strength by fighting each other rather than standing against the tyrant in our midst .
Because the system is rigged , because the government is corrupt , and because “ we the people ” remain polarized and divided , the police state will keep winning and “ we the people ” will keep losing .
Because the system is rigged and the U.S. Supreme Court—the so-called “ people ’ s court ” —has exchanged its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for its new role as maintainer of the status quo , there will be little if no consequences for the cops who brutalize and no justice for the victims of police brutality .
Because the system is rigged , there will be no consequences for police who destroyed a private home by bombarding it with tear gas grenades during a SWAT team raid gone awry , or for the cop who mistakenly shot a 10-year-old boy after aiming for and missing the non-threatening family dog , or for the arresting officer who sicced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had already surrendered .
This is how unarmed Americans keep dying at the hands of militarized police .
By refusing to accept any of the eight or so qualified immunity cases before it this term that strove to hold police accountable for official misconduct , the Supreme Court delivered a chilling reminder that in the American police state , ‘ we the people ’ are at the mercy of law enforcement officers who have almost absolute discretion to decide who is a threat , what constitutes resistance , and how harshly they can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to ‘ serve and protect.
” This is how qualified immunity keeps the police state in power .
Lawyers tend to offer a lot of complicated , convoluted explanations for the doctrine of qualified immunity , which was intended to insulate government officials from frivolous lawsuits , but the real purpose of qualified immunity is to rig the system , ensuring that abusive agents of the government almost always win and the victims of government abuse almost always lose .
How else do you explain a doctrine that requires victims of police violence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behavior was illegal because it had been deemed so in a nearly identical case at some prior time : it ’ s a setup for failure .
Do you know how many different ways a cop can kill , maim , torture and abuse someone without being held liable ?
The cops know : in large part due to training classes that drill them on the art of sidestepping the Fourth Amendment , which protects us from being bullied , badgered , beaten , broken and spied on by government agents .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keep losing .
Although the U.S. Supreme Court recognized in Harlow v. Fitzgerald ( 1982 ) that suing government officials for monetary damages is “ the only realistic avenue ” of holding them accountable for abusing their offices and violating the Constitution , it has ostensibly given the police and other government agents a green light to shoot first and ask questions later , as well as to probe , poke , pinch , taser , search , seize , strip and generally manhandle anyone they see fit in almost any circumstance , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ courts .
Whether it ’ s police officers breaking through people ’ s front doors and shooting them dead in their homes or strip searching motorists on the side of the road , these instances of abuse are continually validated by a judicial system that kowtows to virtually every police demand , no matter how unjust , no matter how in opposition to the Constitution .
Make no mistake about it : this is what constitutes “ law and order ” in the American police state .
These are the hallmarks of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no longer mere servants of the people entrusted with keeping the peace , are part of an elite ruling class dependent on keeping the masses corralled , under control , and treated like suspects and enemies rather than citizens .
Unfortunately , we ’ ve been traveling this dangerous road for a long time now .
A review of critical court rulings over the past several decades , including rulings affirming qualified immunity protections for government agents by the U.S. Supreme Court , reveals a startling and steady trend towards pro-police state rulings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order , protecting the ruling class , and insulating government agents from charges of wrongdoing than with upholding the rights enshrined in the Constitution .
Indeed , as Reuters reports , qualified immunity “ has become a nearly failsafe tool to let police brutality go unpunished and deny victims their constitutional rights.
” Worse , as Reuters concluded , “ the Supreme Court has built qualified immunity into an often insurmountable police defense by intervening in cases mostly to favor the police.
” Police can claim qualified immunity for warrantless searches .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ruled that FBI and state law enforcement agents were entitled to qualified immunity protections after they were sued for raiding a private home without a warrant and holding family members at gunpoint , all in a search for a suspected bank robber who was not in the house .
Police can claim qualified immunity for warrantless arrests based on mere suspicion .
In Hunter v. Bryant , the Court ruled that police acted reasonably in arresting James Bryant without a warrant in order to protect the president .
Bryant had allegedly written a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assassinate President Ronald Reagan , but police had no proof that he intended to harm Reagan beyond a mere suspicion .
The charges against Bryant were eventually dropped .
Police can claim qualified immunity for using excessive force against protesters .
In Saucier v. Katz , the Court ruled in favor of federal law enforcement agents who forcefully tackled a protester as he attempted to unfurl a banner at Vice President Gore ’ s political rally .
The Court reasoned that the officers acted reasonably given the urgency of protecting the vice president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shooting a fleeing suspect in the back .
In Brosseau v. Haugen , the Court dismissed a lawsuit against a police officer who shot Kenneth Haugen in the back as he entered his car in order to flee from police .
The Court ruled that in light of existing case law , the cop ’ s conduct fell in the “ hazy border between excessive and acceptable force ” and so she did not violate clearly established law .
Police can claim qualified immunity for shooting a mentally impaired person .
In City @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Court ruled in favor of police who repeatedly shot Teresa Sheehan during the course of a mental health welfare check .
The Court ruled that it was not unreasonable for police to pepper spray and shoot Sheehan multiple times after entering her room without a warrant and encountering her holding a knife .
Police officers can use lethal force in car chases without fear of lawsuits .
In Plumhoff v. Rickard , the U.S. Supreme Court declared that police officers who used deadly force to terminate a car chase were immune from a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ needlessly resorting to deadly force by shooting multiple times at a man and his passenger in a stopped car , killing both individuals .
Police can stop , arrest and search citizens without reasonable suspicion or probable cause .
In a 5-3 ruling in Utah v. Strieff , the U.S. Supreme Court effectively gave police the go-ahead to embark on a fishing expedition of one ’ s person and property , rendering Americans completely vulnerable to the whims of any cop on the beat .
Police officers can stop cars based on “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” behavior such as having a reclined car seat or driving too carefully .
In a 5-4 ruling in Navarette v. California , the U.S. Supreme Court declared that police officers , under the guise of “ reasonable suspicion , ” can stop cars and question drivers based solely on anonymous tips , no matter how dubious , and whether or not they themselves witnessed any troubling behavior .
Then in State v. Howard , the Kansas Supreme Court declared that motorists who recline their car seats are guilty of suspicious behavior and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police .
That ruling , coupled with other court rulings upholding warrantless searches and seizures by police renders one ’ s car a Constitution-free zone .
Americans have no protection against mandatory breathalyzer tests at a police checkpoint , although mandatory blood draws violate the Fourth Amendment ( Birchfield v. North Dakota ) .
Police can also conduct sobriety and “ information-seeking ” checkpoints ( Illinois v. Lidster and Mich. Dep ’ t of State Police v. Sitz ) .
Police can forcibly take your DNA , whether or not you ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Maryland v. King , a divided U.S. Supreme Court determined that a person arrested for a crime who is supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty must submit to forcible extraction of their DNA .
Once again the Court sided with the guardians of the police state over the defenders of individual liberty in determining that DNA samples may be extracted from people arrested for “ serious ” offenses .
The end result of the ruling paves the way for a nationwide dragnet of suspects targeted via DNA sampling .
Police can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” rationale as an excuse for shooting unarmed individuals .
Upon arriving on the scene of a nighttime traffic accident , an Alabama police officer shot a driver exiting his car , mistakenly believing the wallet in his hand to be a gun .
A report by the Justice Department found that half of the unarmed people shot by one police department over a seven-year span were “ shot because the officer saw something ( like a cellphone ) or some action ( like a person pulling at the waist of their pants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Police have free reign to use drug-sniffing dogs as “ search warrants on leashes.
” In Florida v. Harris , a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court determined that police officers may use highly unreliable drug-sniffing dogs to conduct warrantless searches of cars during routine traffic stops .
The ruling turns man ’ s best friend into an extension of the police state , provided the use of a K-9 unit takes place within a reasonable amount of time ( Rodriguez v. United States ) .
Not only are police largely protected by qualified @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off the hook for wrongdoing .
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a police officer who allowed a police dog to maul a homeless man innocent of any wrongdoing .
Police can subject Americans to strip searches , no matter the “ offense.
” A divided U.S. Supreme Court actually prioritized making life easier for overworked jail officials over the basic right of Americans to be free from debasing strip searches .
In its 5-4 ruling in Florence v. Burlington , the Court declared that any person who is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , regardless of the severity of his or her offense ( i.e.
, they can be guilty of nothing more than a minor traffic offense ) , can be subjected to a strip search by police or jail officials , which involves exposing the genitals and the buttocks .
This “ license to probe ” is now being extended to roadside stops , as police officers throughout the country have begun performing roadside strip searches—some involving anal and vaginal probes—without any evidence of wrongdoing and without a warrant .
Police can break into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s the wrong home .
In an 8-1 ruling in Kentucky v. King , the U.S. Supreme Court placed their trust in the discretion of police officers , rather than in the dictates of the Constitution , when they gave police greater leeway to break into homes or apartments without a warrant .
Despite the fact that the police in question ended up pursuing the wrong suspect , invaded the wrong apartment and violated just about every tenet that stands between us and a police state , the Court sanctioned the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ real protection in the face of all manner of abuses by police .
Police can use knock-and-talk tactics as a means of sidestepping the Fourth Amendment .
Aggressive “ knock and talk ” practices have become thinly veiled , warrantless exercises by which citizens are coerced and intimidated into “ talking ” with heavily armed police who “ knock ” on their doors in the middle of the night .
Andrew Scott didn ’ t even get a chance to say no to such a heavy-handed request before he was gunned down by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ door at 1:30 a.m. , failed to identify themselves as police , and then repeatedly shot and killed the man when he answered the door while holding a gun in self-defense .
Police can carry out no-knock raids if they believe announcing themselves would be dangerous .
Police can perform a “ no-knock ” raid as long as they have a reasonable suspicion that knocking and announcing their presence , under the particular circumstances , would be dangerous or futile or give occupants a chance to destroy evidence of a crime ( Richards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a firearm is also enough to justify a no-knock raid by police ( Quinn v. Texas ) .
For instance , a Texas man had his home subject to a no-knock , SWAT-team style forceful entry and raid based solely on the suspicion that there were legally-owned firearms in his household .
The homeowner was actually shot by police through his closed bedroom door .
Police can recklessly open fire on anyone that might be “ armed.
” Philando Castile was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop allegedly over a broken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had a conceal-and-carry permit .
That ’ s all it took for police to shoot Castile four times in the presence of his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter .
A unanimous Supreme Court declared in County of Los Angeles vs. Mendez that police should not be held liable for recklessly firing 15 times into a shack where a homeless couple had been sleeping because the grabbed his BB gun in defense , fearing they were being attacked .
Police can destroy a home during a SWAT raid , even if the owner gives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In West v. Winfield , the Supreme Court provided cover to police after they smashed the windows of Shaniz West ’ s home , punched holes in her walls and ceilings , and bombed the house with so much tear gas that it was uninhabitable for two months .
All of this despite the fact that the suspect they were pursuing was not in the house and West , the homeowner , agreed to allow police to search the home to confirm that .
Police can suffocate someone , deliberately or inadvertently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ I can ’ t breathe ” has become a rallying cry following the deaths of Eric Garner and George Floyd , both of whom died after being placed in a chokehold by police .
Dozens more have died in similar circumstances at the hands of police who have faced little repercussions for these deaths .
As I make clear in my book Battlefield America : The War on the American People , we are dealing with a nationwide epidemic of court-sanctioned police violence carried out with impunity against individuals posing little @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s the answer to reforming a system that is clearly self-serving and corrupt ?
Abolishing the police is not the answer : that will inevitably lead to outright anarchy , which will give the police state and those law-and-order zealots all the incentive it needs to declare martial law .
Looting and violence are not the answer : As Martin Luther King Jr. recognized , “ A riot merely intensifies the fears of the white community while relieving the guilt.
” Using the looting and riots as justification for supporting police brutality @ @ @ @ @ @ @ King recognized , “ It is not enough … to condemn riots… without , at the same time , condemning the contingent , intolerable conditions that exist in our society .
These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention .
And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard .
And what is it America has failed to hear ?
It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or fifteen years .
It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met .
And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.
” Police reform is necessary and unavoidable if we are to have any hope of living in an America in which freedom means something more than the right to stay alive , but how we reform the system is just as important as getting it done @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wait for nine members of a ruling aristocracy who primarily come from privileged backgrounds and who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo to fix what ’ s broken in America .
Nor do we need to wait for 535 highly paid politicians to do something about these injustices only when it suits their political ambitions And we certainly don ’ t need to wait for a president with a taste for totalitarian tactics to throw a few crumbs our way .
This is as much a local problem as it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Be nonviolent .
Be relentless in your pursuit of justice for all .
Let ’ s get it done .
Photo | Police and secret service agents protect the White House from protesters following the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis .
Eleanor Goldfield | Art Killing Apathy John W. Whitehead is a constitutional attorney , author and founder and president of The Rutherford Institute .
His new book Battlefield America : The War on the American People ( SelectBooks , 2015 ) is available online at www.amazon.com .
Whitehead can @ @ @ @ @ @ @

CHARLOTTESVILLE (Rutherford) –– The system is rigged, the government is corrupt, and “we the people” continue to waste our strength by fighting each other rather than standing against the tyrant in our midst.
Because the system is rigged, because the government is corrupt, and because “we the people” remain polarized and divided, the police state will keep winning and “we the people” will keep losing.
Because the system is rigged and the U.S. Supreme Court—the so-called “people’s court”—has exchanged its appointed role as a gatekeeper of justice for its new role as maintainer of the status quo, there will be little if no consequences for the cops who brutalize and no justice for the victims of police brutality.
Because the system is rigged, there will be no consequences for police who destroyed a private home by bombarding it with tear gas grenades during a SWAT team raid gone awry, or for the cop who mistakenly shot a 10-year-old boy after aiming for and missing the non-threatening family dog, or for the arresting officer who sicced a police dog on a suspect who had already surrendered.
This is how unarmed Americans keep dying at the hands of militarized police.
By refusing to accept any of the eight or so qualified immunity cases before it this term that strove to hold police accountable for official misconduct, the Supreme Court delivered a chilling reminder that in the American police state, ‘we the people’ are at the mercy of law enforcement officers who have almost absolute discretion to decide who is a threat, what constitutes resistance, and how harshly they can deal with the citizens they were appointed to ‘serve and protect.”
This is how qualified immunity keeps the police state in power.
Lawyers tend to offer a lot of complicated, convoluted explanations for the doctrine of qualified immunity, which was intended to insulate government officials from frivolous lawsuits, but the real purpose of qualified immunity is to rig the system, ensuring that abusive agents of the government almost always win and the victims of government abuse almost always lose.
How else do you explain a doctrine that requires victims of police violence to prove that their abusers knew their behavior was illegal because it had been deemed so in a nearly identical case at some prior time: it’s a setup for failure.
Do you know how many different ways a cop can kill, maim, torture and abuse someone without being held liable?
The cops know: in large part due to training classes that drill them on the art of sidestepping the Fourth Amendment, which protects us from being bullied, badgered, beaten, broken and spied on by government agents.
This is how “we the people” keep losing.
Although the U.S. Supreme Court recognized in Harlow v. Fitzgerald (1982) that suing government officials for monetary damages is “the only realistic avenue” of holding them accountable for abusing their offices and violating the Constitution, it has ostensibly given the police and other government agents a green light to shoot first and ask questions later, as well as to probe, poke, pinch, taser, search, seize, strip and generally manhandle anyone they see fit in almost any circumstance, all with the general blessing of the courts.
Whether it’s police officers breaking through people’s front doors and shooting them dead in their homes or strip searching motorists on the side of the road, these instances of abuse are continually validated by a judicial system that kowtows to virtually every police demand, no matter how unjust, no matter how in opposition to the Constitution.
Make no mistake about it: this is what constitutes “law and order” in the American police state.
These are the hallmarks of a police state: where police officers, no longer mere servants of the people entrusted with keeping the peace, are part of an elite ruling class dependent on keeping the masses corralled, under control, and treated like suspects and enemies rather than citizens.
Unfortunately, we’ve been traveling this dangerous road for a long time now.
A review of critical court rulings over the past several decades, including rulings affirming qualified immunity protections for government agents by the U.S. Supreme Court, reveals a startling and steady trend towards pro-police state rulings by an institution concerned more with establishing order, protecting the ruling class, and insulating government agents from charges of wrongdoing than with upholding the rights enshrined in the Constitution.
Indeed, as Reuters reports, qualified immunity “has become a nearly failsafe tool to let police brutality go unpunished and deny victims their constitutional rights.” Worse, as Reuters concluded, “the Supreme Court has built qualified immunity into an often insurmountable police defense by intervening in cases mostly to favor the police.”
The system is rigged.
Police can claim qualified immunity for warrantless searches. In Anderson v. Creighton, the Supreme Court ruled that FBI and state law enforcement agents were entitled to qualified immunity protections after they were sued for raiding a private home without a warrant and holding family members at gunpoint, all in a search for a suspected bank robber who was not in the house.
Police can claim qualified immunity for warrantless arrests based on mere suspicion. In Hunter v. Bryant, the Court ruled that police acted reasonably in arresting James Bryant without a warrant in order to protect the president. Bryant had allegedly written a letter that referenced a third-party plot to assassinate President Ronald Reagan, but police had no proof that he intended to harm Reagan beyond a mere suspicion. The charges against Bryant were eventually dropped.
Police can claim qualified immunity for using excessive force against protesters. In Saucier v. Katz, the Court ruled in favor of federal law enforcement agents who forcefully tackled a protester as he attempted to unfurl a banner at Vice President Gore’s political rally. The Court reasoned that the officers acted reasonably given the urgency of protecting the vice president.
Police can claim qualified immunity for shooting a fleeing suspect in the back. In Brosseau v. Haugen, the Court dismissed a lawsuit against a police officer who shot Kenneth Haugen in the back as he entered his car in order to flee from police. The Court ruled that in light of existing case law, the cop’s conduct fell in the “hazy border between excessive and acceptable force” and so she did not violate clearly established law.
Police can claim qualified immunity for shooting a mentally impaired person. In City of San Francisco v. Sheehan, the Court ruled in favor of police who repeatedly shot Teresa Sheehan during the course of a mental health welfare check. The Court ruled that it was not unreasonable for police to pepper spray and shoot Sheehan multiple times after entering her room without a warrant and encountering her holding a knife.
Police officers can use lethal force in car chases without fear of lawsuits. In Plumhoff v. Rickard, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that police officers who used deadly force to terminate a car chase were immune from a lawsuit. The officers were accused of needlessly resorting to deadly force by shooting multiple times at a man and his passenger in a stopped car, killing both individuals.
Police can stop, arrest and search citizens without reasonable suspicion or probable cause. In a 5-3 ruling in Utah v. Strieff, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively gave police the go-ahead to embark on a fishing expedition of one’s person and property, rendering Americans completely vulnerable to the whims of any cop on the beat.
Police officers can stop cars based on “anonymous” tips or for “suspicious” behavior such as having a reclined car seat or driving too carefully. In a 5-4 ruling in Navarette v. California, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that police officers, under the guise of “reasonable suspicion,” can stop cars and question drivers based solely on anonymous tips, no matter how dubious, and whether or not they themselves witnessed any troubling behavior. Then in State v. Howard, the Kansas Supreme Court declared that motorists who recline their car seats are guilty of suspicious behavior and can be subject to warrantless searches by police. That ruling, coupled with other court rulings upholding warrantless searches and seizures by police renders one’s car a Constitution-free zone.
Americans have no protection against mandatory breathalyzer tests at a police checkpoint, although mandatory blood draws violate the Fourth Amendment (Birchfield v. North Dakota). Police can also conduct sobriety and “information-seeking” checkpoints (Illinois v. Lidster and Mich. Dep’t of State Police v. Sitz).
Police can forcibly take your DNA, whether or not you’ve been convicted of a crime. In Maryland v. King, a divided U.S. Supreme Court determined that a person arrested for a crime who is supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty must submit to forcible extraction of their DNA. Once again the Court sided with the guardians of the police state over the defenders of individual liberty in determining that DNA samples may be extracted from people arrested for “serious” offenses. The end result of the ruling paves the way for a nationwide dragnet of suspects targeted via DNA sampling.
Police can use the “fear for my life” rationale as an excuse for shooting unarmed individuals. Upon arriving on the scene of a nighttime traffic accident, an Alabama police officer shot a driver exiting his car, mistakenly believing the wallet in his hand to be a gun. A report by the Justice Department found that half of the unarmed people shot by one police department over a seven-year span were “shot because the officer saw something (like a cellphone) or some action (like a person pulling at the waist of their pants) and misidentified it as a threat.”
Police have free reign to use drug-sniffing dogs as “search warrants on leashes.” In Florida v. Harris, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court determined that police officers may use highly unreliable drug-sniffing dogs to conduct warrantless searches of cars during routine traffic stops. The ruling turns man’s best friend into an extension of the police state, provided the use of a K-9 unit takes place within a reasonable amount of time (Rodriguez v. United States).
Not only are police largely protected by qualified immunity, but police dogs are also off the hook for wrongdoing. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a police officer who allowed a police dog to maul a homeless man innocent of any wrongdoing.
Police can subject Americans to strip searches, no matter the “offense.” A divided U.S. Supreme Court actually prioritized making life easier for overworked jail officials over the basic right of Americans to be free from debasing strip searches. In its 5-4 ruling in Florence v. Burlington, the Court declared that any person who is arrested and processed at a jail house, regardless of the severity of his or her offense (i.e., they can be guilty of nothing more than a minor traffic offense), can be subjected to a strip search by police or jail officials, which involves exposing the genitals and the buttocks. This “license to probe” is now being extended to roadside stops, as police officers throughout the country have begun performing roadside strip searches—some involving anal and vaginal probes—without any evidence of wrongdoing and without a warrant.
Police can break into homes without a warrant, even if it’s the wrong home. In an 8-1 ruling in Kentucky v. King, the U.S. Supreme Court placed their trust in the discretion of police officers, rather than in the dictates of the Constitution, when they gave police greater leeway to break into homes or apartments without a warrant. Despite the fact that the police in question ended up pursuing the wrong suspect, invaded the wrong apartment and violated just about every tenet that stands between us and a police state, the Court sanctioned the warrantless raid, leaving Americans with little real protection in the face of all manner of abuses by police.
Police can use knock-and-talk tactics as a means of sidestepping the Fourth Amendment. Aggressive “knock and talk” practices have become thinly veiled, warrantless exercises by which citizens are coerced and intimidated into “talking” with heavily armed police who “knock” on their doors in the middle of the night. Andrew Scott didn’t even get a chance to say no to such a heavy-handed request before he was gunned down by police who pounded aggressively on the wrong door at 1:30 a.m., failed to identify themselves as police, and then repeatedly shot and killed the man when he answered the door while holding a gun in self-defense.
Police can carry out no-knock raids if they believe announcing themselves would be dangerous. Police can perform a “no-knock” raid as long as they have a reasonable suspicion that knocking and announcing their presence, under the particular circumstances, would be dangerous or futile or give occupants a chance to destroy evidence of a crime (Richards v. Wisconsin). Legal ownership of a firearm is also enough to justify a no-knock raid by police (Quinn v. Texas). For instance, a Texas man had his home subject to a no-knock, SWAT-team style forceful entry and raid based solely on the suspicion that there were legally-owned firearms in his household. The homeowner was actually shot by police through his closed bedroom door.
Police can recklessly open fire on anyone that might be “armed.” Philando Castile was shot and killed during a routine traffic stop allegedly over a broken tail light merely for telling police he had a conceal-and-carry permit. That’s all it took for police to shoot Castile four times in the presence of his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter. A unanimous Supreme Court declared in County of Los Angeles vs. Mendez that police should not be held liable for recklessly firing 15 times into a shack where a homeless couple had been sleeping because the grabbed his BB gun in defense, fearing they were being attacked.
Police can destroy a home during a SWAT raid, even if the owner gives their consent to enter and search it. In West v. Winfield, the Supreme Court provided cover to police after they smashed the windows of Shaniz West’s home, punched holes in her walls and ceilings, and bombed the house with so much tear gas that it was uninhabitable for two months. All of this despite the fact that the suspect they were pursuing was not in the house and West, the homeowner, agreed to allow police to search the home to confirm that.
Police can suffocate someone, deliberately or inadvertently, in the process of subduing them. “I can’t breathe” has become a rallying cry following the deaths of Eric Garner and George Floyd, both of whom died after being placed in a chokehold by police. Dozens more have died in similar circumstances at the hands of police who have faced little repercussions for these deaths.
As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, we are dealing with a nationwide epidemic of court-sanctioned police violence carried out with impunity against individuals posing little or no real threat.
So what’s the answer to reforming a system that is clearly self-serving and corrupt?
Abolishing the police is not the answer: that will inevitably lead to outright anarchy, which will give the police state and those law-and-order zealots all the incentive it needs to declare martial law.
Looting and violence are not the answer: As Martin Luther King Jr. recognized, “A riot merely intensifies the fears of the white community while relieving the guilt.” Using the looting and riots as justification for supporting police brutality is also not the answer: As King recognized, “It is not enough … to condemn riots… without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard. And what is it America has failed to hear? It has failed to hear that the plight of the negro poor has worsened over the last twelve or fifteen years. It has failed to hear that the promises of freedom and justice have not been met. And it has failed to hear that large segments of white society are more concerned about tranquility and the status quo than about justice and humanity.”
Police reform is necessary and unavoidable if we are to have any hope of living in an America in which freedom means something more than the right to stay alive, but how we reform the system is just as important as getting it done.
We don’t need to wait for nine members of a ruling aristocracy who primarily come from privileged backgrounds and who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo to fix what’s broken in America.
Nor do we need to wait for 535 highly paid politicians to do something about these injustices only when it suits their political ambitions
And we certainly don’t need to wait for a president with a taste for totalitarian tactics to throw a few crumbs our way.
This is as much a local problem as it is a national one.
Be fair. Be nonviolent. Be relentless in your pursuit of justice for all.
Let’s get it done.
Photo | Police and secret service agents protect the White House from protesters following the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Eleanor Goldfield | Art Killing Apathy
John W. Whitehead is a constitutional attorney, author and founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His new book Battlefield America: The War on the American People (SelectBooks, 2015) is available online at www.amazon.com. Whitehead can be contacted at [email protected].