The Nation is under criticism this week for another column that appears to entirely discard the facts in advancing a narrative of police misconduct. Despite its writers supporting forms of censorship to fight “disinformation,” Nation columns regularly omit or misrepresent key facts in national controversies. The latest example is a column published from Reps. Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib, who accuse the Atlanta police of covering up a police killing during the “Cop City” demonstrations. They claim that the evidence shows that “Georgia State Patrol officers shot and killed Manuel ‘Tortuguita’ Terán, a nonviolent activist” after one officer accidentally killed another. The Nation and the members omit evidence that directly contradicts those claims.
In January, heavily militarized Georgia State Patrol officers shot and killed Manuel “Tortuguita” Terán, a nonviolent activist protesting in the local forest that Cop City would destroy, in a hail of 57 bullets. In the immediate aftermath of their killing, law enforcement claimed that Tortuguita possessed a firearm and fired first. This was a lie. Body camera footage suggests one officer shot another, and autopsies showed Tortuguita had their arms raised and no gunpowder residue on their hands when they were killed.
The column cites articles that preceded findings from the police lab and other sources. Some, like the suggestion of friendly fire, came later from speculation of officers who were not involved in the shooting.
As critics have noted, the members are citing a family-funded autopsy for the claim that Terán had his hands up. The actual autopsy is less clear and the man who performed the autopsy has been previously attacked for misrepresenting his record and bias in past cases where he was hired by families.
However, the official autopsy found that there was no way to conclusively establish Terán’s position.
It is also not true that residue was not found. The article refers to no gun residue being seen on the hands at the scene. However, a test was used and the report “revealed the presence of particles characteristic of gunshot primer residue.”
More importantly, the gun was found to match the bullet recovered from the trooper’s body: “Investigators say a forensic ballistic analysis confirms the remains of the bullet pulled from the trooper’s body during surgery on Wednesday afternoon was fired from the Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 9mm recovered at the scene.”
Moreover, the gun was previously purchased by Terán: “Investigators say they received confirmation Monday that the firearm used in the Jan. 18 incident was bought legally in September 2020 by Manuel Esteban Paez Teran.”
So, the actual findings showed that Terán bought the gun, the gun was used to shoot the officer, and Terán had gun residue on his hands.
The two members use these distorted facts to “call on the Department of Justice to investigate Tortuguita’s killing, its subsequent cover-up, and the deprivation of civil rights.”
I have previously expressed my own concerns over the use of domestic terrorism charges against these and other protesters. However, the Nation’s readers were given a clearly false understanding of the findings in the case to suggest the murder of a protester and the covering up of the crime by Atlanta police.
Mr. Turley must find it very difficult to maintain his judicial neutrality in the face of the Left’s utter disregard for facts, and their completely separate standards of justice for those not Progressive.
He just cannot bring himself to label lies and corruption when everyone can see it plain.
Mr. Turley must find it very difficult to maintain his judicial neutrality in the face of the Left’s utter disregard for facts, and their completely separate standards of justice for those not Progressive.
He just cannot bring himself to label lies and corruption when everyone can see it plain.
Remember Ashli Babbitt
-January 6, 2021
This week’s Reverend Bacon – Tawanda Brawley memorial Award goes to past-multiple winners…
Meanwhile, nearly 10,000 blacks a year are gunned down in almost exclusively democrat managed districts every year.
Boo – here comes the man…lol.
“So, the actual findings showed that Terán bought the gun, the gun was used to shoot the officer, and Terán had gun residue on his hands.”
Apparently, JT, you didn’t get the memo:
Facts that disturb a Leftist desire are racist.
Dear Prof Turley,
Gag Trump!? Is that even possible? How would they do that? Surgery and/or drugs?
How do you stop the rain from falling? How can you stop the sun from shining? How can losers ever win?
*how can you mend a broken heart .. .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTY6Kv0nPr8
Are these two dunces really any less intelligent than their colleague Hank Johnson? He was afraid too much military equipment on Guam could cause the island to capsize.
Watch him apologize for saying ‘midget’.
https://www.politico.com/video/2012/12/rep-hank-johnson-apologizes-for-using-the-word-midget-on-house-floor-009853
It take a special kind of stupid and Hank Johnson has it.
Hey they got the race card and their gonna play the race card. Gotta keep them black folks down on the get the vote out plantation. Once they find a sucker they never let him go.
New CBS poll. Trump beats Biden. The left has not destroyed this man yet.
Who’s really at fault? The voters. Who the hell voted for these two?
Antonio, that was outstanding.
Just a couple of old bitty’s from Missouri and Michigan meddling in another state’s business to stir the pot. These old nags should fight to solve the problems of the poor blacks in their own district first. Unless, of course, they’ve already solved those problems.
Like I will always and continue to state; If it comes out of the mouth of a prog/left fanatic dem, it is a lie – and you can take that to the bank.
Constantly caterwauling and unassimilable dependents, leeches, thieves and parasites unconstitutionally and forcibly imposed on America through the unconstitutional “dictatorship of the proletariat,” foisted and facilitated by wholly unconstitutional Marxist public assistance, affirmative action, rent control, minimum wage, “non-discrimination,” “fair housing” laws, WIC, SNAP, TANF, HAMP, HARP, HUD, HHS, EEOC, Obamacare, etc., etc., etc., providing “free stuff” and “free status” to those without faculty or merit since 1860 – “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”
Thank you for communism, Karl.
__________________________
Naturalization Acts of 1790, 1795, 1798 and 1802 (four earnest iterations)
United States Congress, “An act to establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization,” March 26, 1790
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That any Alien being a free white person, who shall have resided within the limits and under the jurisdiction of the United States for the term of two years, may be admitted to become a citizen thereof…
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
“O [America], [America], wherefore art thou [America]?”
– Juliet, Romeo and Juliet
_____________________
“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in [America] anymore.”
– Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz
All one really had to do was put “Reps. Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib,” in the title and anyone with sense would not have bothered to read it.
One wonders if St. Louis and Dearborn Heights thinks they got the best they could get with these two.