I filmed the Trump inauguration, in particular a team of us split up and covered the various groups participating in “Disrupt J20.”
Each of us followed a different “group” - someone hung with the LGBT focused protestors, another with indigenous peoples, etc. I hung out with…let’s say the tough and rowdy folks. “Black bloc” is what they settled on for their own little banner of sorts.
It was an exciting but generally not dangerous day. DC police are actually pretty good at de-escalating/handling situations that are escalating with a pretty firm but not power tripping response. I do not like giving any police credit, but I can tell you firsthand that they were not going to make the situation worse. At least not anything I saw.
I filmed folks break windows of BofA, a trash can was thrown and lit on fire, it got rowdy but even so it sort of capped itself off. The group self regulated and it never got truly violent.
All of this is to say that there was one moment where I truly felt concerned for my life. NRA TV showed up. These guys were cosplaying like they were walking straight out of Kabul, it was insane. Then a bunch of MAGA-hat wearing folks came up to me while I was filming an interview encircled me. The interviewee was a black woman who clearly was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and pushed away out of the circle. Before I could step away, one of them grabbed my shoulder and screamed “fuck you fake news!” and pushed me. I immediately threw my hands up and said “do not fucking touch me I am a member of the press” and one of them shouted “you’ll get what you deserve race traitor.” This is not bullshit, it happened.
I am relieved to say they all walked off and left me alone after that. But it was the first time in my life I ever felt like my line of work was dangerous. After my first kid was born I stopped covering protests, I’m sad to say.
If you were near the Capitol, you were likely dealing with Capitol Hill police. I worked there for seven years and can vouch first-hand, as an extremely anti-cop person, that they were almost always good, helpful, non-power-trippy people. They were on-guard at all times as their only job was guarding the Capitol, so they were used to dealing with all sorts.
They know it is not fake, they say things like that as a mnemonic aid. Like a Homeric epithet. He’s reminding his pals that they all hate the news as he attacks a press person.
Story time.
I filmed the Trump inauguration, in particular a team of us split up and covered the various groups participating in “Disrupt J20.”
Each of us followed a different “group” - someone hung with the LGBT focused protestors, another with indigenous peoples, etc. I hung out with…let’s say the tough and rowdy folks. “Black bloc” is what they settled on for their own little banner of sorts.
It was an exciting but generally not dangerous day. DC police are actually pretty good at de-escalating/handling situations that are escalating with a pretty firm but not power tripping response. I do not like giving any police credit, but I can tell you firsthand that they were not going to make the situation worse. At least not anything I saw.
I filmed folks break windows of BofA, a trash can was thrown and lit on fire, it got rowdy but even so it sort of capped itself off. The group self regulated and it never got truly violent.
All of this is to say that there was one moment where I truly felt concerned for my life. NRA TV showed up. These guys were cosplaying like they were walking straight out of Kabul, it was insane. Then a bunch of MAGA-hat wearing folks came up to me while I was filming an interview encircled me. The interviewee was a black woman who clearly was becoming increasingly uncomfortable and pushed away out of the circle. Before I could step away, one of them grabbed my shoulder and screamed “fuck you fake news!” and pushed me. I immediately threw my hands up and said “do not fucking touch me I am a member of the press” and one of them shouted “you’ll get what you deserve race traitor.” This is not bullshit, it happened.
I am relieved to say they all walked off and left me alone after that. But it was the first time in my life I ever felt like my line of work was dangerous. After my first kid was born I stopped covering protests, I’m sad to say.
If you were near the Capitol, you were likely dealing with Capitol Hill police. I worked there for seven years and can vouch first-hand, as an extremely anti-cop person, that they were almost always good, helpful, non-power-trippy people. They were on-guard at all times as their only job was guarding the Capitol, so they were used to dealing with all sorts.
Capitol police training and oversight for the entire nation when
Thank you for the correction! I definitely meant CH police
I know, no use for asking logic or coherent thoughts here. But - why would you be there if you made all up anyway?
My interpretation was he saw “a lib with a camera” talking to a black woman and immediately assumed it was nefarious
They know it is not fake, they say things like that as a mnemonic aid. Like a Homeric epithet. He’s reminding his pals that they all hate the news as he attacks a press person.