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Mahkieb Shabazz Booker, founder of Wilmingtons Black Lives Matter, addresses the crowd at a rally Saturday at Rodney Square in downtown Wilmington.(Photo: JERRY SMITH/THE NEWS JOURNAL)Buy Photo

Mahkieb Shabazz Booker thought it was time folks in Wilmington heard firsthand about the injustices at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna.

The founder of Delawares Black Lives Matter movement held a rally on Saturday at Wilmingtons Rodney Square to demonstrate about the conditions inmates faced leading up to the Feb. 1 deadly standoff at Vaughn and the conditions they are enduring since the 18-hour siege ended with the death of correctional officer Lt. Steven Floyd.

Using his nephews story as a way to illustrate the oppression some of the inmates have been facing since the siege, Booker said it is his intent to keep his foot on the necks of those responsible for the consistently bad treatment of the inmates at Vaughn until something changes for the good.

I want treatment in the prison system to be changed, he said standing under the large statue of American Revolutionary leaderCaesar Rodney. Without pressure, the pipes wont burst.

An inmatein Building C said in a federal lawsuit filed in February that while he and other inmates were initially seen in the prison infirmary after the standoff ended, they have since not been able to receive any treatment for physical injuries or mental health concerns stemming from the extremely traumatic events.

That also appears to be the case for a member of Booker's family. Booker has been rallying support for the manbut hasreceived little information from the Department of Correctionon his condition. The inmate said he was locked in his cell for days with a swollen, throbbing, broken hand and no hope of seeing a doctor, getting an X-ray or being fitted for a cast. Medical records are not public unless the inmate gives permission for them to be released.

STORY: Parents may never know extent of abuse

STORY: Delaware prisoners denied medical care after siege

In a letter to Bookers family, his nephew said that he submitted three to four sick calls and still had not been seen on Feb. 17.

Its been since Feb. 2, 2017, since I was beat bad by officers who breached C-Building due to the hostage situation, the nephew wrote in his grievance letter to DOC officials on Feb. 17, which was received on Feb. 21. Ive wrote 3-4 sick calls and still havent been seen (for my) neck, ribs, head, knee. (My hand) is killing me and hurting very bad. My hand has a bone poking out the top of my left hand (and) Ive yet to be seen.

Michelle Booker talks about the conditions at James T. Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna and what her nephew has faced before and after the 18-hour siege at the prison last month.(Photo: JERRY SMITH/THE NEWS JOURNAL)

The nephew said the matter was URGENT and said in the "action requested" space that officials should Investigate This Matter!

Theyre not telling nobody nothing, Bookerreiterated Saturday. To our knowledge, he still hasnt received any medical attention.

Booker said families complain that the lack of information is causing rumors to flourish.

When there is no transparency, there is no trust, Booker said.

Michelle Booker read the letter to the 40-50 people attending the rally. She said her nephew and the other inmates are fearing for their lives, and since the incident, many have lost weight because inmates' have been given smaller mealportions.

There are things that are being done to these inmates that people dont know, she said. It hurts us so bad because we cant do anything for them. He called and told us he had nothing to do with the riot and yet he is being punished.

She said her condolences go out to the Floyd family, but the focus now should be the oppression of all inmates, not just African-Americans. She said something needs to be done now.

Im not here to trash Governor Carney, she said. I just want him to do his job and make sure conditions at Vaughn and the other prisons in the state are improved. Its unimaginable what they are doing down there.

Wilmington Black Lives Matter founder Mahkieb Shabazz Booker (right) talks to members of the Wilmington Peacekeepers (in orange) and the Rev. Derrick Johnson of Joshua Harvest Church before a rally Saturday at Rodney Square in downtown Wilmington.(Photo: JERRY SMITH/THE NEWS JOURNAL)

After hearing about the Bookers nephew, people were given the opportunity to speak. Each talked about the need for everybody to come together to affect change, both in the city of Wilmington and in the prison system.

If we can make things better in our neighborhoods, things can be better in our prison system, Mahkieb Booker said. The whole purpose for being here today is to shed light on what is happening and to send the message that something needs to change now and it will take everybody to make that happen.

Speaker after speaker told their personal stories of oppression by the system and hoped changes would be made so that when inmates are released, they can stay out of prison. Some talked about more money being used for education and rehabilitation so when the inmates are released, they can do something with their lives and become a functioning part of the community.

We need to make it better for our children, said lifelong Wilmington resident Michael Bartley, who has been incarcerated. We need to step up to the plate. Im tired of hearing the speeches. Its time to put boots on the ground and get something done.

Reach Jerry Smith at jsmith17@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter at JerrySmithTNJ.

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Black Lives Matter rally sheds light on prison conditions - The News Journal

Tishaura Jones is running to uproot racism just a few miles from the streets where Michael Brown was murdered.

Tishaura O. Jones speaking at a mayoral debate on January 25, 2017. (Paul Sableman)

Most political candidates would do just about anything to win the endorsement of their largest hometown newspaper, but Tishaura O. Jones knows that the old rules are riggedand ripe for revision.

The 44-year-old city treasurer, Black Lives Matter advocate, and labor-backed progressive is running to be the next mayor of St. Louis. Last month, she declined to sit down for a standard candidate interview with the editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Instead, in a stroke of gutsy defiance, she wrote a searing open letter to the newspapers leadership in which she criticized its coverage of poverty and racism in the city and laid out her own bold political platform.

I had a Fannie Lou Hamer moment, Jones says, referring to the iconic Southern civil-rights activist. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Specifically, as her letter lays out, she was sick and tired of the way the Post-Dispatch leadership seemed to blame poor and struggling residents for St. Louiss woes, attributing its problems to racially coded issues like blight and graffiti. She was sick and tired of the papers thinly veiled racism and preference for the status quo past. She wanted no part of it.

What is killing our city is poverty, she wrote. What is killing our region is a systemic racism that pervades almost every public and private institution, including your newspaper, and makes it nearly impossible for either North St. Louis or the parts of South St. Louis where African Americans live to get better or safer or healthier or better-educated.

Jones believes she can begin to change all that. And she detailed a plan to do so in her unsparing letter, which quickly went viral and helped infuse her candidacy with a last-minute boost of money and populist energy. As she enters the final days of her primary run, she hopes that energy will be enough to propel the peoples candidate, as she calls herself, one crucial step closer to the citys highest office.

Joness campaign, set against the backdrop of the murder of Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson, is further evidence that the movements against mass incarceration, police brutality, and entrenched racism are holding the line at the local level. Should she win, her success would offer reassurance that the progressive flame can still burn hot in City Hall, despite the reactionary white-supremacist agenda ascendant at the White House.

Indeed, most grassroots progressive groups in St. Louis back Joness candidacy, says Kennard Williams, a community organizer with the nonprofit Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment, or MORE, which is currently leading a campaign against mass incarceration, called Decarcerate STL, in the city.

Joness record, her ideas and her rhetoric, he says, have earned her endorsements from organizations like MORE, the SEIU Missouri State Council, the St. Louis Action Council, and the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, as well as dozens of Black Lives Matter, civil-rights, and community activists in the city. Mobilize Missouri, a statewide coalition of grassroots activists that emerged out of the Bernie Sanders campaign, endorsed her in mid-February.

People understand that she is the best option, Williams adds. She is the only candidate to come out and trash on our criminal-justice system, to acknowledge there is a problem with this system and that we cant keep operating it this way.

In her letter to the Post-Dispatch, for instance, Jones pledged to look at every issue through a racial equity lens and to advocate for people who have been disenfranchised, red-lined and flat-out ignored for way too long.

One sees this approach in her past work. During her innovative tenure as city treasurer, a normally staid political office, she launched a program to open college savings accounts for every kindergartner in St. Louis and seed each account with $50 drawn from parking fees. She also created an Office of Financial Empowerment, which provides free financial education and credit-counseling services.

As mayor, Jones says she would expand such programs. Her agenda, though, goes far beyond that.

She intends, for instance, to close once and for all the citys notorious Workhouse, a jail that some activists have likened to a debtors prison. In her open letter, Jones described the facility as a rat hole. If she succeeds in shuttering it, she says she will funnel the budget savings to reentry programs, mental-health services, and substance-abuse centers.

Uprooting racism has to be the number-one priority. Tishaura Jones

We have advocated shutting down the Workhouse for a couple years now, says Williams, who helps spearhead MOREs campaign against mass incarceration. Her plan falls perfectly in line with what we are trying to do.

Jones supports the placement of social workers in the citys police department, the establishment of a $15 minimum wage, and the creation of a Tenants Bill of Rights to help protect poor and working-class renters from predatory landlords. She plans to eliminate the St. Louis cash-bail system too.

Cash bail has a domino effect on low income families, she says. If someone is in jail because they cant afford to pay a cash bail, then they may lose their jobs, and from there it becomes a downward spiral.

If Joness campaign prevails, if she beats out six other Democrats in the March 7 primary as well the inevitable Republican opponent in the April 4 general election, the Black Lives Matter movement will clearly, finally, have an unequivocal ally at City Hall.

St. Louis is the epicenter of Black Lives Matter, says Jones. As I wrote in my letter, after that tragic incident in Ferguson, we woke up, black people woke up, and we have seen more civic and political activity from young people than we have ever seen before. I want to make sure that we are amplifying their voices. I want to make sure we are giving them a seat at the table.

Uprooting racism, she contends, has to be the number-one priority.

Originally posted here:
Can a Champion of Black Lives Matter Become Mayor of St. Louis ... - The Nation.

Activist Alicia Garza isfamous for coiningthe phrase "Black Lives Matter," amantra that has since become themost influential social movement of the 21st century. Since then, she has traveledto Ferguson, Missouri, following the police shooting death of Michael Brown in 2014, and helped establish the Black Lives Matter network and the Movement for Black Lives' policy platform.

Garza, who also works as the special projects director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance,agreed to take part in an email exchange with the International Business Times to discuss how the movement she helped create moves forward in the President Donald Trump era,why she stays away from Twitterand what the media gets wrong about Black Lives Matter.

IBT: Donald Trump declared himself the law and order candidate, and has tried to paint a picture of a rising tide of violence in America. He recently saidnew legislation should be developed to protect police. Many scholars and activists, like Michelle Alexander in The New Jim Crow, have argued that kind of rhetoric has always been used to develop political support for policies that target the black population (Nixons southern strategy, Ronald Reagans War on Drugs, and Hillary Clintons comments on super-predators" are all recent examples). Do you see history repeating itself? Is this kind of rhetoric a threat to black lives?

Garza: We should be clear that Donald Trump doesn't care about law and order he skirts the law and avoids order every chance he gets. He has absolutely no track record in addressing issues impacting black communities, and has very little concern for black communities, as evidenced by his involvement in the case of the Central Park Five, where he whipped up racially charged hysteria that nearly ruined the lives of fiveteenagers wrongfully accused of rape.

The only law and order that Donald Trump cares about is the law and order that lines his pockets, sows division and hatred, and maintains a racially segregated social and economic order. Donald Trump is a predator he preys on the fears that everyday Americans have about an increasingly unstable world and exploits them.

Is this a threat to black lives? Absolutely. When you have a president that claims to govern for everyone but continues to pass laws that threaten the safety and security of black Americans and black immigrants, it's a definite cause for concern. For example, his recent executive orders on policing expand "rights" for law enforcement, but doesn't increase transparency and accountability for law enforcement, who themselves are not above the law but continue to operate that way. Trump's Muslim ban in part targets black Muslims. His rolling back of the protections that existed for transgender communities impacts black lives. Donald Trump is not about law and order he is about skirting the law and has absolutely no respect for it.

IBT: Where are you focusing your energy? What specific issues do you think are the most important at the moment?

Garza: Right now, I'm focused on figuring out how we build political power in a tenuous moment where any semblance of democracy is being bulldozed by Trump and his administration. Every issue is important under this administration it's difficult to narrow to just a few. From climate change to police violence to indigenous sovereignty to transgender rights, it's all important and we all have a role to play.

IBT: President Barack Obamas Justice Departmentused consent decrees, among other tools, to try and reform local police departments. What do you expect to see under a Jeff Sessions-led Justice Department?

Garza: What we can expect to see from a Sessions-led Justice Department is a rolling back of civil and human rights. Sessions' track record is that of denying protections to marginalized groups. I feel great concern for the people working inside the Justice Department who really want to see this country move in a different direction, and who have dedicated their lives to ensuring that everyone's civil rights are upheld and protected. Already under a Sessions-led Justice Department, transgender rights are being rolled back at a time when they need to be expanded.

IBT: New York recently announced that all NYPD officers will be equipped with body cameras by the end of 2019. How do you feel about widespread use of police cameras? Does this represent progress?

Garza: I didn't have much faith in body cameras when they were first popularized and I have even less faith in them now. Instead of body cameras that can be turned on and off at an officer's discretion, we need increased transparency and accountability over law enforcement, including community oversight over the police with the ability to hire, fire and discipline officers who are policing in their community.

IBT: Black Lives Matter has been used as an umbrella term for many different organizations, activities and efforts. Youve mentioned in past interviewsthat the media needs to be more careful and nuanced in its descriptions. What do people misunderstand about the movement?

Garza: I think what people misunderstand about this movement is that it is not a monolith. We don't all think the same, work the same, function the same but we do share a common goal of wanting to protect the sanctity of black life, and when we work together across differences, we are able to accomplish extraordinary things. When some mainstream media outlets take short cuts in describing everything involving black people and violence as Black Lives Matter, it really cheats the public of understanding the nuances and contours of the now numerous efforts and strategies that exist to increase the value of black lives.

The Black Lives Matter network is a proud part of the Movement for Black Lives, and the Movement for Black Lives is, like us, vast and comprised of many different elements. From Black Youth Project 100 to the Black Alliance for Just Immigration to Freedom, Inc., we are so proud to be connected to a growing infrastructure for black organizing and advocacy that's rooted in the current concerns of black people across generations.

Honorees Opal Tometi,(L) Patrisse Cullors, and Alicia Garza (R) accept an award onstage during Glamour Women Of The Year 2016 at NeueHouse Hollywood on November 14, 2016 in Los Angeles. Tometi,Cullors and Garza are often credited as the three co-founders of the Black Lives Matter movement. Photo: Getty Images

IBT: How do you see the movements relationship to the broader Trump resistance?

Garza: My personal observations are that there's still a bit of a disconnect here, and it's not just with the Movement for Black Lives it's with many of the social movements that have emerged over the last decade. It seems to me that the broader resistance to Trumpism is still developing, and one thing it could benefit greatly from is leadership from black people, indigenous people, immigrants, Muslims, and trans people. I still think that the resistance to Trump is still dominated by white men. Both political parties need to realize, and quickly, that the changing demographics of the country require a shift in how those parties are comprised if they hope to survive the next period intact. The DNC is still not reflective of the diversity that exists in this country, and that's a huge problem if Democrats hope to gain more supporters or at least gain more support for their vision and values.

IBT: Although Obama seemed receptive to the goals of the Movement for Black Lives, its clear you and others were frustrated with him for not doing more. But at the same time, many of the problems you are trying to fix are systemic. In terms of your goals and your activism, how much does it matter who is president?

Garza: What matters by way of systemic change is who holds the power to make decisions, shape culture and shape values, reward and punish. Being the president is a part of that, but not the only part.

IBT: Black Lives Matter Toronto is under fire after co-founder Yusra Khogali called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a white supremacist terrorist and then wrote a Facebook post in which she said white skin was sub-humxn. When something like that happens, it seems like the whole Black Lives Matter movement is blamed on social media. Does the BLM network communicate to coordinate messaging? How do you feel about her comments?

Garza: When the BLM network engages in activities together, we coordinate messaging. When it comes to the work that people do in their local communities, they have autonomy over how they talk about their work and what they are trying to achieve. BLM Toronto does incredible work, and the network supports them and their vision for a Canada where black lives actually matter.

What's interesting about this moment and Black Lives Matter, whether it be the network or the movement, is that there is this assumption of uniformity that at times, is used to either dispute or discredit not just organizations, but everything they fight for. It's really transparent and insidious, and frankly, racist. If John Lewis says something I disagree with, I don't attribute his statements to the entire civil rights movement, because I understand that the civil rights movement was comprised of many different opinions, world views, and activities.

Being a white supremacist is a term that has some specificity and can actually be applied to some leaders in our current U.S. government like President Trump, or his chief strategist Steve Bannon. I do share the concerns of BLM Toronto and many progressives in Canada that his words are out of step with his actions. I am incredibly concerned about the police violence in Canada that, like in the United States, goes unchecked. I am concerned about the dangers that Muslims face in Canada just trying to survive. I am concerned about the hundreds of indigenous women who have disappeared in Canada and across North America, and I am concerned at a lack of action taken by the Canadian government to ensure the human rights of all of their citizens.

IBT: You coined the phrase Black Lives Matter on social media. Unless Im mistaken, it looks like you havent tweeted since the election(note: Garza tweeted on Tuesday for the first time since Nov. 9. ) Why is that? Will you be back on Twitter?

Garza: Twitter isn't really my chosen platform.Too many trolls, not enough nuance. I'm still active on other platforms, but these days I find myself really trying to concentrate on face to face interactions, and to not use social media as a replacement for that. I use social media to explore and test ideas, to keep up on news, and to check up on my friends and loved ones.

IBT: What do you know now that you wished you had known back in 2013?

Garza: Nothing.Everything I've learned since 2013 has been invaluable and I wouldn't take those experiences back.

Original post:
Black Lives Matter Founder Alicia Garza: 'Donald Trump Is Not ...

Professor Osamudia Jones introduces an economics lecturer to the Black Lives Matter course at UMs law school. The course welcomed lecturers from a variety of disciplines to educate students about the various causes of racism. Amanda Prats // Senior Photographer

The University of Miami School of Laws first interdisciplinary course on the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement will be open to all students and faculty March 9 when Alicia Garza, one of the founding members of BLM, will come to campus and talk to students.

Garza is one of the many speakers who have been invited to the class to speak about the converging societal issues that created the BLM movement.

The course was created and is taught by professor Osamudia James, vice dean of the School of Law. James, who has contributed columns on race relations in The Washington Post and The New York Times, has been teaching Torts and Administrative Law for nine years, along with a seminar on inequality in the public school system. She formed the Black Lives Matter course to help explain why a group of people felt the need to breathe new life into a civil rights movement in modern-day America.

I probably got the idea when people were saying Black Lives Matter is a hate group or when we started getting the All Lives Matter retort, James said. People didnt understand the underlying social conditions that had prompted it. People didnt understand the frustration that was behind it so I wanted to create a space where we could reflect on that.

The interdisciplinary course involves speakers from 19 different UM schools and departments along with local organizations. Two speakers attend James Thursday class and discuss intersectional issues, such as disproportionality in child welfare and special education or the use of theater and literature in propelling ideas on Black Lives Matter.

James law course comes after a two-part undergraduate course about BLM in spring and fall 2016 that took a look at activists and theorists in the movement while analyzing current U.S. race relations. David Ikard, director of Africana Studies, taught the course.

The law course was hand-tailored to relate to Miami, with some class sessions focusing specifically on the criminal justice system in Miami-Dade County. Miami-Dade report filings have indicated frequent racial profiling. Such a case involved one young black Miami Gardens man being stopped 258 times by police over the course of four years. Future class sessions will feature individuals from the Community Justice Project and Legal Services of Greater Miami.

Miami is a really interesting place, and identity is understood differently in Miami than it is in other parts of the country, James said. You also have issues of immigration and you have some serious class issues here in Miami. It didnt make sense to me to talk about Black Lives Matter in Miami and not talk about Miami activists who do the work.

James has also taken steps to bring the conversation out of the classroom and onto social media. Students in James class use social media, such as Twitter, to ask questions about the weeks lecture, using the hashtag PerspectivesOnBLM. James said there has been vigorous conversation outside of the classroom. Most recently, the debate centered on robo-policing, or the use of robots in the place of human police officers, and veteran police officers and outside law professors joined the conversation.

I think its important that the entire university be able to be involved in the conversation, whether you agree with Black Lives Matter or not, whether you completely understand the issues or dont, James said.

Law student Amber Dawson said she was excited to participate in the class. As an African-American woman, Dawson said she was able to relate to several topics discussed throughout the course. In particular, she said she related to visiting speaker Donald Jones presentation on dangers certain spaces present to black people.

Growing up with money, it was nice to go out driving in a nice car, but youre not meant to be driving on a highway late at night in a nice car in a nice neighborhood, Dawson said. It would give police a reason to pull you over, and youre just not safe.

Dawson is planning to write her final paper on the perception of African-Americans as property, aging from slave trade to modern day law. She said the course offers a place for students to talk about difficult topics, a crucial form of education to ensure the progression of society toward equality.

Im proud to say that I attend a law school where this type of interdisciplinary course is made available to so many students because it allows us to further a conversation I think is very long overdue, Dawson said.

James said she plans to continue the class in spring 2018, with new speakers and new topics to cover.

Alicia Garzas presentation will take place at 7 p.m on Thursday, March 9 in the Shalala Student Center Grand Ballroom.

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Black Lives Matter course creates room for debate with guest speakers, social media - The Miami Hurricane

Trevor Ferguson, also known as Trevor Gerard

A Los Angeles Black Lives Matter activist was hit with a civil restraining order Wednesday after being accused of threatening the president of the Los Angeles Police Commission.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the city sought the restraining order against activist Trevor Ferguson (also known as Trevor Gerard), who, according to court documents, allegedly targeted commission President Matt Johnson at public meetings and referenced Johnsons children.

Both Johnson and Ferguson are black. Ferguson has denied the allegations.

From the Times:

But Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Carol Boas Goodson granted the restraining order, saying that any parent would be concerned by Fergusons mentioning Johnsons son at a Police Commission meeting and then visiting Johnsons home.

After more than an hour of testimony from Johnson, Ferguson and others, Goodson concluded that Fergusons intent was not to protest but to incite fear. The restraining order requires Ferguson to stay away from Johnson and his family. Ferguson can continue to speak at Police Commission meetings but must keep a 5-yard distance from Johnson.

A temporary order with the same restrictions has been in effect since Dec. 20.

The Times reports that after the hearing, Johnson said that he supports the First Amendment but that Ferguson had gone too far.

The right to protest has led to tremendous gains for people who look like myself and Mr. Ferguson, Johnson said. Its something I deeply respect. But there is a line, and for me that line is when you threaten the safety of my family. Like any father, Im not going to apologize for taking steps to protect the safety of my family.

Nana Gyamfi, Fergusons attorney, told the Times that Johnsons fear of Ferguson is based on race.

Its ridiculous that he used a method and procedure people use to protect themselves from actual violence ... to protect himself from embarrassment, Gyamfi said.

Gyamfi also said that the restraining orders impact goes beyond Ferguson and could erode First Amendment rights for other protesters.

By the time you look up, your rights have been gutted, Gyamfi said. She added that Ferguson will likely appeal the decision.

Ferguson told The Root that Johnson originally attempted to get a criminal restraining order against him but that that request was denied. He said he could only guess why, but he noted that criminal restraining orders require real evidence, not hearsay, which makes up a large portion of Johnsons request. Civil restraining orders are easier to get.

Ferguson said that Johnson and the city have a fight on their hands.

I think maybe they thought we would just lay down, but if you kick the hornets nest, there is always consequences, Ferguson said.

More from the Times:

In a court declaration, Johnson alleged that Ferguson made a gratuitous reference to his children at a November Police Commission meeting and stated at another meeting that Johnson should be scared of him.

At various meetings, Ferguson has mouthed threats to Johnson, including that he would beat up Johnson and kill him, according to the declaration. Because the threats were not spoken aloud, there is no recording of them, the declaration said.

Ferguson told The Root that each time he is at the lectern speaking, it is recorded, which is standard procedure for all Police Commission meetings. There are no recordings that show Ferguson mouthing any threats to Johnson.

More from the Times:

According to Johnsons court declaration, the reference to his children occurred at a Police Commission meeting Nov. 1.

In an official audio recording of the meeting, Ferguson stated that Johnson has four children, one of whom is a boy. Ferguson then drew a connection between Johnsons son and African-American victims of police violence, saying he hoped Johnson would not become a grieving parent.

You have not only chosen the side of men like Charlie Beck and [Mayor] Eric Garcetti, you have chosen to be their errand boy, Ferguson continued. So run, boy, and tell your masters: The city is ours now.

Johnsons declaration cited another incident from the Dec. 13 commission meeting. Ferguson made statements during public comment and from the audience that Johnson should feel scared of him and suggesting that the two men meet outside of a board meeting, the declaration said.

On the official audio recording of the meeting, Ferguson spoke about crime and the community before stating: Ultimately, I know you guys dont careand I see the houseboy Matt Johnson over on his phone or whatever, like this.

Ferguson then referenced human rights abuses and the lawlessness that might result from zero accountability.

When 4 million people realize how [messed up] you are, you will not be able to stop that tide, he said. And its coming. And its coming for all of you.

None of that sounds like Ferguson making an actual personal threat to Johnson.

In his declaration, Johnson cited two separate instances in which he claimed that Ferguson showed up at his home and his place of business. Ferguson said that Johnson left out the part where there was an entire group of activists present in both cases, and not just Ferguson by himself.

Ferguson was detained by police at the protest in front of Johnsons home but was released without any charges being filed.

Ferguson told the Times that the activists sought Johnson out at his home because speaking to him at Police Commission meetings was no longer effective.

We felt the people on the board were allowed to be complicit in violence, basically to be a rubber-stamping body, Ferguson said. It was time to engage them in other spaces, where the playing field was more even.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times.

Original post:
BLM Protester Hit With Restraining Order by L.A. Police Commission ... - The Root