Category: RACISM

FAIRFAX ACCUSER VANESSA TYSON CALLS OUT VIRGINIA GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR FAILURE TO ACT

By Grace Carr

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Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax accuser, Vanessa Tyson, released a statement Thursday condemning the Virginia General Assembly for its failure to act meaningfully regarding her allegations against the governor. 

Despite calls from both Fairfax accusers, Tyson and Meredith Watson, legislative leaders have failed to pursue appropriate action, according to an official statement from the law firm Katz, Marshall & Banks, which is representing Tyson.

The law firm represented Christine Blasey Ford in hearings regarding allegations brought against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

“[T]he Virginia General Assembly has remained silent and has taken no action whatsoever in response to her allegations, even after a second woman, Meredith Watson, came forward to report that Lt. Governor Fairfax raped her while they were students at Duke University in 2000,” the statement reads.

While lawmakers in both parties have responded with words of concern, they have utterly failed to act and have stood idly by as Lt. Governor Fairfax has impugned Dr. Tyson’s actions as being politically motivated; verbally attacked Dr. Tyson and Ms. Watson; [and] threatened to file criminal charges against Dr. Tyson if she pursues criminal charges against him. … It now appears that the Virginia General Assembly lacks the political courage to establish a process by which Dr. Tyson and Ms. Watson’s serious allegations of sexual violence suffered at the hands of Lt. Governor Fairfax will be fully investigated. We ask the members of the Virginia General Assembly to consider what message such inaction sends to victims of sexual assault and rape.

Tyson alleges that Fairfax assaulted her while they were at a Democratic National Convention in 2004. Fairfax has vehemently denied the allegations and maintains their encounter was consensual.

Watson alleges that Fairfax raped her in 2000 while they were both students at Duke University. Fairfax has also denied Watson’s allegations. (RELATED: Second Fairfax Accuser Slams Calls For An ‘Investigation,’ Wants To Testify Publicly)

Thursday’s statement comes two weeks after Tyson first went public with allegations against Fairfax. Tyson has “made clear that she is willing to cooperate in any investigation by the Virginia General Assembly or other appropriate authorities,” the statement also says.

Virginia’s General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn Friday.

“It is unfathomable that the Virginia General Assembly appears intent on ending its current session without addressing this issue in any meaningful way. We call on the General Assembly to hire experienced independent investigators to conduct a prompt and thorough inquiry of these matters. Credible allegations of sexual assault must not be ignored,” the statement reads.

The assembly must act immediately because Tyson and Watson deserve better than supportive words, according to the statement. The statement also calls for “a credible, transparent process in which all sides have the opportunity to be heard.”

More than 150 alumnae of Watson’s alma mater, The Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, Maryland, have signed a statement supporting Watson.

Virginia House Delegates Todd Gilbert and Tim Hugo did not immediately reply to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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USA Today Editor-In-Chief Apologizes For Editing College Yearbook With Blackface Images

By Paul Bois

For some inexplicable reason, February 2019 has turned into the month where blackface photos in college yearbooks come back to haunt people. Just weeks after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam‘s blackface controversy, reports surfaced that USA Today Editor-in-Chief Nicole Carroll actually edited the 1988-89 Arizona State University yearbook that featured two images of people dressed in blackface.

According to The Wrap, Carroll published a lengthy apology on Thursday for her role in editing the images in the yearbook, which featured two people at a Halloween party dressed as Mike Tyson and Robin Givens. She denounced the images as “horrible” while apologizing for any “hurt” she may have caused.

“The 1988-89 yearbook I edited at Arizona State University included a photo of two people at a Halloween party dressed as Mike Tyson and Robin Givens. It is horrible, and of course the photo should not have been published,” wrote Carroll. “I am sorry for the hurt I caused back then and the hurt it will cause today.”

Carroll said she had no memory of the photo and learned of its existence as part of a “USA Today Network review of yearbooks” from that era.

“The image was discovered as part of a USA Today Network review of yearbooks from that time. I was shocked as I had no memory of that photo,” she continued. “I want to apologize publicly. As journalists, we must hold ourselves accountable as we do others, and it is important to call myself out for this poor judgment.”

As noted by The Wrap, Caroll’s blackface controversy adds to the litany of blackface controversies that have erupted throughout Black History Month, which has embroiled the likes of “The View” co-host Joy Behar and high profile fashion brands.

“Brands like Gucci and Burberry have been forced to apologize for racially insensitive clothing designs,” notes The Wrap. “A Katy Perry shoe design was also yanked. ‘The View’ co-host Joy Behar came in for heat after an old photo of her dressed as a ‘beautiful African woman’ began making the rounds.”

Read Carroll’s full apology:

The news is full of blackface pictures.

There can be no debate about whether or not such images are racist and hurtful. They are.

It was recently brought to my attention that I was involved in publishing such a photo when I was in college.

The 1988-89 yearbook I edited at Arizona State University included a photo of two people at a Halloween party dressed as Mike Tyson and Robin Givens. It is horrible, and of course the photo should not have been published.

I am sorry for the hurt I caused back then and the hurt it will cause today.

The image was discovered as part of a USA TODAY Network review of yearbooksfrom that time. I was shocked as I had no memory of that photo.

Clearly the 21-year-old me who oversaw the book and that page didn’t understand how offensive the photo was. I wish I had.

Today’s 51-year-old me of course understands and is crushed by this mistake.

I want to apologize publicly. As journalists, we must hold ourselves accountable as we do others, and it is important to call myself out for this poor judgment.

Also, I want to continue to grow from this.

As a journalist and editor, I have long championed diversity and inclusion in our newsroom and in our news coverage. I initiated USA TODAY’s current diversity committee. In Arizona, before I arrived at USA TODAY, our newsroom held frequent meetings with diverse communities, asking them to critique our work and help us do better. They always did.

Throughout my career, I’ve had, and will continue to have, newsroom conversations about how we can further educate ourselves and our readers about race, history and prejudice, as well as the serious issues facing women, the LGBTQ community and all marginalized groups.

And we’ll keep talking about how we are doing in recruiting and retaining journalists of color. We cannot cover America if we do not reflect America.

Accountability. Transparency. Education. Discussion.

That is how I grow.

That is how we grow.

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Suspect Arrested ’He Has Made No Statement to Police’

By John Nolte

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Empire star Jussie Smollett surrendered to police at 5:00 a.m. and is now in custody, reports ABC 7 Chicago.

“Smollett surrendered to authorities Thursday morning after he was charged with one count of felony disorderly conduct for filing a false police report,” the report says.

“Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that Smollett is in custody after surrendering to authorities after 5 a.m. Police said they would conduct a news conference at 9 a.m. Smollett is expected to appear in bond court at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.”

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The bond hearing will likely be a formality. The “judge is expected to formally read the charge against Smollett, set his bond and then he will be released. Smollett will return to court at a later date to enter his plea,” reports ABC 7.

On January 29, Smollett reported a hate crime to police, claiming he had been assaulted in downtown Chicago at 1:30 a.m. by two bigots.

Smollett told police the two men recognized him, hurled racial and homophobic slurs (Smollett is black and gay) and assaulted him. Before warning him “This is MAGA country!” — a reference to President Trump’s Make America Great Again campaign slogan — he said the two men poured bleach on his black skin and tied a noose around his neck. The men wore red hats, similar to those worn by Trump supporters, and black facemasks.

According to police, two brothers, both of whom are black, have admitted to being paid by Smollett to stage the attack. Local reporters have found surveillance video of the brothers purchasing the items (see above) allegedly used in the hoax, including a red hat and face masks.

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As of now, Smollett claims he is innocent. His attorneys released a statement: “Like any other citizen, Mr. Smollett enjoys the presumption of innocence, particularly when there has been an investigation like this one where information, both true and false, has been repeatedly leaked. Given these circumstances, we intend to conduct a thorough investigation and to mount an aggressive defense.”

The problem with Smollett’s claim of innocence is that he is hanging the two brothers out to dry with the claim they were the ones who, for whatever reason, committed a hate crime against him. According to various reports, Smollett was friendly with the brothers. One or both worked on Empire with him. One might have even been his personal trainer.

But now Smollett apparently wants us to believe they sat outside in subzero weather waiting for the opportunity to beat on him and call him a “nigger” and “faggot,” to pour bleach on him and wrap a noose around his neck.

The attorney representing the brothers told reporters Wednesday: “I think Jusse Smollett should come clean because the truth will set you free. … I think that Jesse’s conscience is not letting him sleep right now, so I think he should unload that conscience and just come out and tell the American people what actually happened.”

She also said her clients did receive money from Smollett.

Smollett is also under investigation over a piece of hate mail sent to him at the Empireoffices. The racist letter contained a white powder (that proved to be harmless), but local media is reporting the brothers told police Smollett arranged to have the letter sent to himself.

For filing a false police report, Smollett could face three years in prison and a hefty fine that could include the cost of the investigation. The hate letter could mean federal mail fraud charges.

As of now, Smollett’s employers at Fox are standing by their star, although there have been reports his role was dramatically reduced in upcoming episodes and that the filing of felony charges could mean a suspension.

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DON LEMON: IT’S NOT JUSSIE SMOLLETT’S “FAULT” THAT HE LOST IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION

Don Lemon: It's Not Jussie Smollett's "Fault" That He Lost in the Court of Public Opinion

CNN host runs defense for actor arrested for staging his own hate crime

 | Infowars.com – FEBRUARY 21, 2019

CNN host Don Lemon ran defense for Jussie Smollett on his show last night, claiming that it’s not the actor’s “fault” that he lost in the court of public opinion.

Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi announced that Smollett was “under arrest and in custody of detectives” this morning. His bail hearing is set for 1:30pm local time.

Smollett launched a media firestorm at the end of last month when he claimed he was assaulted by two individuals who shouted “this is MAGA country” and had a noose placed around his neck.

However, evidence soon emerged clearly suggesting Smollett had paid two Nigerian brothers who worked on the show Empire with him to stage the attack.

Despite some on the left deleting old tweets that signaled vehement support for Smollett and with others keen to avoid talking about the issue altogether, Don Lemon appeared to double down by absolving Smollett of blame.

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During a segment on his show last night, the CNN host said Smollett had “lost the fight in the court of public opinion”.

“He lost that because of how – not his fault – maybe people were – I don’t know what they were saying to him, maybe because of his representatives, who knows – but it was handled poorly,” said Lemon.

CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson pushed back, commenting, “I don’t know if it’s not his fault, Don.”

“You think it’s his fault, you think he was doing what he wanted?” asked Lemon.

If the allegations are proven true, quite how anyone but Smollett himself is to blame for staging a hate crime which according to some could have kicked off racial violence in America is somewhat baffling.

Despite the overwhelming evidence against him, Smollett’s lawyers say they will “mount an aggressive defense,” with the actor potentially facing jail time.

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PayPal Bans Big League Reporter After He Exposed Them Funding Illegal Immigration

By Tom Pappert

The reporter was banned without explanation after reporting on PayPal’s morally ambiguous enforcement decisions.

PayPal banned Big League Politics reporter Luke Rohlfing from its platform mere months after he exposed the online payment processor’s funding of an illegal immigration group that has provided services to those that encourage illegal immigration.

Rohlfing says he did not use his PayPal account to receive donations, receive payments, or otherwise conduct business as a reporter, but simply used it to expedite payments and increase security on various websites. Still, PayPal said in its email to Rohlfing notifying him of his account’s termination that the decision was based on his “activities” and relating to his “usage of PayPal services.”

The email also instructed him to remove all mention of PayPal as a payment processor from his website, even though Rohlfing has no website.

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As Rohlfing continued to press her for information, the representative identified only as Elaine responded “For more details regarding the WHY [sic] of this action that PayPal took regarding your account, you may submit a subpoena to our corporate address.”

Rohlfing has already begun communicating with a lawyer, and says he plans to pursue legal action against PayPal.

This action comes only months after Rohlfing exposed PayPal for allowing an organization that openly encourages and provides material support to migrant caravans seeking to enter the United States illegally to use its platform.

Rohlfing reported for Big League Politics last year:

In the past month, President Donald Trump has been faced with the challenge of dealing with a caravan of illegal immigrants storming the border. The caravan, mostly coming from Central America, is being organized by a group called Pueblo Sin Fronteras, translated to “People Without Borders.”

While there is no surefire way to track the exact funding of the group, it clearly has support with at least good media coverage from media outlets with ties to George Soros. But it is clear who is facilitating the transactions from supporters, and that is PayPal.

Big League Politics informed PayPal about the group hosting a link to a PayPal account accepting donations to support the caravans.

PayPal promised to contact Rohlfing via email to discuss their decision to allow a group that advocates breaking the law to exist on its platform, but never did. Instead, Rohlfing was summarily banned from the payment processor months later.

Speaking to his compatriots at Big League Politics, Rohlfing explained that in his view, “PayPal is demonstrating yet again that they are left-wing authoritarians with an axe to grind,” expanding that, “First they banned users from purchasing legal firearms, and now they are shutting down anyone who reports news they don’t like.”

“Make Peter Thiel in charge of PayPal again,” Rohlfing concluded.

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Jussie Smollett Offered Job At CNN After Fabricating News Story Out Of Thin Air

By The Babylon Bee

ATLANTA, GA—While Empire actor Jussie Smollett has been having a tough week so far, there appears to be a silver lining: cable news channel CNN has offered Smollett a job as an investigative reporter and on-air anchor after witnessing his skills at fabricating a story entirely out of thin air.

CNN producers were reportedly impressed throughout the ongoing saga of Smollett’s apparent hoax attack on himself. They realized early on the facts didn’t add up but were fascinated with how well the actor kept the narrative going. An HR rep quickly reached out to Smollett to see if he’d be interested in taking on a position at the news organization after news broke that the entire thing was probably fabricated.

“Smollett has exactly the kind of skills we look for at our fine organization,” said CNN correspondent Brian Stelter. “He picked a narrative, made up all the relevant facts and details, and stuck with his story in spite of glaring holes in the plot. It’s hard to find people who understand our core values here at CNN, but Smollett seems to be just the guy for us.”

The actor has accepted the offer and is now undergoing training to learn how to weave even more intricate narratives ex nihilo, according to insiders.

 

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Jussie Smollett Hires Colin Kaepernick Attorney Mark Geragos as Indictment Looms

By Joshua Caplan

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Empire actor Jussie Smollett has hired high-powered attorney Mark Geragos amid reports he orchestrated a racist and homophobic attack on himself last month in Chicago. Fox 32 Chicago reporter Rafer Weigel, citing sources at the Chicago Police Department, tweeted Wednesday that an indictment of Smollett may come in “a matter of hours. Not days.”

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Geragos recently represented former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in his lawsuit against the professional football league.

The report comes as police are seeking to re-question Smollett amid allegations that he staged the attack with the brothers — Abimbola “Abel” and Olabinjo “Ola” Osundairo — who were extras on Empire. According to CBS Chicago’s Charlie De Mar, Smollett directed one of the brothers to purchase the rope which was used in the alleged staged attack at the Crafty Beaver hardware store. De Mar also said Smollett paid the brothers $3,500 and promised an additional $500 later.

Smollett told police that two masked individuals had sprayed him with an unknown chemical substance as they hurled racist and anti-gay insults at him on January 29. The actor also claimed that his attackers had looped a thin rope around his neck and screamed “This is MAGA country!” before darting from the area.

Meanwhile, the Fox Broadcasting Company, the network behind Empire, said in a statement Wednesday that Smollett is a “consulate profession” who will remain a regular on the show.

Not only is Smollett believed to have staged the assault, but may also be behind a threatening letter sent to him on the set of Empire.

Chicago’s local CBS affiliate, WBBM Channel 2, reported Tuesday evening that the actor “orchestrated” the assault after the letter failed to garner an adequate reaction.

FBI and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service officials are currently probing whether he played a role in the letter’s January 22 delivery. The letter, which contained powered aspirin and the phrase “Die black fag,” is undergoing analysis at an FBI crime lab, ABC News reported.

In a statement to ABC News, Smollett’s lawyers said their client was “angered” and “further victimized” by claims that staged his own attack.

“As a victim of a hate crime who has cooperated with the police investigation, Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with,” Smollett’s lawyers, Todd Pugh and Victor Henderson, said. “He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack. Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying.”

“One of these purported suspects was Jussie’s personal trainer who he hired to ready him physically for a music video,” the statement continued. “It is impossible to believe that this person could have played a role in the crime against Jussie or would falsely claim Jussie’s complicity.”

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STATE ATTORNEY RECUSES HERSELF FROM JUSSIE SMOLLETT CASE

State Attorney Recuses Herself From Jussie Smollett Case

Reason for recusal unclear

By Nicole Darrah

The Cook County state’s attorney has recused herself from the investigation surrounding Jussie Smollett, as Chicago police continue to dig into the alleged hate crime attack the actor claims occurred last month.

State’s Attorney Kim Foxx recused herself on Tuesday, but it was not immediately clear why. First Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Magats will take over the case as acting state’s attorney, Fox News has learned.

JUSSIE SMOLLETT’S LAWYERS DENY HE PLANNED ATTACK AFTER CHICAGO POLICE CLAIM HE’S NO LONGER CONSIDERED A VICTIM IN CASE

Foxx’s recusal came as the Chicago Police Department rejected a tip the bureau received earlier Tuesday regarding the “Empire” actor’s case.

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Anthony Guglielmi, chief communications officer for the department, tweeted that the tip alleging that Smollett was spotted in an elevator in his building with two men who were initially considered suspects was “unfounded as it was not supported by video evidence obtained by detectives.”

Smollett, who is openly gay and black, reported that on Jan. 29, he was attacked by two masked men as he was walking home from a Subway restaurant. He claimed that the men shouted racial and anti-gay slurs at him, poured a chemical substance on him, threw a rope around his neck and shouted, “This is MAGA country!”

Investigators revealed on Friday that two suspects were questioned in connection with the alleged attack, but were released without charges “due to new evidence.”

Chicago police said on Saturday that Smollett was no longer considered a victim in their investigation.

Smollett’s attorneys, Todd S. Pugh and Victor P. Henderson, vehemently denied that the attack was a hoax, previously telling the press: “As a victim of a hate crime who has cooperated with the police investigation, Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with.”

“He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack,” the statement continued. “Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying.”

Separately, court documents recently obtained by Fox News reveal that Smollett was convicted for DUI and providing a police officer with false information. It was not immediately clear what information he lied to police about, but it’s related to a vehicular charge. Smollett’s legal team did not deny the arrest.

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