A 23-year-old Wisconsin man carrying a flamethrower, smoke grenades and fireworks during a Saturday night demonstration in Green Bay 'dropped into the fetal position and began crying' after he was chased down by police.
Matthew Banta of Neenah, WI - who is "known to be a violent Antifa member who incites violence in otherwise relatively peaceful protests," was one of four individuals walking towards a protest with baseball bats, according to ABC2.
Green Bay police say they were called for “a whole bunch of white people with sticks, baseball bats and helmets headed... towards the police” on Walnut St. near Webster Ave.
A responding officer says he saw four individuals walking towards a protest with baseball bats. One man was wearing a metal helmet with goggles and military-style gear with multiple pouches, and was carrying an Antifa flag. When the officer pulled his squad car in front of the group, they ran away. The officer caught Banta, who was carrying the flag, and says Banta “dropped into the fetal position and began crying.” He accused the officer of lying on him; the officer replied nobody was on him. -ABC2White House COVID-19 Task Force Privately Warned States About Virus
Banta claims he wasn't planning to incite a riot (with his flamethrower, smoke grenade and fireworks).
The three other individuals Banta was with were caught trying to break into a house. When officers apprehended them, they dropped what they were carrying, with one of them telling the police that they were simply bringing items for self-defense.
Last month, Banta was chargedin Waupaca County with second-degree recklessly endangering safety and four other charges for pointing a loaded gun at a police officer, and biting and kicking another.
The scene on Tuesday night was something I had only seen in photos of war-torn countries. Men and women stood with baseball bats, hand-guns, semi-automatic rifles, and shotguns in front of their businesses and homes.
It is stunning how many recent riots over purported racial injustice have been based on phony stories. Ferguson, Missouri was pillaged and burned over the false contention that Michael Brown was gunned down with his hands up (the Obama Justice Department confirmed that he was struggling to kill the police officer arresting him for a strongarm robbery he had just committed by grabbing his gun when he was fatally shot). Baltimore was sacked over the contention that Freddie Gray was assassinated by police officers deliberately tossing him around in a police van (a jury acquitted the officers).
Just this past week, rioters looted downtown Minneapolis on the false story that police had gunned down a suspect who had, in fact, committed suicide. Which was captured on surveillance video. Yet, Target, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom were still looted.
Most damaging of all, 3 months ago, the first videos released to the public created the impression that George Floyd was asphyxiated by Officer Derek Chauvin of the Minneapolis Police, whose knee on his neck prevented him from breathing. That account has now been proven to be false, yet is still embraced by nearly all of the media, public, and political figures (including Rudy Giuliani, whose address to the RNC referred to the “unforgivable police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis”). The facts of the case have been suppressed with Minnesota’s Attorney General Keith Ellison delaying their release, but we now have body cam footage of the entire encounter of Floyd and the medical examiner’s report that indicated he had a fatal overdose of fentanyl in his system, which caused him to complain multiple times, “I can’t breathe,” while sitting upright in the police car from which he bolted, leading to his being pinned down. (For the shocking details, you and Rudy Giuliani should read George Parry’s “Who Killed George Floyd?”).
We can now add the riots in Kenosha and beyond to list of race riots sparked by assumptions of police behavior that are contradicted by the facts. As with George Floyd, the impressions created by the first videos released to the public were misleading and highly inflammatory. In considering the facts that follow, ask yourself what you would do if you were charged with the task that faced the Kenosha police officers.
The Kenosha Police were called to a residence not to deal with a domestic dispute in which Jacob Blake was a peacemaker, but rather to arrest Blake. They were called by his girlfriend and mother of 3 of his children. The Wisconsin Department of Justice, which is investigating the shooting, writes,
“Kenosha Police Department officers were dispatched to a residence in the 2800 block of 40th Street after a female caller reported that her boyfriend was present and was not supposed to be on the premises.”
That same female had made a complaint against Blake abut 4 months ago that led to the issuance of a warrant for his arrest. Cited in the warrant were her allegations of trespass, domestic abuse, and sexual assault. There were some stark parallels to the situation facing the KPD in the current instance that led to Blake’s shooting:
On May 3, 2020 Kenosha Police Officer Raiche, in full uniform and operating marked squad#3343, responded to 2805 40th Street Unit D, City and County of Kenosha, state of Wisconsin for a report of an ex-boyfriend who had broken into the residence and stole vehicle keys, a vehicle and a debit card from the victim before fleeing. (snip)
LNB stated she was upset but collected herself and ran after the defendant out the front door and then realized her vehicle was missing. LNB ran back inside to her purse, which was on the kitchen counter and checked it, quickly realizing her key to her truck (Ford Explorer 2002), a black individual key and the only key for the vehicle and her Great Lakes Debit Card were missing.
Compare this situation in May with the undisputed facts released by the Kenosha Professional Police Association (the union representing the cops):
The officers were dispatched to the location due to a complaint that Mr. Blake was attempting to steal the caller’s keys/vehicle.
Officers were aware of Mr. Blake’s open warrant for felony sexual assault (3rd degree) before they arrived on scene.
Mr. Blake was not breaking up a fight between two females when officers arrived on scene.
The silver SUV seen in the widely circulated video was not Mr. Blake’s vehicle.
Mr. Blake was not unarmed. He was armed with a knife. The officers did not see the knife initially. The officers first saw him holding the knife while they were on the passenger side of the vehicle. The “main” video circulating on the internet shows Mr. Blake with the knife in his left hand when he rounds the front of the car. The officers issued repeated commands for Mr. Blake to drop the knife. He did not comply.
The officers initially tried to speak with Mr. Blake, but he was uncooperative.
The officers then began issuing verbal commands to Mr. Blake, but he was non-complaint.
The officers next went “hands-on” with Mr. Blake, so as to gain compliance and control.
Mr. Blake actively resisted the officers’ attempt to gain compliance.
The officers then disengaged and drew their tasers, issuing commands to Mr. Blake that he would be tased if he did not comply.
Based on his non-compliance, one officer tased Mr. Blake. The taser did not incapacitate Mr. Blake.
The officers once more went “hands-on” with Mr. Blake; again, trying to gain control of the escalating situation.
Mr. Blake forcefully fought with the officers, including putting one of the officers in a headlock.
A second taser (from a different officer than had deployed the initial taser) was then deployed on Mr. Blake. It did not appear to have any impact on him.
Based on the inability to gain compliance and control after using verbal, physical and less-lethal means, the officers drew their firearms.
Mr. Blake continued to ignore the officers’ commands, even with the threat of lethal force now present.
So, what should the officers have done, confronted with Blake, armed with a deadly weapon and attempting to drive away the vehicle with 3 young children in it? The fact that he was able shrug off 2 tasers suggests he may have been on some mind-altering substance like methamphetamine, PCP, or angel dust. The children reasonably could be believed to be at risk in a vehicle fleeing arrest.
Five years earlier, Blake had been involved in a similar resisting-arrest incident in which, after pulling a gun in a bar dispute, he was pulled over and charged the police. Back then, it turned out that he did have a gun in his SUV.
The officer who shot Blake,Rusten Shesky, perhaps should have stopped with one shot. Certainly, 7 shots seems like a lot. But Blake had already demonstrated his ability to remain a threat after being tased twice and had physically overcome officers, escaping a head lock. With a deadly weapon at hand, the risks to the officer and the children were not insignificant.
One final note, the woman who swore out the complaint against Blake that led to the wrrant for his arrest, the mother of 3 of his children who in her complaint “stated she and the defendant have three children together but have never resided together in the eight years they have been on and off,” is named Laquisha N. Booker (LNB in the warrant). And now that he is represented by Benjamin Crump and will be suing Kenosha for damages, she is calling herself his “fiancé.”
Julia Jackson, the mother of Jacob Blake, harshly condemned the violence happening in Kenosha, Wisconsin, over the shooting of her son during an interview Tuesday on CNN in which she also apologized to President Donald Trump.
What did Jackson say to rioters?
Riots erupted in the southern Wisconsin city late Sunday just hours after Blake was shot seven times by Kenosha police, who were responding to a domestic incident. Businesses have been burned and looted, and two people were even killed late Tuesday as the riots entered their third consecutive night.
"My family and I are very hurt and quite frankly disgusted. And as his mother, please don't burn up property and cause havoc and tear your own homes down in my son's name," Jackson said.
"You shouldn't do it. People shouldn't do it anyway, but to use my child or any other mother or father's child — our tragedy — to react in that manner is just not acceptable. And it's not helping Jacob. It's not helping Jacob or any other of the men or women who has suffered in these areas," she continued.
When asked by Lemon whether she has a message for politicians, Jackson used the opportunity to apologize to the president for missing his personal phone call and for comments that another family member had made about him.
"For our president, Trump: First I want to say a family member and I don't know if it was heard or not said something that was not kind. She is hurting and I do apologize for that. Our outburst does not reflect our behavior. And then also, for President Trump: I'm sorry I missed your call because had I not missed your call, maybe the comments that you made would have been different," Jackson said.
She added, "I'm not mad at you at all. I have the utmost respect for you as the leader of our country. Like I said before and I'm not saying this to him directly: We should always get the details from the right source before we start throwing bricks."
Anything else?
Blake, who survived being shot seven times, is paralyzed as a result of his injuries, a family attorney said, adding that at least one bullet tore through his spinal cord. According to a CBS News report, the bullets left holes in Blake's stomach, caused damage to his kidney and liver, and required that "nearly his entire colon and small intestine" be removed.
"The medical diagnosis right now is that he is paralyzed and because those bullets severed his spinal cord and shattered some of his vertebrae… it is going to take a miracle for Jacob Blake Jr. to ever walk again," family attorney Benjamin Crump said, CBS News reported.
She was killed during a no-knock raid on her home in March
Breonna Taylor's mother Tamika Palmer (center) addresses the media over the speed of the investigation of her daughter's death as attorney Benjamin Crump (left) and co-counsel Lonita Baker (right) look on outside Louisville City Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. The attorneys and family are upset with the lack of action by city officials during the 150 days since Breonna Taylor was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police officers. (Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images)
Editor’s note: The Courier Journal has exhaustively covered all aspects of the fatal March 13 shooting of Breonna Taylor at the hands of Louisville Metro Police Department officers. As the investigation of their conduct continues, this story examines documents and other evidence we obtained that helps explain why LMPD pursued the no-knock search warrant and why they were there that night. It does not justify the shooting but provides more insight into this highly controversial case that has captured the nation’s interest. An earlier version of this story published prematurely Tuesday morning before final edits were made. We apologize for that misstep.
An internal report written by Louisville Metro Police after officers fatally shotBreonna Taylor on March 13 sheds more light on the reasons why they chose to forcibly enter her South End apartment the night she was killed.
It provides no explanations or evidence aimed at justifying the shooting that has sparked three months of protests in Louisville and national outrage, with critics accusing police of breaking into the home of an unarmed Black woman for no legitimate reason and killing her.
But the 39-page report and corroborating evidence do show that Taylor had more extensive ties than previously made public with an accused drug trafficker who was at the center of a larger narcotics investigation in Louisville. It is not known if details included in the report were presented to the judge who signed the controversial "no-knock" warrant for Taylor's apartment.
The findings of the report, corroborated by jail phone recordings and other documents obtained by The Courier Journal, detail multiple links between Taylor and Jamarcus Glover of Louisville, a main target in a drug probe that prompted police to request the search warrant for Taylor’s apartment.
Plainclothes officers that night battered in her door, searching for drugs and illicit cash. None were found.
Glover was arrested the same night as Taylor’s shooting. He was picked up at an alleged drug house 10 miles to the north in Louisville’s West End. He was released on bail but is now a fugitive after failing to post a new bail set at $50,000 when he was charged again last month.
"Breonna Taylor did not deserve to die no matter what her role in all this,” said a Jefferson County law enforcement official who asked not to be identified because Kentucky's attorney general is still deciding whether the officers who shot Taylor should be prosecuted.
The Louisville Metropolitan Police Department released a report this week providing more details about Breonna Taylor's alleged connections to drug trafficking that led police to obtain and execute a no-knock search warrant at her home in March, the Courier Journal reported.
Taylor was shot eight times and killed by police who broke into her home in the middle of the night on March 13. Police shot back after Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a shot at them when they entered the apartment. No drugs or money were found at the apartment.
What's in the report?
Recorded calls about bail money. During a call from jail on March 12, Jamarcus Glover (the main target in the drug probe) called a friend and told her that Taylor was keeping $8,000 of his money and that she had been "handling all of my money." Glover and Taylor had dated a couple of years prior.
In January, in another call from jail, Glover called Taylor to ask her to arrange for obtaining bail money from a mutual associate.
Taylor posted bail for Glover twice in 2017, and there were 27 calls from Glover to Taylor while he was in jail at various points from January 2016 through January 2020.
Glover and Taylor seen leaving alleged drug house together. Police reportedly observed Taylor and Glover visiting a known drug house together on Feb. 13.
According to the report, in a call from jail the the same day Taylor was killed, Glover expressed confusion to an associate named Adrian Walker about why the police searched Taylor's apartment when their only connection was the bail money, and Walker responded that it was probably because of the photos of them going to the drug house.
The mayor criticizes the report
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer criticized the Courier Journal's publication of the information from LMPD's report as "reckless" in a statement:
Breonna Taylor's death was a tragedy. Period. Justice, peace and healing are what is needed for her, for her family and for our community. Today a news story was released that includes information related to the Breonna Taylor case, despite the fact that the Attorney General and FBI have insisted that the investigation remain confidential for the integrity of the judicial process as a whole. In addition, attorneys for Breonna's family, the county attorney, and the civil attorneys for the officers are under a protective order that does not permit them to disclose evidence in this case. It is deeply reckless for this information, which presents only a small fraction of the entire investigation, to be shared with the media while the criminal process remains ongoing. It would be unjust to draw conclusions about this case before the investigation is complete and the full truth comes out. And, efforts to sway opinion and impact the investigation by releasing select information are wrong and divisive, at a time when our city needs unity more than ever before.
Keep these in mind as you contemplate the direction of the American government over the past 50 years and especially since the Obama election.
The Goals of Communism
(as read into the congressional record January 10, 1963, from "The Naked Communist" by Cleon Skousen)
1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.
2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.
3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.
4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.
5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.
6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.
7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.
8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.
9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.
10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.
11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)
12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.
13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.
14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.
15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.
16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.
17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.
18. Gain control of all student newspapers.
19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.
20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.
21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.
22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."
23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."
24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.
25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.
26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."
27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."
28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."
29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.
30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."
31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.
32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.
33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.
34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.
36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.
37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.
38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.
39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.
40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.
41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.
42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.
43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.
44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.
45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.
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