It was baptism by pepper spray...

͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­͏     ­

	Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Antifa & BLM's Jan 6 - From the journalist that witnessed it all It was baptism by pepper spray... Dec 10   READ IN APP   Looking back on my experience covering the widespread civil unrest of 2020 while working as the video director at Daily Caller, it feels like a dream or, more accurately, a nightmare. In many ways it was. The entire country was spun up into hysteria, hypnotized by fear and existential angst: the 2020 election combined with draconian lockdowns made the protests a release for anyone who had been cooped up for months and was looking for meaning beyond their next Uber Eats meal or their upcoming work call on Zoom. And that’s if they were lucky. If they were not so lucky they still had to show up for work wearing a mask, or they had their businesses shuttered because the government said so. Grab your copy now Our institutional media and politics did nothing to help. They made it all worse. In my book, RIOT DIET, I chronicle how powerful media outlets like CNN broadcast hysterical exaggerations of Trump’s actions while downplaying the riots that took place in cities across the country on Memorial Day weekend, 2020. I was two blocks up from St. John’s Church during the now infamous Trump Bible photo op on Memorial Day Monday. As I state in the chapter, “BAPTISM BY PEPPER SPRAY”: A CNN live shot showed me in the center of the screen, cell phone in hand. My eyes darted nervously between outraged protesters and a momentarily calm line of law enforcement who stood behind riot shields that said, “MILITARY POLICE.” At the bottom of the broadcast, the chyron, a technical term for the text that makes up the headline on news programs, read, “PROTESTERS NEAR WHITE HOUSE TEAR-GASSED, SHOT WITH RUBBER BULLETS SO TRUMP CAN HAVE CHURCH PHOTO OP.” According to CNN, Trump issued a direct order to tear gas the crowd in front of the White House so that he could take photos holding a Bible in front of St. John’s Church. Trump was accused of performing the publicity stunt as a show of solidarity after the church was vandalized and nearly set on fire during the previous weekend of rioting. ÷÷÷ Over a year later, an inspector general investigation called this headline into question. “The US Park Police did not clear racial injustice protesters from Lafayette Park to allow for then-President Donald Trump’s march to St. John’s Church last June, but instead did so to allow a contractor to install a fence safely around the White House, according to a new Inspector General Report,” CNN itself wrote. Get your copy now The “tear gas” canisters were actually smoke grenades, still unpleasant to inhale but a far stretch from the highly caustic chlorine-based compound known colloquially as “tear gas” and technically as “CS gas.” Furthermore, “rubber bullets” were not used. Park Police officers used “pepper balls,” which are fired from what is essentially a paintball gun, and then shatter into a peppery powder on impact. We would learn how much stronger the chlorine-based CS gas was when we traveled to Portland in less than two months. And as someone who has been shot by dozens of pepper balls and a handful of rubber bullets, I can also say that the difference is not a mere technicality. Pepper balls certainly sting and can lacerate the skin—even take out an eye though cops aren’t supposed to aim for the face—but the rubber bullets pack a much stronger wallop by far. The Park Police definitely exercised excessive force in clearing what were by all accounts peaceful protesters in Lafayette ahead of the curfew that afternoon, but the claim of “tear gas” and “rubber bullets” was a blatant exaggeration that mirrored Trump’s tendency to lie through his porcelain teeth. CNN’s reporting was akin to throwing stones inside of a glass house, and it set the stage for a long summer of journalism geared to make the Trump administration look as evil as possible, while details that equated to a more nuanced truth were tossed into the back seat. Get the book here Later in the story, I recount how politicians like Bill De Blasio made it nearly impossible for religious services to worship in their churches, mosques, and temples, but gave protesters a pass in America’s cultural hub. Here’s an excerpt from my New York chapter, “AMERICA’S ARCH OF CONSTANTINE”: This relaxed attitude toward the BLM protests came from the mayor of New York City, self-described socialist Bill de Blasio. Ten days prior, he announced plans for bright yellow BLM murals—the same style as the mural Mayor Bowser painted in BLM Plaza in DC—spanning entire city blocks in each of the city’s five boroughs. Since the start of the summer, de Blasio repeatedly signaled his support for BLM demonstrators’ right to assemble in large gatherings, despite the global pandemic. On June 15, he banned the city-hired COVID contact tracers from asking individuals if they had attended any Black Lives Matter protests. When asked at a press conference why religious services were not exempt from the COVID ban on large gatherings, the mayor replied, “When you see... an entire nation simultaneously grappling with an extraordinary crisis seated in four hundred years of racism, I’m sorry—that is not the same as the understandably aggrieved store owner or the devout religious person who wants to go back to services.” Apparently, the police gave the occupied protest concessions not afforded to other segments of the population; much like the cops who never interfered with Gatsby’s ostentatious and alcohol-fueled parties during the height of prohibition because politicians enjoyed the parties themselves. Get the book here I also recount how I witnessed Kyle Rittenhouse shoot Joseph Rosenbaum in Kenosha Wisconsin, and was subsequently named both a key witness and a victim. I had my words taken out of context to serve a political narrative rather than the objective facts. Then I was able to correct the record thanks in large part to my Jarhead boss, Geoffrey Ingersoll. But I’ll leave that to the reader to learn when they reach chapter 7 in my book (you can also see a dramatic representation of me putting my boss Geoff in a chokehold in the illustration for Chapter 1). With the so-called “Summer of Love” (and the January 6 riot that was labeled an “insurrection” for which I was a witness with the camera rolling) in the rearview, it is important that we heal from it all and move on. And that’s coming from a guy who got dragged through the mud for stating what I saw after I was dumb enough to chase a 17-year old with an AR-15. Oh yeah, and I got called a “rioter who punched a door” by The New York Times, then battled for not one, not two, but maybe three corrections from the Ol’ Gray Lady, the alleged Paper of Record, The New York Times. I have Geoff to thank for a few of those corrections, and my lawyer to thank for the third correction that may or may not have occurred. But to hear more you’ll have to wait for the release of RIOT DIET 2 in early 2025. For now I know this: If we want to benefit in any way as an American people under Trump’s second term, our politicians and media professionals would serve us well if they focus more on the facts at hand rather than the perceived politics of those involved. Get over the personal animus that spurs a reflexive Orange Man Bad response. This is America, and individual opinions are one thing. The voice of the people is another. I didn’t vote for El Trumpo, but the voters have spoken. It’s time to reject the feigned outrage and wake up. Grab your copy now Pick up “RIOT DIET” today for yourself or as a gift for a loved one: Full Color Pulp Nonfiction Edition: https://www.amazon.com/RIOT-DIET-Radical-Through-America/dp/B0DM5Y9STF Black and White Version https://www.amazon.com/RIOT-DIET-Radical-Through-America/dp/B0DM5V2YG1 Read more from Richie on his Substack "McGinniss’ Gonzo Gazette” A guest post by Richie McGinniss Richie McGinniss is a DC-based independent journalist with over a decade of experience working for media outlets across the political spectrum. Subscribe to Richie You're currently a free subscriber to PolitiBrawl. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. Upgrade to paid   Like Comment Restack   © 2024 Politibrawl 548 Market Street PMB 72296, San Francisco, CA 94104 Unsubscribe