Black man faces federal charges for threatening Darren Wilson. KKK Leader who made threats: Never Arrested.
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It’s tough being the head of a global news organization when your number one desire at the moment is to ignore the sensationalized headlines and allow time for silence and reflection.
But considering all that’s going on in America at this present moment—CIA torture reports released, Congress attempting to sneak a bill pass the public that will allow police unlimited access to citizen’s communications, and frequent marches and die-ins protesting police brutality—journalism is needed more than ever, not to just shine a light on the problems, but to offer perspectives and solutions that will bring communities together and move the public towards better days.
Everyday, as the CEO of Techbook Online, I strive to do just that. But what’s contributing to my writer’s fatigue—and I would imagine other newsmakers have similar feelings—is the overwhelming amount of situations-turned-news-stories that involve police brutality, prosecutorial misconduct, racism, racial bias or just simple f*ckery by lawmakers and political pundits.
I haven’t written an article in two days—which for me is a big deal since I strive to publish daily—and it almost became day three, until I stumbled upon a news report that really pissed me off and got my fingers moving again.
About a month ago, I wrote and published a post about threats made by the Missouri chapter of the Ku Klux Klan to the Ferguson protesters. I asked, rhetorically, why the government—or even local law enforcement for that matter—hadn’t arrested the leader, Mr. Frank Ancona, who went on MSNBC with Chris Hayes to expound upon his threats, or at the very least condemned him.
I am very familiar with the legacy of the KKK, so I took the threats against the protesters seriously, though the government did not. And considering what I know now, I can confidently say the reason Mr. Ancona was not condemned or arrested is because he’s a white man in America connected to the brothers in blue.
Why do I make that assertion? Well, because a black man named Jaleel Tariq Abdul-Jabbaar from Philadelphia who moved to Seattle, Washington, posted several Facebook statuses that alluded to using lethal force—a term that was plastered on the flyers the KKK was circulating around Ferguson—against former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson and his family. Mr. Abdul Jabbaar, 46, who has a record, now faces federal charges which could land him up to five years in prison.
Acting United States Attorney Annette L. Hayes said in a statement that “Our freedom of speech does not, however, extend to making threats to kill or injure law enforcement officers.”
Regardless of how you feel about the stark contrast in which these two cases of terroristic threats were handled, at the end of the day you got to give Attorney Hayes credit. Her statement lets the American public know that there is, without a doubt, a fundamental valuation difference between the life of law enforcement officer and unarmed citizens who want to exercise their First Amendments Rights.
But just because this happened doesn’t mean it has to stay this way. We should demand that either the charges be dropped against Mr. Abdul-Jabbaar or that Mr. Ancona also be arrested and charged. This situation, among many others, is exactly why communities of color don’t trust law enforcement and have little faith in their government to do the right thing.
Thanks for reading. Until next time, I’m Flood the Drummer® & I’m Drumming for JUSTICE!™