People who are opposed to civil rights progress have a long history of trying to smear civil rights groups and their organizers. That was true for Dr. Martin Luther King and it remains true today with Black Lives Matter. The following examples illustrate that point, and show how BLM and minorities are being falsely blamed, and how many attacks on people and police are simply made up stories. The same is true for cases where white people have been found committing a crime themselves, while trying to pin the blame on some random black person. So, when you see a news article or facebook post blaming protesters for violence or property damage, please be skeptical and realize there is a very good chance that you’ll later learn that it was an attempt to falsely blame protesters or black people in general.
Fox Lake, Illinois Police Officer Committed Suicide After Years of ‘Extensive Criminal Acts’: The investigation found the lieutenant had been committing “extensive criminal acts,” including stealing and laundering money from the Fox Lake Police Explorer Post over the past seven years, officials said. Thousands of dollars were used for personal purchases, including adult websites, officials said. Authorities determined Gliniewicz intentionally left a staged trail at the crime scene to try to mislead first responders that this was a homicide scene. Gliniewicz had significant experience staging mock crime scenes as a part of his job, officials said. When staging his suicide, he falsely claimed that a black man was among those attacking him. https://abcnews.go.com/US/authorities-reveal-conclusive-results-shooting-death-fox-lake/story?id=34961028
A cop’s wife faked home robbery, blamed Black Lives Matter, police say: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/massachusetts-cops-wife-faked-robbery-indicated-black-lives-matter-police-say/
A Firefighter charged with setting fire to own home — and blaming it on Black Lives Matter: https://www.rawstory.com/2016/12/new-york-firefighter-charged-with-setting-fire-to-own-home-and-blaming-it-on-black-lives-matter/
Two White people get gaught tagging “BLM” on a store: https://thinkamericana.com/two-white-protesters-get-caught-tagging-blm-on-store-get-call/
White supremacists pose as Antifa online, call for violence: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/02/tech/antifa-fake-twitter-account/index.html
A piece of racist propaganda was circulated in an attempt to smear the Black Lives Matter movement: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/blm-flyer-enemy-of-people/
Fake ‘Kill A White’ flyers in Edinburgh have nothing to do with Black Lives Matter, say activists. The inflammatory flyers call for white people, police and white MPs to be killed, Black Lives Matter campaigners in the capital believe they were created by “right-wing groups” to smear the anti-racism campaign: https://www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinburgh-news/fake-kill-white-flyers-edinburgh-18423128.amp
A man welcomed dozens of protesters into his home as police ‘pinned’ them on street. This had been falsely reported and spread online as a home invasion, but rather it was the home owner actively inviting the protesters (who he supported) into his own home to help save the protesters from the violence police officers: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/06/02/dc-protesters-welcomed-into-rahul-dubey-home-police/5317028002/
Fact Check: Vietnam Memorial NOT Defaced By Rioters During Protests Following George Floyd’s Death: https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2020/06/fact-check-vietnam-memorial-not-defaced-during-protests-and-rioting-following-george-floyds-death.html
When 27-year-old Samantha Shader was first arrested for allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at police, she told detectives that the supplies—including glass bottles—were given to her by a group of Black men and women, according to federal court records. But weeks later, on Friday, police arrested a white man who admitted to providing the materials. Prosecutors said that Shader, who was allegedly caught on camera hurling the bottle toward the police vehicle, has been previously arrested 11 times in 11 states: https://www.thedailybeast.com/protester-samantha-schader-tried-to-blame-black-man-for-molotov-cocktail-supplied-then-nypd-found-a-note?ref=home
Two drunk white college students, who witnesses alleged were using racial slurs according to news reports, tore down the statue of Frederick Douglass. 20-year-old John Boedicker of Endicott and 21-year-old Charles Milks of Kenmore were arrested and charged with fourth-degree criminal mischief, a misdemeanor. Many initial reports and articles falsely blamed Black Lives Matters protesters for this crime, insinuating that the BLM protesters were so stupid as to not understand that Frederick Douglass was actually a former slave who had escaped slavery to become a powerful voice against slavery. https://13wham.com/news/local/police-two-males-damage-frederick-douglass-statue
Following a review of hundreds of photos and over 50 videos from the scene, Oaklandside reports that tear gas canisters shot by police during the demonstration against the slaying of George Floyd — not protesters with (per police) “Molotov cocktails” — that caused a fire that damaged Buffet Fortuna, one of Oakland Chinatown’s largest restaurants. https://sf.eater.com/2020/7/7/21315944/oakland-police-protest-boby-guys-nyum-bai-belcampo-daily-driver-hella-bagels
Citizens of Virginia and the rest of the country were shocked as headlines across the internet reported that a Fauquier County Sheriff’s Deputy was found unconscious on the roadside after being attacked by people driving a black SUV. The blue line supporters came out in full force driving home the narrative that there is a war on cops. However, after police began investigating the incident, they quickly found out that no attack ever happened and the cop who made up the false claim that he had been attacked was arrested: https://thefreethoughtproject.com/cop-arrested-after-manhunt-launched-for-an-attack-he-faked-on-himself/
Riots in downtown Richmond over the weekend were instigated by white supremacists under the guise of Black Lives Matter, according to law enforcement officials. https://www.wsls.com/news/virginia/2020/07/27/police-richmond-riots-instigated-by-white-supremacists-disguised-as-black-lives-matter/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=snd&utm_content=wsls10
Police say ‘Umbrella Man’ was a white supremacist trying to incite George Floyd rioting: https://www.startribune.com/police-umbrella-man-was-a-white-supremacist-trying-to-incite-george-floyd-rioting/571932272/
New York State Cop Allowed to Retire After Making Phony 911 Alleging He Was Shot By Black Youths, Mayor Claimed Retirement Is ‘Least Expensive Way’ To Get Rid of Him: https://atlantablackstar.com/2020/08/17/new-york-state-cop-allowed-to-retire-after-making-phony-911-alleging-he-was-shot-by-black-youths-mayor-claimed-retirement-is-least-expensive-way-to-get-rid-of-him/
Texas hunters who blamed immigrants actually shot each other, cops say: The hunters told police they suspected the shooters were undocumented immigrants they had seen on the ranch earlier in their trip. Their story soon jumped into online right-wing circles, thanks in part to Texas Commissioner of Agriculture and Donald Trump ally Sid Miller. But it was a lie, according to police and, now, a grand jury. Investigators determined that guides Walker Daughetry and Michael Bryant in fact shot at one another by accident, striking Daughetry and hunter Edwin Roberts in the process. Daughetry and Bryant were indicted for third-degree felonies last Wednesday. https://thinkprogress.org/texas-hunters-who-blamed-immigrants-actually-shot-each-other-cops-say-5607b0145119/
The Associated Press checks out some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. This one is bogus, even though it was shared widely on social media. Here are the facts:
CLAIM: Photos show four police officers who were injured by Democrats and Black Lives Matter rioters over the weekend in Portland, Seattle and nearby cities.
THE FACTS: The officers in the photos weren’t injured at U.S. protests — in fact, they were on the other side of the world. . . Research into the origin of the photos reveals they were all taken in Australia — and not over the weekend. https://www.oregonlive.com/trending/2020/08/did-you-see-photos-of-officers-supposedly-injured-last-weekend-in-nw-cities-the-facts-dont-check-out.html
Fact check: Trump shares White nationalist’s video in retweet falsely blaming Black Lives Matter for 2019 subway assault. https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/31/politics/fact-check-trump-subway-assault-black-lives-matter-antifa/index.html
Officials confirm that the social media rumors of Black Lives Matters and Antifa setting the devastating wildfires are untrue and ask people to stop sharing those untrue rumors. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/10/us/antifa-wildfires.html
Officer Goulart’s “ambush” story began to fall apart. Investigators realized there was no ambush and officer Goulart shot himself in the leg. Just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Goulart was arrested for faking his own ambush. He was booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center on one count of criminal mischief and one count of malfeasance in office: https://thefreethoughtproject.com/cop-shot-during-ambush-arrested-because-he-actually-shot-himself-and-made-it-all-up/
A white Texas man accused of killing the mother of his daughter disguised himself in blackface to commit the act, police say. https://atlantablackstar.com/2020/10/09/cops-say-murder-suspect-wore-blackface-and-fake-beard-to-kill-his-daughters-mother-witnesses-initially-identified-suspect-as-a-black-man/