Free Republic

If I were Trayvon Martin’s parents or his family’s attorneys, I would be very nervous. And if I were the media who covered this case — — I would prepare to be mortified. The coverage of this case was a disgrace from day one. To uncover this staggering fraud, Gilbert did what reporters used to do. He immersed himself in the milieu that produced Trayvon Martin. He reviewed the thousands of text messages, tweets, Facebook and Instagram postings sent and received by Martin and his friends. He interviewed George Zimmerman, the only person who knew, Martin’s final words that revealed...

PORTLAND, Ore. — Joe Fontenot walked away from his comedy show Saturday night with a black eye. The Portland comedian said he was performing at a venue in Hood River when he was attacked. He said he usually stays away from religion and politics during his act, but he took a chance that night. Fontenot said he was making fun of President Donald Trump's infamous statement about creating a Space Force when a man in the audience stood up and shouted, "Make America great again!" then walked on stage. "I just said, 'Someone should build a wall around you,' and...

Full title: Brilliant! Mike Cernovich Destroys Rep. Erica Thomas and her Disgusting Hate Hoax — Breaks Down Ever-Changing Story of ‘Madame Smollett’ As reported on Saturday — State Rep. Erica Thomas told supporters a white man told her to “go back to where you came from.” Thomas is an African-American Democrat state lawmaker. ... She was at a Publix grocery store and was checking out at the express lane with too many items when the man confronted her. Thomas posted a tearful and heartrending video on social media following the confrontation. She said the man told her to “go back...

In a surprise move, a Cook County judge ordered the appointment of a special prosecutor Friday to investigate the controversial decision to drop all charges against Jussie Smollett. Judge Michael Toomin ruled that State’s Attorney Kim Foxx had the right to withdraw from the prosecution but could not legally appoint her top deputy to handle the case in her place. The special prosecutor could end up charging Smollett, Toomin said, and if the investigation uncovers suspicion of wrongdoing by others, additional charges could be brought. Toomin made the decision even though the county’s inspector general’s office is already investigating the...

. . . I just think he's startled," the manager said of the “Empire” actor to the emergency dispatcher. “What’s really weird, ma’am, just because I’m scared. I don’t know what it is. They put a noose around his neck.” . . . “I work with an artist. I don’t really want to say his name, but he states that … he went to Subway (sandwich shop) he was walking by, and some guys … jumped him or something like that,” the manager said. “And I just want to report it and make sure he’s all right.” . . ....

In case you didn’t hear, there was yet another hate crime attack on Sunday, this time taking place at a subway station in the Tribeca district of New York City. A 25-year-old gay man was abruptly attacked by two men hurling homophobic slurs, leaving him with a laceration to the head requiring stitches. Police quickly put out the call for information leading to the arrest of the assailants. Barely 24 hours later the story had fallen apart. The NYPD’s investigation determined that the supposed victim was the one instigating the conflict. (NY Post) A Manhattan straphanger who claimed to have...

Jussie Smollett is the victim of an out of control media and social media storm and the "Empire" star is suffering profound emotional issues from simply telling the truth about the "attack" ... so says his brother. Jojo Smollett says Jussie is "violently awakening from night terrors, following the assault" ... so he says in an op-ed piece for BET. Jojo calls claims that Jussie staged the attack "ludicrous," adding he has been insanely successful and didn't need a phony reason to boost his career opportunities or salary. Jussie's brother says there are plenty of people who support the actor...

Racist, anti-gay and anti-Semitic remarks were found spray-painted Wednesday on a Democratic Party office in Oklahoma for the second time in as many weeks, and authorities said vandals left similar graffiti at a nearby school and arts center. The vandalism was discovered on the windows and sidewalk outside the Cleveland County Democratic Party headquarters as well as the Firehouse Art Center and McKinley Elementary School in Norman, about 17 miles (27 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City. Similar epithets were discovered spray-painted on March 28 on the front door, walkway and other areas outside the state Democratic Party headquarters in Oklahoma...

... Indefatigable truth seekers -- such as independent journalist Andy Ngo, Glenn Beck’s The Blaze network and the Daily Caller news website -- have chronicled a list of roughly 20 prominent “hate crimes” that enthralled the media but, after further review by the booth, were phonier than a used car salesman’s smile. Mostly, said cases involved black, Muslim or LGBT folks claiming an assault by the MAGA brigades. ...

@DavidAxelrod: "Unless some better explanation surfaces, here’s the lesson of this weird turn in the Smollett case: You can contrive a hate crime, make it a national news, get caught and-if you are a well-connected celebrity-get off for $10K and have your record expunged and files sealed" "Hate crimes are loathsome. Faking them is insidious and shouldn’t be excused. Despite Smollett’s denials, nothing the prosecutor said in dismissing the case supports that. If prosecutors have evidence that contradicts the indictment THEY brought, they should share it today."

JACKSON, Miss. — A member of a black church in Mississippi has pleaded guilty to burning the church, which was also spray painted with the slogan “Vote Trump,” a week before the 2016 presidential election. Andrew McClinton, 47, pleaded guilty to arson Thursday, the Delta Democrat-Times reported. His sentencing is set for late April. Investigators said McClinton belonged to Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church in Greenville, which was vandalized and burned. Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, who is also the state fire marshal, told The Associated Press that investigators believe the graffiti was intended as a distraction from some other sort...

Shortly after prosecutors formally dropped charges against Jussie Smollett on Tuesday, the embattled Empire actor held a press conference to discuss the new development. “First of all, I want to thank my family, my friends, the incredible people of Chicago and all over the country and the world who have supported me, prayed for me, who showed me so much love,” Smollett began. “No one will ever know how much that has meant to me, and I will be forever grateful.” He continued, “I want you to know that not for a moment was it in vain. I have been...

Jussie Smollett is in the clear after the District Attorney in Cook County dropped all charges against the “Empire” star over allegations he lied to police in faking an alleged hate crime against himself. According to reports, the state filed the motion to dismiss the case and the judge signed off. The judge also granted a motion to seal the case, according to Charlie De Mar of CBS Chicago. Jussie Smollett is expected to speak to the media once the hearing has concluded. Smollett’s attorneys released a statement saying, “Today, all criminal charges against Jussie Smollett were dropped and his...

In a Chicago courtroom last week, Jussie Smollett pleaded not guilty to 16 felony counts of lying to authorities. His defense strategy is not yet known, but perhaps his lawyers will say Smollett picked the wrong stage. To succeed, a hate crime hoax needs a place where people expect outbursts of bigotry. An upscale Chicago neighborhood at 2 a.m. is all wrong. Late-night workers in the nearby NBC Tower aren’t out roaming in MAGA hats, bleach bottles and hemp nooses at the ready. To sell that story, you need a plausible setting—say, a woke college campus.Colleges provide the ideal venue...

Anti-Semitic graffiti was scrawled on a sign featuring Ruth Bader Ginsburg at a subway station in Brooklyn earlier this week. The words “Die Jew Bitch” and a swastika were first spotted scribbled in black marker over the face of RBG on Tuesday on an ad pushing a new book about the Supreme Court justice at the Nassau Avenue subway stop on the G line. The vandalism was reported to the NYPD on Wednesday morning via social media. Responding on Twitter, NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea called the incident “abhorrent.” “As always, NYC has no place for hate,” Shea said.

A black college lacrosse player has been arrested in connection with two incidents of racist graffiti found in a dorm on the Goucher College campus in Maryland. Fynn Ajani Arthur, a 21-year-old from Brunswick, Maine, was charged with two counts of malicious destruction of property on Thursday night in Baltimore County. His arrest came after graffiti aimed at black and Latino students was found on the second floor of a campus dorm, one floor above where similar graffiti had been found on November 14, Goucher College administrators said in a statement. Both incidents that shook the Towson campus involved backward...

INTERVIEW with Professor Wilfred Reilly, author of "Hate Crime Hoax - How the Left is Selling a Fake Race War," Simon & Schuster (2019)

Lamar Mayor Darnell Byrd McPherson believed she was the victim of a hate crime after discovering a yellow, sticky substance on the hood of her car Police investigated after McPherson filed a report, as material was also found on her husband's car in the South Carolina town Cops later launched a probe and found that the substance was 'pollen' Before the probe McPherson said she was grateful the alleged culprits 'didn't take our lives' and hoped 'they would be identified and prosecuted'

<p>On Dec. 30, 2018, two women joined 70,000 other Seattle Seahawks fans to cheer their home team to victory. According to court documents, what transpired on that otherwise ordinary night should disgust us all.</p> <p>From the start of the game, a man seated nearby began badgering the two openly gay women. He taunted them in front of the crowd. He asked them if they "needed a man in their lives." He called them "fucking dykes." He asked them if they "wanted some dick." They tried their best to ignore him and watch the game as he left to buy beer. The relief was short-lived.</p>

Every good movie deserves a sequel. Or at least a prequel. I just got off the phone with Bill Martinez, telling him there would soon be another Jussie story. And here it is. When the home of Nikki Joly burned down in 2017, killing five pets, the FBI investigated it as a hate crime. After all, the transgender man and gay rights activist had received threats after having a banner year in this conservative town. In the prior six months, he helped open the city’s first gay community center, organized the first gay festival and, after 18 years of failed...