vox--2020-08-31--The eerie prescience of HBO’s Watchmen

The eerie prescience of HBO’s Watchmen

One of the most acclaimed TV episodes of the last year is “ This Extraordinary Being , ” from HBO ’ s miniseries version of Watchmen , which aired in late 2019 .
In it , the series ’ main character , Angela ( Regina King ) , imbibes a drug called “ Nostalgia , ” which allows her to enter the curated memories of Will Reeves ( Louis Gossett Jr. in 2019 ; Jovan Adepo in the 1930s ) , the grandfather she ’ s just met .
As she viscerally experiences those memories , she discovers the ways @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are hopelessly intertwined .
The episode has received eight Emmy nominations , out of Watchmen ’ s total 26 , and one of those nominations belongs to its director , Stephen Williams , a longtime TV director whose work with Watchmen showrunner Damon Lindelof also includes Lindelof ’ s earlier series Lost .
Williams turns Angela ’ s journey into the past into an eerie reflection of our own history — both because Watchmen takes place in an alternate timeline version of our reality and because it ’ s touching on darker parts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presented within the confines of superhero stories .
I recently spoke with Williams via Zoom about the ways our real-world conversations around structural racism informed Watchmen , how “ This Extraordinary Being ” depicts America ’ s queer history , and how jarring it is to suddenly see everybody in the real world — not just the characters on a fictional TV show — wearing masks .
Our conversation , which has been lightly edited for length and clarity , follows .
One thing I have really been struck by in revisiting Watchmen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be .
Structural racism in America and the intersection of racism and policing are eternal issues .
But the way that masks ended up being such a vital part of the show ’ s iconography and how that would filter into reality is something no one working on the show could have predicted .
What are the benefits and downsides of filming actors in masks ?
When you film someone wearing a mask , you are not able to take advantage of the full landscape of emotions that the actors are offering up @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and comprehensive physical posture , and we were blessed with such an amazing cast on our show and specifically in this episode , “ This Extraordinary Being.
” There is a totality of physical presence and a body language that the actors are able to utilize in portraying their characters .
That ’ s the challenge of photographing and filming actors who are wearing masks , but masks were a huge motif in terms of our show .
They conceal and reveal aspects of the characters who wear them .
That was something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of our overall narrative approach .
When I ’ m out and about now , and I see people with masks on everywhere , my writer brain goes into overdrive trying to think of how to describe what that looks like .
Does the same thing happen to you ?
If you see this very visually different world , does that strike the part of your brain that thinks about how you might depict these images ?
These are singularly bizarre times that we are all collectively living through .
Certainly the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presents a completely different visual landscape on a human level than we ’ re accustomed to .
But some people have very personalized masks .
Masks have become a human billboard in a way .
It ’ s a way for a lot of people to reflect and represent various points of view that they have about issues that may be prevalent or current in our society .
That ’ s interesting and cool to see and in some cases powerful to see .
And other people recede into a kind of anonymity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a surreal visual experience for sure .
“ This Extraordinary Being ” depicts many things that could make people feel uneasy or make people feel uncomfortable in the filming process .
In particular , I ’ m thinking of the choice to film much of the episode ’ s lynching sequence from the point of view of the character .
What were the conversations like as you worked out how you were going to present these story elements in a way that was honest but not exploitative ?
Our whole intention with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ episode was to try to remove as much as possible any barriers between the viewer and the subjective experience that the characters were undergoing as they made their way through the narrative arc of our story and of that episode .
At the same time , lynching occupies such an ugly part of our nation ’ s racial history , so it was important to us to be honest about the subjective experience of the near lynching that appears in the episode , without being exploitative .
[ We also tried to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the horror of what that experience could be as possible .
Once we landed on the idea that the visual grammar of the piece was going to be first-person and subjective , then the question became how to make that as visceral and as real and as truthful as possible .
It was a very complicated sequence to execute from a technical point of view .
And we did many , many things — including fitting the hood that eventually gets repurposed by Will in ensuing scenes with an air bladder — that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we possibly could his panicked breathing as he is being hoisted up in this tree by his malevolent coworker cops .
The whole approach was to try to be as honest as possible about the sheer , ugly terror of that experience without crossing over into a voyeuristic or exploitative depiction of it .
Say a cast member or someone is filming a scene like this and says that something about the approach makes them uncomfortable — how did those conversations play out on the set of Watchmen ?
There are so many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would just be shut down , but I ’ ve talked to enough people who worked on Watchmen to know that it didn ’ t happen on the show .
How do you build that sort of collaborative working environment ?
From the outset , we understood that this was going to be a very special episode but also a very emotionally harrowing experience for everybody .
For cast , for crew , for all of us .
So I gathered everyone , cast and crew , together before we ever started shooting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and talked in great detail about what the technical approach was going to be , involving really long takes and an extended period of immersion in the narrative material .
I talked about how sensitive this material was and how upsetting and disturbing and emotionally raw it was .
We wrapped arms around everybody and encouraged us all to be as respectful of each other and as honest and compassionate with each other as we possibly could be .
We tried to stay present with each other through every moment of this journey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were depicting events that had actually happened in our very recent history .
More than anything , I wanted to honor those lives that had preceded our arrival on set in Georgia — not only the suffering that many of those lives entailed but also being as compassionate as possible about the task of depicting these events .
This episode aired last year , but it has incredible resonance with the events of the past several months — the death of George Floyd and many of the other instances of police violence we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years it ’ s been since the cellphone camera became ubiquitous .
As a director , how do you think about the fact that people are capturing these filmed images of such brutality , to the degree that we can ’ t escape them , both how we might internalize those images and how they might create change ?
At its simplest level , the events and experiences that Black Americans have been experiencing since the birth of this country and have been talking about and bearing witness to since the birth of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ times , gained a visual context that has not existed prior to the technology of the cellphone .
The power of those images — specifically I ’ m thinking of the video of the murder of George Floyd — appears to have broken through a kind of membrane of credibility for any number of reasons that have not been present before .
It seems to have had an impact that is both new and old at the same time .
It revealed to a seemingly larger group of people than ever before that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
So in that sense , it ’ s good and useful and valuable .
It inserts itself in the social discourse and the quest for justice in a way that is pivotal and hadn ’ t existed before .
But beyond that , it ’ s still somewhat soul-destroying that after all these centuries of the presence of Black Americans on American soil that this institutionalized racism is still happening to the degree that it is happening .
I guess we should all be grateful on some level that cellphones have captured @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of our social fabric , so we can turn to the more important work of trying to bring justice and fairness into every aspect of our lives as a country so that we never have to witness another one of those videos again .
What sorts of conversations did you have around those questions of police violence when making the show itself ?
And how did looking at those issues via the prism of an alternate reality affect the way you perhaps see our reality ?
Honestly , conversations about cellphone videos of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in this country weren ’ t really something that we talked about while we were in production on the show .
But subsequent to our show being completed and released and seen at large , it feels like an ongoing tragedy in our national life that acts of violence like this from those who are supposed to be protecting and serving every member of our community with equality and fairness and justice continue to happen with unfortunate and tragic regularity .
It has only heightened so much of what we were trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a paradoxical way , it ’ s very effective to look at real-life events through the lens of fiction .
This isn ’ t a new function of fiction .
It ’ s something that has been true since the inception of storytelling .
It felt like our show was located in that lineage of fictional enterprises that by virtue of the degrees of difference between real events and fictional events allows someone to enjoy the narrative that is contained in the show in and of itself , but also be very aware @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is commenting — hopefully in an illuminating way — on real-life events .
One thing I also appreciate about “ This Extraordinary Being ” is how it depicts a sort of hidden queer history of America alongside all these other topics , by Will falling in love with another man .
What were discussions like around the question of how to portray a love affair between two men , one white and one Black , that is sort of simultaneously informed by societal homophobia and then the toxicity of racism ?
One of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the graphic novel Watchmen was going to be treated as canon .
It was going to be our Old Testament , and the remix version of Watchmen that we were going to execute was going to be , to extend the analogy , the New Testament .
Insofar as there are intimations of the Hooded Justice character ’ s sexuality in the original [ which heavily suggests the character was gay ] , we wanted to not shy away from that and lean into that .
What isn ’ t revealed in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Hooded Justice , which left us free to invent our particular incarnation of who that character would be , namely this Black man named Will Reeves .
On the relationship level , it was important for us to depict a relationship that embodies the complexity of the way in which race asserts itself in the relationships of people from either side of that Black/white divide .
There ’ s arguably genuine affection between the two lovers , tinged with maybe some cultural tourism — an affinity for the exotic .
Maybe on some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of performative allyship .
But when the rubber hits the road , our white character is nowhere to be found .
He fails and abandons Will , and that somehow felt also true and honest , in terms of the multi-layered nature of this character but also as a marker about race relations in our country .
Where did the choice to shoot in black and white originate from ?
What do you think it adds to the episode ?
It ’ s a great choice , but it ’ s maybe not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Very few people , as a general rule , erupt in immediate exaltation when they hear that a filmmaker wants to shoot in black and white .
I was very much aware of that .
Yet in discussions with Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson , who co-wrote this episode , we felt that insofar as the bulk of the episode is this journey back to these very specific , curated events from the memory of [ Will ] , that largely take place in the late 1930s , it would be evocative in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in black and white .
That would separate them from the present time and locate them in a memory dreamscape that defines the experience that Regina as a character is having .
The episode deals with the idea that the superhero story is an act of cultural appropriation — the first superhero was Black , and then white people stole that idea and colonized it .
What do you see as the line between cultural appropriation , which isn ’ t good , and something like homage , which all art needs to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the gray space between them ?
There is an obvious tension between cultural appropriation and depictions of or the creation of cultural artifacts from within a specific community , whether defined by gender or ethnicity .
I would say that for myself , where we are now as a culture is in a place of heightened awareness that , for too long , voices from marginalized communities have been given short shrift in the cultural marketplace .
We ’ re at a juncture where it ’ s really important for the dominant culture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of voices and representations that exist in any particular society or culture .
A lot of that has to do with folks recognizing when it ’ s time to step aside and do more listening than acting , depending on which side of the cultural coin you find yourself on .
It ’ s definitely a tricky cultural space to negotiate and navigate , but the starting place should be a humble recognition that there are voices we need to hear from , and that those of us in the business of creating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to people who are on the front lines of the experiences that any particular narrative is attempting to depict .
Watchmen is available on all HBO streaming platforms .
In the spring , we launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone , and last week , we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors .
Well , you helped us blow past that .
Today , we are extending that goal to 25,000 .
Millions turn to Vox each month to understand an increasingly chaotic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the USPS to the coronavirus crisis to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world .
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One of the most acclaimed TV episodes of the last year is “This Extraordinary Being,” from HBO’s miniseries version of Watchmen, which aired in late 2019. In it, the series’ main character, Angela (Regina King), imbibes a drug called “Nostalgia,” which allows her to enter the curated memories of Will Reeves (Louis Gossett Jr. in 2019; Jovan Adepo in the 1930s), the grandfather she’s just met. As she viscerally experiences those memories, she discovers the ways in which superhero stories and American racism are hopelessly intertwined.
The episode has received eight Emmy nominations, out of Watchmen’s total 26, and one of those nominations belongs to its director, Stephen Williams, a longtime TV director whose work with Watchmen showrunner Damon Lindelof also includes Lindelof’s earlier series Lost. Williams turns Angela’s journey into the past into an eerie reflection of our own history — both because Watchmen takes place in an alternate timeline version of our reality and because it’s touching on darker parts of the American narrative that are rarely presented within the confines of superhero stories.
I recently spoke with Williams via Zoom about the ways our real-world conversations around structural racism informed Watchmen, how “This Extraordinary Being” depicts America’s queer history, and how jarring it is to suddenly see everybody in the real world — not just the characters on a fictional TV show — wearing masks. Our conversation, which has been lightly edited for length and clarity, follows.
One thing I have really been struck by in revisiting Watchmen is how prescient it turned out to be. Structural racism in America and the intersection of racism and policing are eternal issues. But the way that masks ended up being such a vital part of the show’s iconography and how that would filter into reality is something no one working on the show could have predicted. What are the benefits and downsides of filming actors in masks?
When you film someone wearing a mask, you are not able to take advantage of the full landscape of emotions that the actors are offering up. However, actors inhabit a total and comprehensive physical posture, and we were blessed with such an amazing cast on our show and specifically in this episode, “This Extraordinary Being.” There is a totality of physical presence and a body language that the actors are able to utilize in portraying their characters.
That’s the challenge of photographing and filming actors who are wearing masks, but masks were a huge motif in terms of our show. They conceal and reveal aspects of the characters who wear them. That was something that we were trying to include as part of our overall narrative approach.
When I’m out and about now, and I see people with masks on everywhere, my writer brain goes into overdrive trying to think of how to describe what that looks like. Does the same thing happen to you? If you see this very visually different world, does that strike the part of your brain that thinks about how you might depict these images?
These are singularly bizarre times that we are all collectively living through. Certainly the more or less ubiquitous utilization of masks presents a completely different visual landscape on a human level than we’re accustomed to.
But some people have very personalized masks. Masks have become a human billboard in a way. It’s a way for a lot of people to reflect and represent various points of view that they have about issues that may be prevalent or current in our society. That’s interesting and cool to see and in some cases powerful to see. And other people recede into a kind of anonymity behind their masks. It’s a surreal visual experience for sure.
“This Extraordinary Being” depicts many things that could make people feel uneasy or make people feel uncomfortable in the filming process. In particular, I’m thinking of the choice to film much of the episode’s lynching sequence from the point of view of the character. What were the conversations like as you worked out how you were going to present these story elements in a way that was honest but not exploitative?
Our whole intention with the episode and certainly my approach to the episode was to try to remove as much as possible any barriers between the viewer and the subjective experience that the characters were undergoing as they made their way through the narrative arc of our story and of that episode. At the same time, lynching occupies such an ugly part of our nation’s racial history, so it was important to us to be honest about the subjective experience of the near lynching that appears in the episode, without being exploitative. [We also tried to be as] forthright in a depiction of the horror of what that experience could be as possible.
Once we landed on the idea that the visual grammar of the piece was going to be first-person and subjective, then the question became how to make that as visceral and as real and as truthful as possible. It was a very complicated sequence to execute from a technical point of view. And we did many, many things — including fitting the hood that eventually gets repurposed by Will in ensuing scenes with an air bladder — that allowed us to replicate as closely as we possibly could his panicked breathing as he is being hoisted up in this tree by his malevolent coworker cops. The whole approach was to try to be as honest as possible about the sheer, ugly terror of that experience without crossing over into a voyeuristic or exploitative depiction of it.
Related Watchmen dives into the past in an episode unlike any other in TV history
Say a cast member or someone is filming a scene like this and says that something about the approach makes them uncomfortable — how did those conversations play out on the set of Watchmen? There are so many TV sets where that kind of conversation would just be shut down, but I’ve talked to enough people who worked on Watchmen to know that it didn’t happen on the show. How do you build that sort of collaborative working environment?
From the outset, we understood that this was going to be a very special episode but also a very emotionally harrowing experience for everybody. For cast, for crew, for all of us. So I gathered everyone, cast and crew, together before we ever started shooting, very early on in prep, and talked in great detail about what the technical approach was going to be, involving really long takes and an extended period of immersion in the narrative material.
I talked about how sensitive this material was and how upsetting and disturbing and emotionally raw it was. We wrapped arms around everybody and encouraged us all to be as respectful of each other and as honest and compassionate with each other as we possibly could be. We tried to stay present with each other through every moment of this journey.
We were very aware that we were depicting events that had actually happened in our very recent history. More than anything, I wanted to honor those lives that had preceded our arrival on set in Georgia — not only the suffering that many of those lives entailed but also being as compassionate as possible about the task of depicting these events.
This episode aired last year, but it has incredible resonance with the events of the past several months — the death of George Floyd and many of the other instances of police violence we’ve been seeing in however many years it’s been since the cellphone camera became ubiquitous. As a director, how do you think about the fact that people are capturing these filmed images of such brutality, to the degree that we can’t escape them, both how we might internalize those images and how they might create change?
That’s a really big question.
At its simplest level, the events and experiences that Black Americans have been experiencing since the birth of this country and have been talking about and bearing witness to since the birth of this country have, in very recent times, gained a visual context that has not existed prior to the technology of the cellphone.
The power of those images — specifically I’m thinking of the video of the murder of George Floyd — appears to have broken through a kind of membrane of credibility for any number of reasons that have not been present before. It seems to have had an impact that is both new and old at the same time. It revealed to a seemingly larger group of people than ever before that which had been spoken about for centuries. So in that sense, it’s good and useful and valuable. It inserts itself in the social discourse and the quest for justice in a way that is pivotal and hadn’t existed before.
But beyond that, it’s still somewhat soul-destroying that after all these centuries of the presence of Black Americans on American soil that this institutionalized racism is still happening to the degree that it is happening. I guess we should all be grateful on some level that cellphones have captured this ugly, painful, tragic part of our social fabric, so we can turn to the more important work of trying to bring justice and fairness into every aspect of our lives as a country so that we never have to witness another one of those videos again.
What sorts of conversations did you have around those questions of police violence when making the show itself? And how did looking at those issues via the prism of an alternate reality affect the way you perhaps see our reality?
Honestly, conversations about cellphone videos of acts of police brutality against Black people in this country weren’t really something that we talked about while we were in production on the show. But subsequent to our show being completed and released and seen at large, it feels like an ongoing tragedy in our national life that acts of violence like this from those who are supposed to be protecting and serving every member of our community with equality and fairness and justice continue to happen with unfortunate and tragic regularity. It has only heightened so much of what we were trying to address in our show.
Sometimes in a paradoxical way, it’s very effective to look at real-life events through the lens of fiction. This isn’t a new function of fiction. It’s something that has been true since the inception of storytelling. It felt like our show was located in that lineage of fictional enterprises that by virtue of the degrees of difference between real events and fictional events allows someone to enjoy the narrative that is contained in the show in and of itself, but also be very aware and mindful of the fact that it is commenting — hopefully in an illuminating way — on real-life events.
One thing I also appreciate about “This Extraordinary Being” is how it depicts a sort of hidden queer history of America alongside all these other topics, by Will falling in love with another man. What were discussions like around the question of how to portray a love affair between two men, one white and one Black, that is sort of simultaneously informed by societal homophobia and then the toxicity of racism?
One of the first decisions we made was that the graphic novel Watchmen was going to be treated as canon. It was going to be our Old Testament, and the remix version of Watchmen that we were going to execute was going to be, to extend the analogy, the New Testament.
Insofar as there are intimations of the Hooded Justice character’s sexuality in the original [which heavily suggests the character was gay], we wanted to not shy away from that and lean into that. What isn’t revealed in the graphic novel is the true identity of Hooded Justice, which left us free to invent our particular incarnation of who that character would be, namely this Black man named Will Reeves.
On the relationship level, it was important for us to depict a relationship that embodies the complexity of the way in which race asserts itself in the relationships of people from either side of that Black/white divide. There’s arguably genuine affection between the two lovers, tinged with maybe some cultural tourism — an affinity for the exotic. Maybe on some level it even speaks to the notion of performative allyship. But when the rubber hits the road, our white character is nowhere to be found. He fails and abandons Will, and that somehow felt also true and honest, in terms of the multi-layered nature of this character but also as a marker about race relations in our country.
Where did the choice to shoot in black and white originate from? What do you think it adds to the episode? It’s a great choice, but it’s maybe not the one everybody would have made.
Very few people, as a general rule, erupt in immediate exaltation when they hear that a filmmaker wants to shoot in black and white. I was very much aware of that. Yet in discussions with Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson, who co-wrote this episode, we felt that insofar as the bulk of the episode is this journey back to these very specific, curated events from the memory of [Will], that largely take place in the late 1930s, it would be evocative in the right way to film those scenes in black and white. That would separate them from the present time and locate them in a memory dreamscape that defines the experience that Regina as a character is having.
The episode deals with the idea that the superhero story is an act of cultural appropriation — the first superhero was Black, and then white people stole that idea and colonized it. What do you see as the line between cultural appropriation, which isn’t good, and something like homage, which all art needs to have somewhere? How do you navigate the gray space between them?
There is an obvious tension between cultural appropriation and depictions of or the creation of cultural artifacts from within a specific community, whether defined by gender or ethnicity. I would say that for myself, where we are now as a culture is in a place of heightened awareness that, for too long, voices from marginalized communities have been given short shrift in the cultural marketplace. We’re at a juncture where it’s really important for the dominant culture to make room for the full array of voices and representations that exist in any particular society or culture. A lot of that has to do with folks recognizing when it’s time to step aside and do more listening than acting, depending on which side of the cultural coin you find yourself on.
It’s definitely a tricky cultural space to negotiate and navigate, but the starting place should be a humble recognition that there are voices we need to hear from, and that those of us in the business of creating cultural artifacts would do well to listen to people who are on the front lines of the experiences that any particular narrative is attempting to depict.
Watchmen is available on all HBO streaming platforms.
New goal: 25,000
In the spring, we launched a program asking readers for financial contributions to help keep Vox free for everyone, and last week, we set a goal of reaching 20,000 contributors. Well, you helped us blow past that. Today, we are extending that goal to 25,000. Millions turn to Vox each month to understand an increasingly chaotic world — from what is happening with the USPS to the coronavirus crisis to what is, quite possibly, the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes. Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers, your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work — and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-31--The police shooting of Jacob Blake, explained

Amid America ’ s summer of protests against police brutality and racism , another police shooting of a Black man has gone viral : that of 29-year-old Kenosha , Wisconsin , resident Jacob Blake .
Blake survived the shooting .
But his father told the Chicago Sun-Times his son is paralyzed from the waist down .
Rusten Sheskey , a white officer who is a seven-year veteran of the Kenosha Police Department , reportedly shot Blake in the back at close range seven times on August 23 .
The shooting sparked local protests ( during which a 17-year-old vigilante killed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , prompted professional athletes to strike , and has become a central talking point for Democrats and Republicans as each party attempts to use it as evidence of the other side ’ s inability to govern .
Now , the Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened a civil rights investigation into the shooting , in conjunction with an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice .
Sheskey and the other two officers on the scene — Vincent Arenas and Brittany Meronek — have been placed on administrative leave .
Arenas and Sheskey both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fired on him with a handgun ; Meronek was at the scene .
But these developments and their impact on Blake and his family have been eclipsed by a national conversation about what Blake ’ s shooting means — and what the resultant protests say about the state of America .
Blake ’ s shooting , captured on video by a bystander , quickly went viral and further stoked the ongoing national protests against police brutality and for civil rights that began following the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the video .
Hours after the shooting took place , demonstrators gathered in downtown Kenosha ; in the resulting uprising , buildings and car lots were set on fire and protesters who launched fireworks clashed with police officers in riot gear who fired tear gas .
Immediately following that uprising , Wisconsin Gov .
Tony Evers called in the state National Guard to bolster the ranks of local law enforcement and to enforce the city ’ s curfew .
More National Guard members were deployed during the third night of uprisings — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guard outside local businesses .
One of those citizens , 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of Illinois , was arrested and charged with murder in the shooting of three people , two of whom died .
That shooting , in turn , has led to an even greater National Guard presence — and to Evers accepting a deployment of federal law enforcement officers amid pressure from President Donald Trump to do so .
Trump has cast the uprisings in Kenosha and in other cities as symptoms of mismanagement and has attempted to use them to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who will bring “ LAW & ORDER !
” to the United States .
Democrats like presidential nominee Joe Biden have attempted to place the blame for violence adjacent to uprisings at the feet of the president .
Blake ’ s mother , Julia Jackson , has pleaded for politicians to “ fix our country ” while condemning the destruction that happened during the early uprisings in Kenosha .
“ As his mother , please don ’ t burn up property and cause havoc and tear your own homes down in my son @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on CNN after the first two nights of protests .
In Kenosha , protesters heeded Jackson ’ s request but have continued their demonstrations .
And across the US , Blake ’ s shooting has given new urgency to demonstrations in other cities and towns , sharpening the calls of protesters who say Americans must continue to take to the streets to fight the harmful cycle of police brutality and put pressure on lawmakers to defund the police .
Police were called to the scene of a domestic incident at 5:11 pm on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kenosha , according to a police report .
The Wisconsin Department of Justice notes the police were called to the neighborhood by a woman who requested assistance because “ her boyfriend was present and was not supposed to be on the premises.
” In dispatch audio of the incident , a dispatcher can be heard saying , “ Jacob Blake isn ’ t supposed to be there and he took the complainant ’ s keys and is refusing to give them back.
” Following the shooting , several witnesses told Kenosha News Blake @ @ @ @ @ @ @ verbal altercation ” between two women just after 5 pm .
By 5:15 , there were three officers on the scene — with one requesting more officers be sent .
Two videos of the officers ’ interaction with Blake have emerged .
The first , which went viral , depicts Blake ’ s shooting ; the second shows some of what happened in the seconds immediately prior .
In that second video , Blake — wearing a white tank top and black shorts — can be seen attempting to stand as two officers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; various bystanders shout throughout .
After about 15 seconds , Blake can be seen standing and walking around the front of a gray van .
All three officers on the scene have weapons trained on him ; two follow him around the van .
This is where the first video picks up .
Blake can be seen walking around the front of a gray van , coming from the passenger ’ s side and heading toward the driver ’ s side .
Two officers follow closely behind Blake .
Both officers have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ back .
Many people can be heard yelling .
As Blake opens the driver-side door , one officer snatches the tail end of Blake ’ s tank top .
It stretches out as Blake attempts to enter the vehicle ; seven shots are fired at Blake ’ s back .
No other officer opened fire .
The van ’ s horn blares , the officer continues to hold on to Blake ’ s shirt , and a woman screams at the side of the vehicle where Blake was shot .
One of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the 19-second video comes to an end .
Blake remains hospitalized .
The bullet damage reportedly forced doctors to remove most of Blake ’ s colon and small intestines ; his kidneys , liver , and arm were also seriously damaged .
A statement from the state Department of Justice notes that officers tried to arrest Blake ; following the shooting , Kenosha Police chief Daniel Miskinis said Blake is currently under arrest “ for an outstanding warrant for third-degree sexual assault.
” It is not clear whether the officers who were called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Blake due to this warrant .
It is clear that they first used Tasers to try to apprehend him ; the Wisconsin DOJ statement says the nonlethal weapon “ was not successful at stopping Blake.
” The police department said in a statement that Blake received immediate aid and was airlifted to the hospital in Milwaukee .
The state attorney general , Josh Kaul , has said Blake noted that he had a knife in his possession when the shooting occurred .
Officials from the department recovered the knife from the driver-side floorboard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kenosha Police Department does not have body cameras , so the officers were not wearing any at the time of the incident , according to the statement .
Jacob Blake ’ s family retained civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump , who also represents the family of George Floyd .
According to a statement from Crump , Blake was shot by police in front of his three young sons , who were inside the vehicle .
“ We all watched the horrific video of Jacob Blake being shot in the back several times by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the statement .
“ Even worse , his three sons witnessed their father collapse after being riddled with bullets .
Their irresponsible , reckless , and inhumane actions nearly cost the life of a man who was simply trying to do the right thing by intervening in a domestic incident .
It ’ s a miracle he ’ s still alive.
” Nights of unrest — and the shooting of three people — in Kenosha Protests began the night after Blake was shot on August 23 , leading to a number of uprisings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Following the shooting , videos on social media showed protests that included garbage trucks being set on fire , windows of buildings at and near the courthouse being smashed , and crowds clashing with police dressed in riot gear .
In response , county officials instituted a curfew , and Wisconsin ’ s governor began to deploy members of the Wisconsin National Guard to Kenosha .
The city grew more tense in the following nights as organized marches outside the Kenosha County Courthouse gave way to uprisings after the 8 pm curfew .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ s Black business district , according to Reuters , and protesters used bats to break traffic signals and signs .
When the crowd of people reached 1,000 at a park near the courthouse , police shot small beanbags and used “ ear deafening audio ” to disperse the people who refused to move , according to the Washington Post .
The unrest has since spread to other cities including Madison , Portland , Los Angeles , Minneapolis , New York , and Seattle .
On August 25 , violence erupted at the protests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with guns who said they were protecting the property clashed with protesters .
Online video footage shows that people were chasing after one of the armed men , identified as 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse , in an attempt to capture him and seize his AR-15-style rifle .
During the chase , Rittenhouse trips and falls to the ground , where he shoots at a few of the people who were following him .
After the shooting , he gets up and walks toward law enforcement officials , who do not detain him , despite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people .
Two of three people were fatally hit , with the other taken to the hospital with “ serious , but non-life threatening injuries , ” according to the Kenosha Police Department .
Rittenhouse is a self-proclaimed militia member , has ties to law enforcement as a former member of various law enforcement youth training programs , and was front row at a Trump rally in January .
Rittenhouse ’ s Facebook profile , which is no longer publicly accessible , revealed that he is a committed Blue Lives Matter supporter : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ incident , Kenosha Police Chief Dan Miskinis tried to shift the blame of the shootings onto the protesters and the people who were shot , saying that if protesters had stayed inside , the shootings would have perhaps not taken place .
“ Everybody involved was out after the curfew .
I ’ m not going to make a great deal of it , but the point is that the curfew is in place to protect .
Had persons not been out in violation of that , perhaps the situation that unfolded would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
At the same press conference , Kenosha Sheriff David G. Beth responded to the concern that police officers did not apprehend Rittenhouse when he walked past them .
“ I ’ ve been in a shooting before .
In situations that are high stress , you have such incredible tunnel vision .
You have no idea what ’ s outside right here if you ’ re looking right here , ” Beth said holding his hands up to gesture .
Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian , meanwhile , said that he does not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I don ’ t need more guns on the street , in the community , when we are trying to make sure we keep people safe , ” he said .
“ Law enforcement is trained .
They ’ re the ones who are responsible .
They ’ re the ones we have faith will do their job and make sure it gets done .
That is why the curfews are there.
” On the national level , Republicans are trying to paint the unrest in Kenosha as a preview of Joe Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shooter was a Trump supporter and the protests are happening during Trump ’ s presidency .
“ Joe Biden would double down on the very policies that are leading to violence in American cities .
The hard truth is you will not be safe in Joe Biden ’ s America , ” Vice President Mike Pence said during the Republican National Convention .
Trump went on the tell Americans that the protests show “ no one will be safe in Biden ’ s America.
” Biden has rebutted this attacks , saying in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are not images of some imagined Joe Biden America of the future — these are images of Donald Trump ’ s America today .
...
He keeps telling you , if he was president , you ’ d feel safe .
Well he is president — whether he knows it or not.
” Police violence is not uncommon in Wisconsin The ongoing protests continued those that began after Floyd ’ s death and underscored the fact that police shootings of unarmed Black civilians are not new occurrences in Wisconsin , a state in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent of the population .
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , the Milwaukee region has been home to a number of high-profile police shootings — particularly of Black and Latinx men — in the past two decades in which officers were not charged .
One of the victims , 22-year-old Adam Trammell , died in 2017 after officers from the West Milwaukee Police Department broke down the door of his apartment and repeatedly tased him as he showered .
The 2019 police shooting of Ty ’ Rese West in Racine County , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ resulted in no charges against the police .
A police sergeant stopped West one evening for not having the proper lights on his bicycle .
A struggle ensued after the sergeant thought West had a gun .
The incident ended when the sergeant fatally shot West .
The death sparked protests across Racine County , and West ’ s family has not stopped issuing calls for justice .
Years of grassroots organizing after the police shooting of 21-year-old Kenosha County resident Michael Bell in 2004 led to the passing of a Milwaukee law @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conducting their own investigations of officer-involved shootings .
As in Blake ’ s case , an outside law enforcement body must step in to lead the investigation .
But in the wake of George Floyd ’ s death , criminal justice reform advocates have argued that law doesn ’ t go far enough , and protesters have demanded state legislators make changes to the criminal justice system .
Some local officials across the state responded to these demands by terminating school district contracts with police officers .
In June , Evers announced a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no-knock warrants , adding the requirement that officers take deescalation training , and putting $ 1 million in grants toward community-based anti-violence programs , according to Wisconsin Public Radio .
However , lawmakers likely won ’ t vote on any of the proposals until next year .
And the package of bills from the state ’ s Democratic governor has received little support from the Republican lawmakers who control the state ’ s legislature .
Evers has used Blake ’ s shooting to call for a renewed focus on race and policing in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stand against excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging with Black Wisconsinites .
...
In the coming days , we will demand just that of elected officials in our state who have failed to recognize the racism in our state and our country for far too long.
” But the governor ’ s statement — and proposed initiatives — have garnered pushback .
Pete Deates , president of the union representing Kenosha police officers , denounced the governor ’ s statement , calling it “ wholly irresponsible and not reflective of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ community.
” Deates asked that people “ withhold judgment ” about the shooting and let the investigation “ play out fairly and impartially.
” Despite this response , protesters in Kenosha and across the country are still demanding systemic change .
Michael Bell Sr. , the father of shooting victim Michael Bell , told the New York Times following the shooting of Blake , “ The system is broken .
The system here is broken.
” Correction , August 26 : Due to an editing error , an earlier version of this story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Even when the economy and the news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work , and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

Amid America’s summer of protests against police brutality and racism, another police shooting of a Black man has gone viral: that of 29-year-old Kenosha, Wisconsin, resident Jacob Blake.
Blake survived the shooting, and said in a video taken at the hospital where he is receiving treatment that he has been in “nothing but pain.”
“Your life, and not only just your life, your legs … can be taken from you like this,” Blake said in the video, snapping his fingers.
Blake’s father told the Chicago Sun-Times his son is paralyzed from the waist down. Rusten Sheskey, a white officer who is a seven-year veteran of the Kenosha Police Department, reportedly shot Blake in the back at close range seven times on August 23.
The shooting sparked local protests (during which a 17-year-old vigilante killed two people), reignited national unrest, prompted professional athletes to strike, and has become a central talking point for Democrats and Republicans as each party attempts to use it as evidence of the other side’s inability to govern.
Now, the FBI has opened a civil rights investigation into the shooting, in conjunction with an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice. And both Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, have called for Blake’s shooter to face criminal charges.
Sheskey and the other two officers on the scene — Vincent Arenas and Brittany Meronek — have been placed on administrative leave. Arenas and Sheskey both shot Blake with Tasers before the latter fired on him with a handgun; Meronek was at the scene. But these developments and their impact on Blake and his family have been eclipsed by a national conversation about what Blake’s shooting means, and what the resultant protests say about the state of America.
Blake’s shooting, captured on video by a bystander, quickly went viral and further stoked the ongoing national protests against police brutality and for civil rights that began following the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
In Kenosha, protesters were quick to respond to the video. Hours after the shooting took place, demonstrators gathered in downtown Kenosha; in the resulting uprising, buildings and car lots were set on fire and protesters who launched fireworks clashed with police officers in riot gear who fired tear gas.
Immediately following that uprising, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers called in the state National Guard to bolster the ranks of local law enforcement and to enforce the city’s curfew.
More National Guard members were deployed during the third night of uprisings — a night that saw armed citizens standing guard outside local businesses. One of those citizens, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse of Illinois, was arrested and charged with murder in the shooting of three people, two of whom died.
That shooting, in turn, has led to an even greater National Guard presence — and to Evers accepting a deployment of federal law enforcement officers amid pressure from President Donald Trump to do so. Trump has cast the uprisings in Kenosha and in other cities as symptoms of mismanagement and has attempted to use them to argue that he is the presidential candidate who will bring “LAW & ORDER!” to the United States. Democrats like presidential nominee Joe Biden have attempted to place the blame for violence adjacent to uprisings at the feet of the president.
Blake’s mother, Julia Jackson, has pleaded for politicians to “fix our country” while condemning the destruction that happened during the early uprisings in Kenosha. “As his mother, please don’t burn up property and cause havoc and tear your own homes down in my son’s name,” she said on CNN after the first two nights of protests.
In Kenosha, protesters heeded Jackson’s request but have continued their demonstrations. And across the US, Blake’s shooting has given new urgency to demonstrations in other cities and towns, sharpening the calls of protesters who say Americans must continue to take to the streets to fight the harmful cycle of police brutality and put pressure on lawmakers to defund the police.
Police shot and severely wounded a Black man in broad daylight
Police were called to the scene of a domestic incident at 5:11 pm on Sunday in the Wilson Heights neighborhood of Kenosha, according to a police report. The Wisconsin Department of Justice notes the police were called to the neighborhood by a woman who requested assistance because “her boyfriend was present and was not supposed to be on the premises.”
In dispatch audio of the incident, a dispatcher can be heard saying, “Jacob Blake isn’t supposed to be there and he took the complainant’s keys and is refusing to give them back.”
Following the shooting, several witnesses told Kenosha News that Blake was trying to break up a “verbal altercation” between two women just after 5 pm. By 5:15, there were three officers on the scene, with one requesting more officers be sent.
Two videos of the officers’ interaction with Blake have emerged. The first, which went viral, depicts Blake’s shooting; the second shows some of what happened in the seconds immediately prior.
In that second video, Blake, wearing a white tank top and black shorts, can be seen attempting to stand as two officers struggle to force him to the ground; various bystanders shout throughout. After about 15 seconds, Blake can be seen standing and walking around the front of a gray van. All three officers on the scene have weapons trained on him; two follow him around the van.
This is where the first video picks up. Blake can be seen walking around the front of a gray van, coming from the passenger’s side and heading toward the driver’s side. Two officers follow closely behind Blake.
Both officers have their weapons pointed at Blake’s back. Many people can be heard yelling. As Blake opens the driver-side door, one officer snatches the tail end of Blake’s tank top. It stretches out as Blake attempts to enter the vehicle; seven shots are fired at Blake’s back. No other officer opened fire. The van’s horn blares, the officer continues to hold on to Blake’s shirt, and a woman screams at the side of the vehicle where Blake was shot. One of the officers pushes the woman away, and the 19-second video comes to an end.
Blake remains hospitalized. The bullet damage reportedly forced doctors to remove most of Blake’s colon and small intestines; his kidneys, liver, and arm were also seriously damaged.
A statement from the state Department of Justice notes that officers tried to arrest Blake; following the shooting, Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis said Blake is currently under arrest “for an outstanding warrant for third-degree sexual assault.”
It is not clear whether the officers who were called to Wilson Heights were attempting to arrest Blake due to this warrant. It is clear that they first used Tasers to try to apprehend him; the Wisconsin DOJ statement says the nonlethal weapon “was not successful at stopping Blake.”
The police department said in a statement that Blake received immediate aid and was airlifted to the hospital in Milwaukee. The state attorney general, Josh Kaul, has said Blake noted he had a knife in his possession when the shooting occurred. Officials from the department recovered the knife from the driver-side floorboard of Blake’s vehicle.
The Kenosha Police Department does not have body cameras, so the officers were not wearing any at the time of the incident, according to the statement.
Jacob Blake’s family retained civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who also represents the family of George Floyd. According to a statement from Crump, Blake was shot by police in front of his three young sons, who were inside the vehicle.
“We all watched the horrific video of Jacob Blake being shot in the back several times by Kenosha police,” Crump said in the statement. “Even worse, his three sons witnessed their father collapse after being riddled with bullets. Their irresponsible, reckless, and inhumane actions nearly cost the life of a man who was simply trying to do the right thing by intervening in a domestic incident. It’s a miracle he’s still alive.”
Meanwhile, both Biden and Harris have called for the officer who shot Blake to face charges. “I think that there should be a thorough investigation and, based on what I’ve seen, it seems that the officer should be charged,” Harris said in an August 28 interview. And when asked on September 2 if he agreed with her, Biden said that “there’s a minimum need to be charged” and “we should let the judicial system work its way.”
Nights of unrest — and the shooting of three people — in Kenosha
Protests began the night after Blake was shot on August 23, leading to a number of uprisings and escalating tension with local police.
Following the shooting, videos on social media showed protests that included garbage trucks being set on fire, windows of buildings at and near the courthouse being smashed, and crowds clashing with police dressed in riot gear. In response, county officials instituted a curfew, and Wisconsin’s governor began to deploy members of the Wisconsin National Guard to Kenosha.
The city grew more tense in the following nights as organized marches outside the Kenosha County Courthouse gave way to uprisings after the 8 pm curfew. Fires burned in much of Kenosha’s Black business district, according to Reuters, and protesters used bats to break traffic signals and signs. When the crowd of people reached 1,000 at a park near the courthouse, police shot small beanbags and used “ear deafening audio” to disperse the people who refused to move, according to the Washington Post. The unrest has since spread to other cities including Madison, Portland, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York, and Seattle.
On August 25, violence erupted at the protests in Kenosha when a group of men with guns who said they were protecting the property clashed with protesters. Online video footage shows that people were chasing after one of the armed men, identified as 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, in an attempt to capture him and seize his AR-15-style rifle. During the chase, Rittenhouse trips and falls to the ground, where he shoots at a few of the people who were following him. After the shooting, he gets up and walks toward law enforcement officials, who do not detain him, despite bystanders screaming that he had just shot people.
Two of three people were fatally hit, with the other taken to the hospital with “serious, but non-life threatening injuries,” according to the Kenosha Police Department.
Rittenhouse is a self-proclaimed militia member, has ties to law enforcement as a former member of various law enforcement youth training programs, and was front row at a Trump rally in January. Rittenhouse’s Facebook profile, which is no longer publicly accessible, revealed that he is a committed Blue Lives Matter supporter:
[...] a 2018 post on Rittenhouse’s page shows that he asked his followers to donate to the police advocacy nonprofit organization Humanizing the Badge on his birthday. “I’ve chosen this nonprofit because their mission means a lot to me, and I hope you’ll consider contributing as a way to celebrate with me,” Rittenhouse wrote.
In a press conference on the Rittenhouse incident, Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis tried to shift the blame of the shootings onto the protesters and the people who were shot, saying that if protesters had stayed inside, the shootings would perhaps not have taken place. “Everybody involved was out after the curfew. I’m not going to make a great deal of it, but the point is that the curfew is in place to protect. Had persons not been out in violation of that, perhaps the situation that unfolded would not have happened,” he said.
At the same press conference, Kenosha Sheriff David G. Beth responded to the concern that police officers did not apprehend Rittenhouse when he walked past them. “I’ve been in a shooting before. In situations that are high stress, you have such incredible tunnel vision. You have no idea what’s outside right here if you’re looking right here,” Beth said, holding his hands up to gesture.
Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian, meanwhile, said he does not want militia members at protests. “I don’t need more guns on the street, in the community, when we are trying to make sure we keep people safe,” he said. “Law enforcement is trained. They’re the ones who are responsible. They’re the ones we have faith will do their job and make sure it gets done. That is why the curfews are there.”
On the national level, Republicans are trying to paint the unrest in Kenosha as a preview of Joe Biden’s America, even though the shooter was a Trump supporter and the protests are happening during Trump’s presidency. “Joe Biden would double down on the very policies that are leading to violence in American cities. The hard truth is you will not be safe in Joe Biden’s America,” Vice President Mike Pence said during the Republican National Convention. Trump went on to tell Americans that the protests show “no one will be safe in Biden’s America.”
Biden has rebutted these attacks, saying in a speech in Pittsburgh, “These are not images of some imagined Joe Biden America of the future — these are images of Donald Trump’s America today. ... He keeps telling you, if he was president, you’d feel safe. Well, he is president — whether he knows it or not.”
Police violence is not uncommon in Wisconsin
The ongoing protests continued those that began after Floyd’s death and underscored the fact that police shootings of unarmed Black civilians are not new occurrences in Wisconsin, a state in which Black people make up just 6.7 percent of the population. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Milwaukee region has been home to a number of high-profile police shootings — particularly of Black and Latinx men — in the past two decades, in which officers were not charged. One of the victims, 22-year-old Adam Trammell, died in 2017 after officers from the West Milwaukee Police Department broke down the door of his apartment and repeatedly Tased him as he showered.
The 2019 police shooting of Ty’Rese West in Racine County, just north of Kenosha County, also resulted in no charges against the police. A police sergeant stopped West one evening for not having the proper lights on his bicycle. A struggle ensued after the sergeant thought West had a gun. The incident ended when the sergeant fatally shot West. The death sparked protests across Racine County, and West’s family has not stopped issuing calls for justice.
Years of grassroots organizing after the police shooting of 21-year-old Kenosha County resident Michael Bell in 2004 led to the passing of a Milwaukee law in 2014 that prevents police officers from conducting their own investigations of officer-involved shootings. As in Blake’s case, an outside law enforcement body must step in to lead the investigation.
But in the wake of George Floyd’s death, criminal justice reform advocates have argued that law doesn’t go far enough, and protesters have demanded state legislators make changes to the criminal justice system. Some local officials across the state responded to these demands by terminating school district contracts with police officers. In June, Evers announced a legislative package that included banning chokeholds and no-knock warrants, adding the requirement that officers take deescalation training, and putting $1 million in grants toward community-based anti-violence programs, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.
However, lawmakers likely won’t vote on any of the proposals until next year. And the package of bills from the state’s Democratic governor has received little support from the Republican lawmakers who control the state’s legislature.
Evers has used Blake’s shooting to call for a renewed focus on race and policing in his state, saying, “We stand against excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging with Black Wisconsinites. ... In the coming days, we will demand just that of elected officials in our state who have failed to recognize the racism in our state and our country for far too long.”
But the governor’s statement — and proposed initiatives — have garnered pushback. Pete Deates, president of the union representing Kenosha police officers, denounced the governor’s statement, calling it “wholly irresponsible and not reflective of the hardworking members of the law enforcement community.” Deates asked that people “withhold judgment” about the shooting and let the investigation “play out fairly and impartially.”
Despite this response, protesters in Kenosha and across the country are still demanding systemic change. Michael Bell Sr., the father of shooting victim Michael Bell, told the New York Times following the shooting of Blake, “The system is broken. The system here is broken.”
Correction, August 26: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Jacob Blake was fatally shot.


vox--2020-08-31--How key Democratic Senate candidates would tackle Covid-19

Cal Cunningham , the Democratic candidate in North Carolina ’ s US Senate race , pointed out that the US is capable of coming together for the national good — just not , apparently , on Covid-19 .
“ If it had been a terrorist attack , there would have been an address to the nation , probably to a joint session of Congress .
There would not have been a hesitation to invoke things like the Defense Production Act , ” Cunningham , a military veteran , told me in a phone interview .
“ There would have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ corner of America about how we fight that enemy .
Here , we were told it was a hoax.
” So I followed up : Why do you think this administration is treating the pandemic different from a terrorist attack ?
He says that he has been “ incredibly laser-focused on Senator [ Thom ] Tillis and the role a senator should play in a moment like this ” — one that he ’ s found lacking .
Cunningham contrasted Tillis with Sen. Tom Cotton , a resolute conservative who still , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to prepare for the worst after sitting in on a classified briefing in January about the Covid-19 threat .
“ My guy , the person I hold accountable in this race , was not one of them , ” Cunningham argued to me .
“ He has demonstrated an unwillingness and an inability to ask the tough questions when a US senator , in a coequal branch of government , should be doing exactly that.
” With a deftness that reminded me of Joe Biden ’ s convention speech , when the Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still panning his record , Cunningham made clear the problems with President Trump ’ s approach to the pandemic — nobody else in a position of power was calling the coronavirus a “ hoax ” or hesitated to invoke the DPA — and yet when given the chance , he elided any more direct criticisms of Trump and instead stayed “ laser-focused ” on his own Republican opponent .
Cunningham ’ s critique overall — directed at the federal government broadly and Tillis specifically , with glancing blows to the man in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ explanation of how his military experience had informed his own beliefs about crisis response : “ It requires the whole of government , led by an administration and a federal government that deploys all available resources .
It is hard for us to come to any conclusion other than the federal government has dropped the ball with respect to some of the most basic building blocks of , first , containing the virus and containing the impacts of it.
” So I was curious : How are other Democratic hopefuls running against Republican @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Covid-19 and Trump ?
As it turns out , several of them sound a lot like Cunningham .
Take this ad from Theresa Greenfield , running against Sen. Joni Ernst in Iowa .
She starts off by saying the Covid-19 pandemic had revealed “ the worst in Washington ” before transitioning into a populist critique portraying the original GOP Senate coronavirus relief package as a slush fund for corporate America ( the same words used by Senate Democrats at the time , Politico reported ) .
Neither Donald Trump ’ s visage nor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Jon Ossoff , the Democrat challenging Sen. David Perdue in Georgia , likewise eschews any direct attack on Trump while still making his meaning perfectly clear .
Ossoff says straight to the camera , after reminding viewers his wife who works at a hospital tested positive for Covid-19 , that we need to listen to medical experts , we need a national testing strategy , and “ we ” need to stop politicizing masks .
Sara Gideon , running against Sen. Susan Collins in Maine , wrote a whole op-ed in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Washington ’ s COVID response.
” The Trump administration doesn ’ t get mentioned until one of the last paragraphs , lumped together with Washington Republicans who “ have focused on winning partisan fights and allowing the wealthy and well-connected to skip to the front of the line.
” Some of this is tried-and-true strategy for challenging an incumbent : associate them with “ Washington ” ( a place nobody but the people who live here seems to like ) and the status quo .
Some of it is triangulation on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won : The president ’ s approval rating in North Carolina is hovering around 45 percent ; it ’ s about the same in Georgia and Iowa , per the most recent polling .
That ’ s not great , but it ’ s better than the national average .
In all three of those states , the incumbents are running a few points behind Trump in the Real Clear Politics polling average , indicating there is some number of voters who are locked in for Trump but not as sold on their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be less direct in critiquing the president and more focused on your actual opponent if you ’ re the Democratic challenger .
But I think there is one other way to understand the Democratic approach to Trump and Covid-19 in these Senate races .
Trump ’ s failures , documented so well by my colleague German Lopez , are plain for all to see .
There is no need to belabor the point because the public ’ s approval of Trump ’ s Covid-19 response is already disastrously low .
When you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the federal government to bear or politicizing masks , people know who it is you mean .
The goal , then , seems to be making sure these Republican senators own that failure , too .
Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through understanding .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Even when the economy and the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work , and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

Cal Cunningham, the Democratic candidate in North Carolina’s US Senate race, pointed out that the US is capable of coming together for the national good — just not, apparently, on Covid-19.
“If it had been a terrorist attack, there would have been an address to the nation, probably to a joint session of Congress. There would not have been a hesitation to invoke things like the Defense Production Act,” Cunningham, a military veteran, told me in a phone interview. “There would have been clear communication from the top to every corner of America about how we fight that enemy. Here, we were told it was a hoax.”
So I followed up: Why do you think this administration is treating the pandemic different from a terrorist attack?
He says that he has been “incredibly laser-focused on Senator [Thom] Tillis and the role a senator should play in a moment like this” — one that he’s found lacking.
Cunningham contrasted Tillis with Sen. Tom Cotton, a resolute conservative who still, to his credit, warned about the need to prepare for the worst after sitting in on a classified briefing in January about the Covid-19 threat.
“My guy, the person I hold accountable in this race, was not one of them,” Cunningham argued to me. “He has demonstrated an unwillingness and an inability to ask the tough questions when a US senator, in a coequal branch of government, should be doing exactly that.”
With a deftness that reminded me of Joe Biden’s convention speech, when the Democratic nominee never once named his opponent while still panning his record, Cunningham made clear the problems with President Trump’s approach to the pandemic — nobody else in a position of power was calling the coronavirus a “hoax” or hesitated to invoke the DPA — and yet when given the chance, he elided any more direct criticisms of Trump and instead stayed “laser-focused” on his own Republican opponent.
Cunningham’s critique overall — directed at the federal government broadly and Tillis specifically, with glancing blows to the man in the White House — was represented in his explanation of how his military experience had informed his own beliefs about crisis response:
“It requires the whole of government, led by an administration and a federal government that deploys all available resources. It is hard for us to come to any conclusion other than the federal government has dropped the ball with respect to some of the most basic building blocks of, first, containing the virus and containing the impacts of it.”
So I was curious: How are other Democratic hopefuls running against Republican incumbents in key swing states talking about Covid-19 and Trump? As it turns out, several of them sound a lot like Cunningham.
Take this ad from Theresa Greenfield, running against Sen. Joni Ernst in Iowa. She starts off by saying the Covid-19 pandemic had revealed “the worst in Washington” before transitioning into a populist critique portraying the original GOP Senate coronavirus relief package as a slush fund for corporate America (the same words used by Senate Democrats at the time, Politico reported).
Neither Donald Trump’s visage nor his name appears.
A new ad from Jon Ossoff, the Democrat challenging Sen. David Perdue in Georgia, likewise eschews any direct attack on Trump while still making his meaning perfectly clear. Ossoff says straight to the camera, after reminding viewers his wife who works at a hospital tested positive for Covid-19, that we need to listen to medical experts, we need a national testing strategy, and “we” need to stop politicizing masks.
Sara Gideon, running against Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, wrote a whole op-ed in the Portland Press Herald lamenting the shortcomings of “Washington’s COVID response.” The Trump administration doesn’t get mentioned until one of the last paragraphs, lumped together with Washington Republicans who “have focused on winning partisan fights and allowing the wealthy and well-connected to skip to the front of the line.”
Some of this is tried-and-true strategy for challenging an incumbent: associate them with “Washington” (a place nobody but the people who live here seems to like) and the status quo.
Some of it is triangulation on the part of Democrats running in states Trump won: The president’s approval rating in North Carolina is hovering around 45 percent; it’s about the same in Georgia and Iowa, per the most recent polling.
That’s not great, but it’s better than the national average. In all three of those states, the incumbents are running a few points behind Trump in the Real Clear Politics polling average, indicating there is some number of voters who are locked in for Trump but not as sold on their Republican senator. That is good reason to be less direct in critiquing the president and more focused on your actual opponent if you’re the Democratic challenger.
But I think there is one other way to understand the Democratic approach to Trump and Covid-19 in these Senate races. Trump’s failures, documented so well by my colleague German Lopez, are plain for all to see. There is no need to belabor the point because the public’s approval of Trump’s Covid-19 response is already disastrously low. When you talk about not bringing the full power of the federal government to bear or politicizing masks, people know who it is you mean.
The goal, then, seems to be making sure these Republican senators own that failure, too.


vox--2020-08-31--Joe Biden makes the case Donald Trump has already made America more dangerous

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden took to the stage in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , on Monday to point out an obvious fact : He is not yet the president .
He did so to offer a rebuttal of last week ’ s Republican National Convention , which saw current President Donald Trump and dozens of other speakers talk about nationwide protests — and the violence that has sometimes been adjacent to them — as demonstrating the lawlessness of “ Joe Biden ’ s America ” as they painted vivid pictures of the absolute chaos that would befall the country if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ No one will be safe in Biden ’ s America , ” Trump said in his RNC address last week .
“ Make no mistake , if you give power to Joe Biden , the radical left will defund police departments all across America .
They will pass federal legislation to reduce law enforcement nationwide .
They will make every city look like Democrat-run Portland , Oregon.
” Biden does not support defunding police departments ; his criminal justice plan calls for a $ 300 million investment in the Community Oriented Policing Services @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well as attaching contingencies on federal aid for police departments to enforce certain standards of conduct .
But that fact did not stop the president from making further efforts to link Biden to unrest over the weekend .
Biden ’ s speech today was meant to remind voters they are actually living in Donald Trump ’ s America .
As Biden pointed out , the unrest in cities across the country is happening under Trump ’ s watch .
And Biden also highlighted that Covid-19 has claimed more than 180,000 American lives , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the pandemic , and the economy remains sluggish with millions still relying on unemployment insurance to pay their bills .
“ These are not images of some imagined Joe Biden America of the future — these are images of Donald Trump ’ s America today , ” Biden said .
“ He keeps telling you , if he was president , you ’ d feel safe .
Well , he is president — whether he knows it or not.
” Biden ’ s argument about Trump went beyond “ law and order @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comes after another week of national unrest resulting in deadly shootings ; one in Kenosha , Wisconsin , amid protests responding to the police shooting of Jacob Blake , and another in Portland , Oregon , over the weekend .
In both , the deadly violence broke out after protesters clashed with armed militia members supportive of President Trump .
Details are still emerging , but the [ Portland ] victim is believed to be Aaron Danielson , a supporter of the far-right Patriot Prayer group ; according to Willamette Week reporter Aaron @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hat and shirt with the group ’ s logo .
The shooting comes after supporters of President Donald Trump led a caravan of vehicles through the city Saturday and clashed with anti-police brutality protesters in Portland ’ s downtown ; video from journalist Cory Elia shows trucks flying Trump flags driving through people on a street and unleashing pepper spray as the vehicles forced their way through a crowd of protesters .
The killing follows another instance of deadly street violence from just days ago : On Tuesday , a 17-year-old Trump supporter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city of Kenosha , Wisconsin , and injured a third .
Kenosha has been the site of major protests since police shot Jacob Blake , a Black man , at least seven times in the back on Sunday , leaving him paralyzed from the waist down .
On Monday , Biden issued a full-throated condemnation of some of the recent riots in American cities that have broken out following peaceful protests over police brutality in the cases of Blake , George Floyd , Breonna Taylor , and many others .
While Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ riots , Biden made it clear he sees a clear distinction between riots and peaceful demonstrations and is staunchly opposed to the former .
“ I want to be clear about this : Rioting is not protesting .
Looting is not protesting .
Setting fires is not protesting , ” Biden said .
“ It ’ s lawlessness — plain and simple .
And those who do it should be prosecuted .
Destroying businesses only hurts hard-working families that serve the community .
It makes things worse , not better.
” But Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not solely be blamed on antifa or left-wing protesters as the president and his allies have sought to do — and that many clashes have broken out after armed Trump supporters have gotten involved .
Right-wing violence has been an incredibly motivating force for Biden to get involved in the 2020 race ; he has repeatedly said he was spurred to run after watching the deadly violence during the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville , Virginia , and Trump ’ s subsequent comments that there were “ very fine people on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t stop the violence — because for years he has fomented it , ” Biden said on Monday .
“ He may believe mouthing the words law and order makes him strong , but his failure to call on his own supporters to stop acting as an armed militia in this country shows you how weak he is.
” Rather than engaging with Trump ’ s narrow argument on his ability to maintain “ law and order ” in the country , Biden worked to broaden the idea of security — pointing out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as much to do with public health and a stable economy .
“ More than 100,000 seniors have lost their lives because of the virus .
More cops have died from Covid this year than have been killed on patrol .
Nearly one in six small businesses closed in this country today , ” Biden said .
“ Do you really feel safer under Trump ?
” The RNC made it clear that Trump has settled on “ law and order ” as his main point of attack on Biden and Democrats , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some massive challenges Trump has faced during his presidency , including the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting economic struggle .
The former vice president ’ s speech Monday was a forceful repudiation of that attack because it shone a spotlight on Trump ’ s own record — not just on race and policing , but a broader range of issues facing Americans .
And Biden hammered home the point that the current America is one of Trump ’ s making .
“ Our current president wants you to live in fear , ” Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a figure of order .
He isn ’ t. ” Help keep Vox free for all Millions turn to Vox each month to understand what ’ s happening in the news , from the coronavirus crisis to a racial reckoning to what is , quite possibly , the most consequential presidential election of our lifetimes .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
But our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the news advertising market recovers , your support will be a critical part of sustaining our resource-intensive work , and helping everyone make sense of an increasingly chaotic world .
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Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden took to the stage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Monday to point out an obvious fact: He is not yet the president.
He did so to offer a rebuttal of last week’s Republican National Convention, which saw current President Donald Trump and dozens of other speakers talk about nationwide protests — and the violence that has sometimes been adjacent to them — as demonstrating the lawlessness of “Joe Biden’s America” as they painted vivid pictures of the absolute chaos that would befall the country if Biden was elected in November.
“No one will be safe in Biden’s America,” Trump said in his RNC address last week. “Make no mistake, if you give power to Joe Biden, the radical left will defund police departments all across America. They will pass federal legislation to reduce law enforcement nationwide. They will make every city look like Democrat-run Portland, Oregon.”
Biden does not support defunding police departments; his criminal justice plan calls for a $300 million investment in the Community Oriented Policing Services program to strengthen community policing, as well as attaching contingencies on federal aid for police departments to enforce certain standards of conduct. But that fact did not stop the president from making further efforts to link Biden to unrest over the weekend.
Biden’s speech today was meant to remind voters they are actually living in Donald Trump’s America.
As Biden pointed out, the unrest in cities across the country is happening under Trump’s watch. And Biden also highlighted that Covid-19 has claimed more than 180,000 American lives, many schools aren’t reopening due to the pandemic, and the economy remains sluggish with millions still relying on unemployment insurance to pay their bills.
“These are not images of some imagined Joe Biden America of the future — these are images of Donald Trump’s America today,” Biden said. “He keeps telling you, if he was president, you’d feel safe. Well, he is president — whether he knows it or not.”
Biden’s argument about Trump went beyond “law and order”
The vice president’s speech comes after another week of national unrest resulting in deadly shootings; one in Kenosha, Wisconsin, amid protests responding to the police shooting of Jacob Blake, and another in Portland, Oregon, over the weekend. In both, the deadly violence broke out after protesters clashed with armed militia members supportive of President Trump.
As Vox’s Cameron Peters recently wrote:
Details are still emerging, but the [Portland] victim is believed to be Aaron Danielson, a supporter of the far-right Patriot Prayer group; according to Willamette Week reporter Aaron Mesh, the victim was wearing a hat and shirt with the group’s logo. The shooting comes after supporters of President Donald Trump led a caravan of vehicles through the city Saturday and clashed with anti-police brutality protesters in Portland’s downtown; video from journalist Cory Elia shows trucks flying Trump flags driving through people on a street and unleashing pepper spray as the vehicles forced their way through a crowd of protesters. The killing follows another instance of deadly street violence from just days ago: On Tuesday, a 17-year-old Trump supporter allegedly shot and killed two protesters in the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and injured a third. Kenosha has been the site of major protests since police shot Jacob Blake, a Black man, at least seven times in the back on Sunday, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
On Monday, Biden issued a full-throated condemnation of some of the recent riots in American cities that have broken out following peaceful protests over police brutality in the cases of Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others. While Trump and Republicans have accused Democrats of embracing riots, Biden made it clear he sees a clear distinction between riots and peaceful demonstrations and is staunchly opposed to the former.
“I want to be clear about this: Rioting is not protesting. Looting is not protesting. Setting fires is not protesting,” Biden said. “It’s lawlessness — plain and simple. And those who do it should be prosecuted. Destroying businesses only hurts hard-working families that serve the community. It makes things worse, not better.”
But Biden also pointed out that the violence cannot solely be blamed on antifa or left-wing protesters as the president and his allies have sought to do — and that many clashes have broken out after armed Trump supporters have gotten involved. Right-wing violence has been an incredibly motivating force for Biden to get involved in the 2020 race; he has repeatedly said he was spurred to run after watching the deadly violence during the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and Trump’s subsequent comments that there were “very fine people on both sides.”
“He can’t stop the violence — because for years he has fomented it,” Biden said on Monday. “He may believe mouthing the words law and order makes him strong, but his failure to call on his own supporters to stop acting as an armed militia in this country shows you how weak he is.”
Rather than engaging with Trump’s narrow argument on his ability to maintain “law and order” in the country, Biden worked to broaden the idea of security — pointing out that America’s safety has just as much to do with public health and a stable economy.
“More than 100,000 seniors have lost their lives because of the virus. More cops have died from Covid this year than have been killed on patrol. Nearly one in six small businesses closed in this country today,” Biden said. “Do you really feel safer under Trump?”
The RNC made it clear that Trump has settled on “law and order” as his main point of attack on Biden and Democrats, but it also did little to address some massive challenges Trump has faced during his presidency, including the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting economic struggle.
The former vice president’s speech Monday was a forceful repudiation of that attack because it shone a spotlight on Trump’s own record — not just on race and policing, but a broader range of issues facing Americans. And Biden hammered home the point that the current America is one of Trump’s making.
“Our current president wants you to live in fear,” Biden said. “He advertises himself as a figure of order. He isn’t.”