Therapists Pen Open Letter Blaming Trump For "National Mental Health Crisis"

Authored by Alex Thomas via SHTFplan.com,

A group of mostly liberal mental health experts has penned an anti-Trump hit piece that declares the president and his tens of millions of supporters responsible for a new mental health crisis that the so-called “experts” claim is hurting anyone who disagrees with Trump policies in general.

The letter, published by various liberal “news” outlets, essentially claims that numerous Trump policies, supported by over 60 million Americans, has led to an increase in extreme mental pain for those who voted for the losing candidate.

“Increasingly, the weight of the current political environment burdens the hearts and minds of Americans and causes anxiety, preoccupation, deepening depression, feelings of helplessness and despair, disgust and horror,” the hyperbolic warning declares.

The authors then made sure to immediately add in not only claims of sexism against Trump and his supporters but the tried and true charge of racism as well.

“Not infrequently, it even rekindles the embers of prior trauma for women and members of marginalized groups whose sense of hard-won safety has been shaken to the core,” the “professionals” continued.

The screed then gets into fake news claims that “rampant dishonesty” is coming from the White House when any objective observer has seen that the establishment mainstream media (and websites publishing this open letter) are the very ones that push actual fake news themselves.

“As mental health professionals, we are troubled by the environment of rampant dishonesty, daily disregard for civil and social norms, and threats toward vulnerable peoples and its impact on the people we work with.

We are troubled by policies and rhetoric that undermine progress on environmental protection, humane immigration laws, and racial and gender equity. We believe these developments augur a regression of our evolutionary accomplishments and a dismantling of the quality of life for all Americans.”

The transparently biased mental health professionals attempting to act like neutral arbitrators then delve directly into spreading fake news itself while conveniently leaving out anything to do with Antifa which we now know is an actual domestic terrorist orgranization that openly targets Trump supporters.

The recent events in Charlottesville, Virginia, rocked much of the nation. Emboldened by our president, groups of white nationalists are no longer ashamed to appear publicly and speak boldly about their hatred of people of color, Jewish or Muslim faith, LGBTQIA orientation, and immigrants.

This kind of hatred has always been with us, but it has been inflamed by President Trump, who claimed to be a president “for all Americans,” but who has declined to take a moral stance on bigotry and instead has set up a situation in which there are apparently two legitimate sides.

Remember, Trump condemned both sides and then made yet another announcement specifically condemning white supremacist groups by name.

The letter then turns to even more lies, this time about DACA and what Trump’s stance is on the controversial executive action taken by the former Obama Administration.

We believe this equivocation on the president’s part to be a complete abdication of his responsibility to be a clear moral voice “for all Americans.” Even more recently the administration barely attempted to disguise the racism at the root of the decision to rescind DACA. Its abject cruelty should not be downplayed.

Those with power in Congress to hold President Trump accountable have failed to do so, and indeed, with their recent vote to gut health care, appear to be complicit in undermining the health and welfare of all, particularly children, the aged, the poor, and those in minority populations. Therefore, the responsibility to speak out falls more heavily on the shoulders of individuals and groups, large and small.

Trump didn’t rescind DACA to send away a bunch of hard working people. He ran on a platform to stop executive actions that Obama took because he was unable to get congressional support. Not only that, Trump has stated multiple times that he does not want to deport illegal immigrants who have been here since childhood.

The following Tweets, directly from the president himself, prove that the above paragraph is nothing short of straight nonsense.

Does anybody really want to throw out good, educated and accomplished young people who have jobs, some serving in the military? Really!…..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017

…They have been in our country for many years through no fault of their own – brought in by parents at young age. Plus BIG border security

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017

For all of those (DACA) that are concerned about your status during the 6 month period, you have nothing to worry about – No action!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 7, 2017

He has also given congress SIX MONTHS to actually pass a bill that allows DACA recipients to stay but also includes more border security.

No deal was made last night on DACA. Massive border security would have to be agreed to in exchange for consent. Would be subject to vote.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017

The WALL, which is already under construction in the form of new renovation of old and existing fences and walls, will continue to be built.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 14, 2017

The rest of the letter continues to paint Trump and tens of millions of Americans as perpetrators of crimes against all sorts of groups of people while continuing to push misinformation on statements and actions actually made by the president.

One has to wonder, especially with doctors openly diagnosing Trump as mentally unfit on national T.V, if this is part of a larger operation to eventually remove Donald Trump from office and marginalize over half the country. At the very least, the letter is anything but a bipartisan opinion by medical professionals.

"It Was A Setup" - Organizers Cancel San Francisco "Freedom Rally"

After city officials tried – unsuccessfully – to stop a "Freedom Rally" slated to take place Saturday in San Francisco, the events organizers abruptly canceled the event, telling those who had planned on attending that they feared demonstrators were being “set up” by left wing protesters intent on violently attacking them.

Joey Gibson, one of the rally"s organizers, said that his group, Patriot Prayer, had decided to cancel the event - which was slated to take place in Crissy Field near the Golden Gate Bridge - after several conversations with San Francisco police. Instead, Gibson said the group plans to hold a hastily scheduled press conference at 2 p.m. in Alamo Square Park, according to CBS. At the press conference, Gibson said he will provide more details about his reasoning for canceling the rally.

Gibson blamed the rhetoric of politicians like Nancy Pelosi and San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee for helping attract the attention of "extremists."

“After several conversations with the police and understanding, you know, the situation of what’s going on we decided that tomorrow really seems like a setup. It doesn’t seem safe,” said Gibson. “A lot of people’s lives are going to be in danger tomorrow. The rhetoric from Nancy Pelosi, Mayor Lee, the media, all these people are saying that we’re white supremacists and it’s bringing in tons of extremists. And it seems just like a huge setup.”

He also singled out members of far-left group Antifa for trying to intimidate peaceful demonstrators.

“"These Antifa thugs, these kids who dress in all black, they constantly put police officers lives in danger, our lives in danger, liberal lives in danger if they get in their way or speak out against them" said Gibson Friday afternoon.”

Sunday’s anti-Marxist rally in Berkeley is expected to proceed as planned, and Gibson urged viewers to attend that event as well.

City officials were unsurprisingly outraged by the news of the venue change, with State Sen. Scott Weiner calling it an illegal ruse to move the rally, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

“With today’s alt-right “free speech rally” at Crissy Field canceled, its organizers have called a press conference for 2 p.m. in a city park. But is it a ruse to move the rally?

That’s what a state senator tweeted Friday. Sen. Scott Weiner, D-San Francisco, said the change in plans by Portland-based Patriot Prayer was setting up “an illegal violent rally.”

“It can’t be allowed to happen,” Weiner said in a subsequent statement. With a counter rally at nearby City Hall, he predicted violence in residential neighborhoods surrounding the park.”

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said he didn’t trust Gibson, and that the city would proceed as if the rally were still happening, according to the Washington Post. Lee also asked that people not to show up to the Patriot Prayer news conference, adding that the event was unlicensed and potentially dangerous.

“Mayor Ed Lee said Friday night that despite organizers saying it’s called off, they have not cancelled the event in writing so the city is proceeding as though it’s still happening. Lee says, “We don’t trust this group. I never have from the beginning.”

He also urged people not to show up at the news conference the group plans to hold instead of the rally.”

Left-wing protesters quickly pivoted, spreading the word on social media to meet at Alamo Square at 11 a.m. to try and shut down the press conference.

Change of plans. Now 11am at Alamo Sqaure. https://t.co/w9h1edSPit https://t.co/Y06n4d5jEQ

— John (@johnstarr) August 26, 2017

  So, instead of a licensed rally in a large field near the Golden Gate Bridge, Antifa and Patriot Prayer will be going head to head in a park located in a residential neighborhood.  

City officials have confirmed that no licenses have been issued for the event. However, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott has promised that there will be a police presence.

What could possibly go wrong?
 

Judge Approves Warrant For "Antifa" User Data From Anti-Trump Website

A District of Columbia Federal Judge has approved a government warrant seeking information about users and subscribers to an anti-Trump website which has been linked to rioting during the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., but he added protections to safeguard "innocent users."

Chief Judge Robert Morin ruled that DreamHost, an LA-based web-hosting company, must turn over data about visitors to the website disruptj20.org, which is a home to political activists who organized protests at the time of Donald Trump"s inauguration as U.S. president in January, many of whom have since morphed into the controversial "antifa" movement.

Morin, who will oversee review of the data, also said the government must explain what protocols it will use to make sure the data of "innocent users" is not seized by prosecutors, according to Reuters. Bloomberg adds that prosecutors would have to tell the judge which data it intended to seize.

“I’m trying to balance the First Amendment protections and the government’s need for this information,” Morin said. “My view here is that this best protects both legitimate interests.”

In the closely watched case, which could have a material chilling effect on similar activist website, the DOJ said it sought the records connected to the site amid concerns that it helped facilitate the planning of protests on Inauguration Day in which more than 200 people were arrested for rioting and vandalizing businesses in downtown Washington.

DreamHost resisted the original July 12 warrant, saying the scope of the warrant was too broad and trampled on the rights of 1.3 million visitors to the site, many of whom were simply exercising their First Amendment rights to express their political views. It also said the warrant would expose the identities of the 1.3 million people who had visited the site.

The Justice Department last week proposed amending the scope of its warrant to exclude the IP addresses of website visitors and limit the search only to records from July 1, 2016 to Jan. 20, 2017.

But DreamHost argued that the warrant was still too broad, as it could sweep in people who sent emails to disruptj20 addresses. The company objected to the two-step process that would require it to turn over data in bulk and let prosecutors search for and seize evidence of criminal involvement in the riots.

At Thuesday"s hearing, Judge Morin said that he recognized the tension between free speech rights and law enforcement"s need to search digital records for evidence. He said he added safeguards to his order granting the government"s request for information in an effort to balance those two concerns.

According to Bloomberg, the warrant initially sought all data and records pertaining to disruptj20.org, including information about site visitors. Prosecutors said details on subscribers -- including names, addresses, phone numbers and the contents of email accounts within the disruptj20.org domain -- would help identify those who organized and participated in the riots.

Privacy advocates raised concerns that the warrant was an attempt by the Trump administration and the Justice Department under Attorney General Jeff Sessions to cast a “digital dragnet” to identify the president’s critics. As a result, on Tuesday, prosecutors amended their request, saying in part that while the government wants information on subscribers, it’s not interested in data logs containing information about visitors. Prosecutors also say they will set aside any information that doesn’t involve rioters and have it sealed.

“We are sensitive to the idea that the website has a dual purpose,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Borchert told Morin during Thursday’s hearing. That didn’t assuage DreamHost, which told Morin that the government’s revised warrant would still give it access to membership lists and content from multiple email accounts in violation of the First Amendment.

“That in and of itself will have a chilling effect,” said Raymond Aghaian, a lawyer for DreamHost.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington told Morin that the website, disruptj20.org, was used to recruit and organize hundreds of people who rioted on Inauguration Day. The rioters, armed with hammers, crow bars and wooden sticks, also injured police and others, according to prosecutors. So far, 19 people have pleaded guilty among the almost 200 people who were charged, prosecutors said in court papers.

The website wasn’t just a way to disseminate information “but was also used to coordinate and privately communicate among a focused group of people whose intent included planned violence,” prosecutors said in a court filing. Organizers of the riot used the website to verify the identity of people who would take part by requiring attendees to log in and provide their credentials, the government has alleged.

Police Brace For Clashes With Leftist Groups As "March Against Sharia" Begins

Police departments across America are bracing for another wave of leftist-inspired violence as protesters gather in 28 cities in 19 states on Saturday for the national "March Against Sharia," the Associated Press reported.

Counter-protesters in virtually every city where marches are taking place have promised to disrupt them, catching the attention of local police who have been wary of groups like Antifa and others that identify with far-left politics. These groups have demonstrated a tendency to provoke violent clashes with otherwise-peaceful conservative demonstrators, like those seen on Sunday in Portland, Ore. The MAS was organized by ACT for America, a conservative lobbying group that believes Sharia is “incompatible with Western democracy and the freedoms it affords." Marchers will gather in both smaller communities and large cities like New York, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta.

The Washington Post reports that “The marches set up the potential for more public clashes between far-right activists and their far-left opposition, similar to recent violent encounters between the political extremes in Berkeley, Calif., and Portland, Ore. While demonstrators argue they are protecting free speech and defending traditional American values, counter protesters say the marchers underscore a larger trend of intolerance that is increasingly evident across a politically divided country.”

In New York City, the rally kicked off downtown nearly an hour late with a crowd of around three dozen people, some of them in camouflage and waving American flags. A few wore shirts identifying themselves as members of far-right groups Oathkeepers and the III Percenters, according to WaPo. Fox News published some footage of the march, which can be seen below.

Across the street, separated by police barricades and a few dozen police, a few hundred mostly young people, including labor activists and Jewish and Muslim activists, and anarchists, blasted airhorns and whistles and held banners that read “Fascists out of NYC.”

Fox News reported that there have been "some clashes" between the marchers and leftist demonstrators around the country, though it didn"t specify where.

Anti-Sharia Law marches and counter protests take place across the country. #MarchAgainstSharia pic.twitter.com/qjfHQ37n0y

— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 10, 2017

Frank Morganthaler, the vice president of the New York State Oath Keepers, told WaPo that the smaller turnout at his rally may have been the result of some people being “intimidated” by the threat of violence from opposition protesters.

“These people go wild,” he said, glancing across the street. “They"re crazy. We"ve seen what they"ve done in other cities, breaking windows and other stuff.”

The counter-protesters say the March Against Sharia and its organizers are anti-Muslim. Some weekend shoppers are already worried things will escalate into violence.

Of course, some of the counter-protesters interviewed by WaPo were quick to wrongly associate their opposition with a man who stabbed three men, killing two, on a Portland commuter train last month.

Across the street and two sets of police barricades, Marjorie Stamberg, a New York City teacher, held up a sign that read "drive fascists out of NYC."

“Two people were murdered in Portland a few weeks ago by their people," she said. "If they tell you it"s about free speech, they"re liars. They"re killers. They"re haters.”

Here’s a live feed from the New York march:

And another from Lansing, Michigan:

And a feed from Chicago:
 

Twitter user @bbusa617 tweeted a map showing all the planned protests:

@ACTforAmerica Saturday June 10Th 2017
**MARCH AGAINST SHARIA**
All Across Our Nation pic.twitter.com/COs0RrBSVG

— ????brooks brown???????????? (@bbusa617) June 9, 2017

In Roseville, Calif. more than 100 counter-protesters were planning to show up, according to the local Fox affiliate. However, the Roseville Police Department is prepared and has called in extra officers and additional agencies to step in if things get out of hand.

Tolerant Left: Berkeley Antifa Cowards Pepper Spray Elderly Trump Supporter And Egg Homeless Advocate

Angry unemployed children, AKA Antifa, held another Trump protest today in Berkeley, CA. It"s Trump"s fault of course that they took out 6 figure student loans and haven"t been approached by numerous employers to put those English majors to work.

Unlike the UC Berkeley riots which shut down a Milo Yiannopoulos speech, several Trump supporters showed up today to counter-protest the Antifa idiots - resulting in civil discourse.

Just kidding, an elderly Trump supporter and a homeless advocate were attacked:

Elderly Trump supporter pepper sprayed by Antifa girl at a Berkeley rally. Girl runs away like a coward. #Berkeley #Antifa ???? pic.twitter.com/TWjPjiArWR

— ZeroPointNow (@ZeroPointNow) March 5, 2017

Berkeley Antifa throwing eggs at Trump supporter holding up "House the Homeless" sign. #Berkeley #Antifa pic.twitter.com/w4PpyUo3XM

— ZeroPointNow (@ZeroPointNow) March 5, 2017

Note the same guy in a green hat in both videos. Some have suggested he may be a paid agitator... 

Who are the Nazis?

Content originally generated at iBankCoin.com * Follow on Twitter @ZeroPointNow

Angry Protesters Demand That Trump "STOP Attacking Women, Muslims, Immigrants, LGBTQ+, Journalists..."

Following yesterday"s "Day Without Immigrants Boycott" in which immigrants all around the country were encourged to skip work/school, shut down their businesses and/or boycott restaurants and retail stores, America"s disaffected, millennial youth have decided that they too would like to participate in an anti-Trump protest whereby they could exercise their skills in extreme laziness while also extending their 3-day weekend to 4 days...BONUS!

Deemed the "Strike4Democrary", anti-Trump protesters took to the streets all around the country today to demand that Trump "STOP attacking and victimizing women, Muslims, immigrants, racial and ethnic groups, the LGBTQ+ community, working families, journalists, and all who offer criticisms of the Administration’s policies including the U.S. judicial branch", among other things including the following:

Strike4Democracy’s message to the Administration and Congressional leaders is clear:

• STOP the authoritarian assault on our fundamental, constitutional rights, the very principles that have truly made America great;


• STOP attacking and victimizing women, Muslims, immigrants, racial and ethnic groups, the LGBTQ+ community, working families, journalists, and all who offer criticisms of the Administration’s policies including the U.S. judicial branch;


• REALIZE that America’s true strength lies in the values of inclusivity not exclusivity.

As citizens and supporters come together to register their deep dissatisfaction with the President and the current administration’s unconstitutional, inhumane policies and behavior, February 17th marks a heightened effort to provide a beacon for those who share our concerns and who search for a way to “do something.” Together we speak with one voice. We say:

• NO to attacks on our marginalized communities


• NO to attacks on the sovereignty of indigenous peoples


• NO to attacks on constructive critics within and outside government


• NO to attacks on our constitutionally guaranteed rights


• NO to attacks on our environment


• NO to attacks on working families


• NO to attacks on public education

Of course, none of the alleged "attacks" associated with the Trump administration above were supported with actual examples of such offenses...you should just trust them.

Meanwhile, apparently the "Action Plan" to get through to Trump once and for all included skipping work, avoiding "purchasing anything" and "occupying public space."

Genius plan, if we understand it correctly...

Martin Armstrong Warns "This Will Only End In Bloodshed..."

Submitted by Mac Slavo via SHTFPlan.com,

The rage among the left continues to build and it is being supported in earnest by mainstream personalities in Hollywood and the music industry. As Martin Armstrong points out, the constant protests by the Entertainment industry against Trump will not subside.

The Grammy show was reduced to hurried political statements, A Tribe Called Quest delivered a vigorous rebuke of Trump during a tribute to Phife Dawg, who died in March 2016. The group said the performance of We the People was also in honor of protesters.

The hip-hop group was joined by Rhymes who thanked “President Agent Orange”  the new name they gave to Trump for “perpetuating evil in the United States”. The tribute ended with people of different races gathered on stage as Q-Tip repeatedly shouted: “Resist” as the camera faded to commercial.

According to cyclical analyst Martin Armstrong, things are only going to get worse as protests spread and soon turn to large-scale riots.

Via Armstrong Economics:

All of this is building to violence. Then the police will respond and then the outcries will be see – Trump is running a police state. This will only tear the country apart. Many of these protesters are not old enough to even vote. Their teachers allow them to cut class to protest against Trump.

When asked what they are protesting about, they do not even understand the issues.

This is like a rumor mill. By the time it gets to the 5th person, it is nothing like what was said. You have black students in high school repeating Trump said all blacks are ignorant. Others saying Iraq is not a terrorist nation because they never heard of that. Still others said people should come in and not even be checked. This is the mindset that is sweeping the nation and it is really scary. This is part of the cycle of civil unrest and indeed it looks like the computer is going to be right once again.

This will be the BIGGEST spike in civil unrest in American history, It is already the biggest with regard to trying to block and overthrow the Trump Administration and Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schummer are all encouraging this violence.  Nancy Pelosi says she cannot work with Trump at all and she is the head of the Democrats.

This will ONLY end in bloodshed.

Armstrong’s economic confidence model has been highly accurate for over thirty years, having predicted, among other things, the Savings and Loan crash of the late 1980’s to the very day, the collapse of Japanese stocks, and the destruction of the Russian economy. Several years ago Armstrong’s political forecasts specifically noted that periods of civil unrest were coming. As Armstrong concludes rather ominously - and looking increasingly likely to be correct...

There is only one way this is going to end and that is blood in the streets. The riots will only escalate and the left ALWAYS becomes violent.

Child at Anti-Trump Protest Starts Fire and Says 'Screw Our President' on National TV

This is what happens when two libfags get together and breed. The child is innocent. This is a reflection upon them and their abhorrent parenting skills.

Those same people featured above have been camped outside of the DeploraBall Event, with the keynote speaker being Milo from Breitbart, claiming they were Nazis -- because MUH alt-right.

Not before long, the savages could not contain themselves and ended up getting MACED in the face by police for attacking Deploraball attendees.

Police use pepper spray after empty bottles thrown at #DeploraBall attendees. More pepper spray in my eyes pic.twitter.com/LmCZCFIWaO

— Alexander Rubinstein (@AlexR_DC) January 20, 2017

Anti-#Trump protest in DC outside the #DeploraBall https://t.co/0oguBgn3Eu

— RT America (@RT_America) January 20, 2017

This, of course, is DEVELOPING...

Content originally generated at iBankCoin.com

Screaming Protesters Kicked Out Of Sessions' Hearing: "You Can't Arrest Me, I'm White"

With opening comments barely underway, several protesters have already been escorted out of Senator Jeff Sessions" confirmation hearing. 

The first interruption came from these lovely gentemen who, dressed in KKK garb, shouted "White people don"t get arrested...white people own this country" as they were quickly escorted by police off the premises.

"You can"t arrest me, I"m white.  White people don"t get arrested.  What do we have to do, wait for the inauguration?"

"You can not take me out of here.  White people own this country."

Anti-Klan protester at Jeff Sessions hearing: "You can"t arrest me, I"m white. White people don"t get arrested." pic.twitter.com/woiPggS2nW

— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) January 10, 2017

And here is another angle of the madness, where one protester attributes his interruption to the Black Lives Matter movement.

"Senator Sessions is a racist and he will only continue racist policies.  We need to listen to Black Lives Matter."

Meanwhile, this young lady insists that you just "say no to the Trump fascist regime."

"Say no to the Trump fascist regime.  We have to stop these motherfucking pigs from getting into power."

"You"re a pig!  Stop these fascist pigs from getting into power."

Protesters chant, interrupt Sessions during his opening statement at confirmation hearing for attorney general https://t.co/9sifL6rKzz pic.twitter.com/D92zKfhoWU

— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 10, 2017

And here is another compilation of the madness so far:

"We're At The Edge Of A Terrible Period" - Chicago Cops Condemn "Sickening" Social Media Video Of Teen Kidnap, Attack

Following the disgusting images broadcast live on Facebook of a teen white male being kidnapped, cut, and abused by several African-American youths yelling "F*** Donald Trump," Chicago Police confirm the four people, who are all 18, were taken into custody but have not been formally charged.

The video has since been removed from YouTube but this is a clip:

MORE VIDEO FOUND

Blacks kidnap and torture white Trump supporter. pic.twitter.com/aNrQuULeRk

— James J. Vinson (NT) (@JamesJVinson) January 5, 2017

As Reuters reports, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson told reporters the video that surfaced on Tuesday showing the attack was "sickening."

"It makes you wonder what would make individuals treat somebody like that," Johnson said.

Police said the young man was tied, gagged and beaten.

The superintendent added that the victim has "mental health challenges."

While police officials did not confirm the races of the suspects or victim, video from Chicago media outlets appeared to show someone off-camera using profanities about "white people" and President-elect Donald Trump.

  

But, as AP reports, police said it"s too soon to determine whether the attack was racially motivated.

Investigators will "determine whether or not this is sincere or just stupid ranting and raving," Duffin said when asked about the language used in the recording.

The video also shows bottles of alcohol in the room during the attack.

Officers were called to a residence on the city"s West Side Tuesday evening where they found signs of a struggle and damaged property.

Police said that around the same time, officers on patrol encountered the victim on a nearby street. He was taken to a hospital in stable condition and later released, police said.

Still no reponse from president-elect Donald Trump on this violent act. But Newt Gingrich has chimed in, warning that the U.S. was "at the edge of a terrible period" after a Facebook Live video surfaced in which a disabled Chicago teen is seen being tortured amid chants of "f--- Donald Trump."

"If this had been done to an African-American by four whites, every liberal in the country would be outraged and there would be no question that it is a hate crime," Gingrich said in an interview on "Fox & Friends."

"We are right at the edge of a terrible period — which I know President-elect Donald Trump wants to avoid — of having a deep bitter division in the communities in a way that makes America very hard to govern."

BuzzFeed And The NYDN: Click-Bait Headlines, False Stories, And Virtually Nonexistent Retractions

Submitted by Duane via Free Market Shooter blog,

On Thursday, December 1st,  Yasmin Seweid was allegedly assaulted by Trump supporters in NYC.  According to BuzzFeed and the NY Daily News, the attack took place at the uptown 6 train stop at 23rd Street in midtown Manhattan.  The assaliants allegedly called Seweid a terrorist, broke her bag strap, followed her when she tried to get away from them, and tried but were unable to pull her hijab off of her head.

Both Tamerra Griffin and Ben Kochman, the authors for BuzzFeed and the NYDN stories, did not include any additional sources for their story, other than Seweid’s personal account and a statement from police that the “investigation was ongoing” with no further comment.  It seems both read her Facebook post recounting her story (which has since been removed), and after speaking with her, they took it and her account of the incident as fact, without verifying her story anywhere else.  Even though Seweid was their sole source for the story, they didn’t even bother to include the word “allegedly” as I did in italics above.  The NY Daily News said Seweid stated the following:

They kept screaming Trump’s name at her, and then said, “Oh look, a (expletive) terrorist,” she said.“ Get the hell out of the country!” they yelled during the train ride. “You don’t belong here!”

When Seweid ignored them, they pulled on her bag to get her attention and the strap broke.“That’s when I turned around and said ‘can you please leave me alone,’ and they started laughing,” she said. She walked to the other end of the train, and they followed her and tried to pull off her hijab, a head covering worn by Muslim women.“ Take that thing off!” they hollered.

“I put my hand on top of my head to hold it,” Seweid said. “Then I turned around and screamed ‘what the (expletive).’ ” Seweid got off the train at Grand Central Terminal on E. 42nd St. and reported the terrifying incident to police.

Her father, Sayeed Seweid, 55, of New Hyde Park, L.I., said he was also angry that no one else stepped in to defend his daughter.“ Nobody even offered to help an 18-year-old girl,” he said. “That means something. Her phone was dying. You offer help — it doesn’t matter the race, religion, or the country.”

Yes, in overwhelmingly “accepting” and liberal NYC, which voted 87% for Hillary Clinton and 10% for Donald Trump, a Muslim woman was attacked by Trump supporters on a subway platform directly under the Credit Suisse building in a very safe part of Manhattan.  Not only that, no one stepped in to help, and even more surprisingly, no one recorded the incident and splashed it all over social media.  And no police officer was able to readily verify her account to reporters with confirmation from the vast network of surveillance cameras that are omnipresent in NYC.

The only time I would ever expect to hear this story is if it were prefaced with the words, “I’ll take stuff that never happened for $400, Alex.” 

In fact, the story would have been much more believable if it was a Trump supporter who was being harassed and attacked.  Back in August, some guy who was wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat tried to walk through the public park surrounding City Hall.  Unfortunately for him, he just so happened to be walking through a police protest, but the protesters turned on him, shouting and shoving him out of the park to the chants of “racist out” and “fascist out”, while police stood by without intervening.  Of course, video of the whole incident was captured and posted on social media:

Huge crowd of protesters escort out #Trump supporter at #ShutDownCityHallNYC pic.twitter.com/zHgD50mcXb

— Alexander Rubinstein (@AlexR_DC) August 1, 2016

As the NY Post reported, protesters took to the streets in force after Trump won the election, chanting “not my president” and “Trump Is Hitler” all over Manhattan, even using a noose to hang a Trump effigy in Columbus Circle.

If you heard a story about a Trump supporter and an attack on an NYC subway, and just after this election, wouldn’t you expect it to be a Trump supporter getting attacked by a group of anti-Trump assailants, and not a group of Trump supporters doing the attacking?  And no matter what happened, wouldn’t you expect to see a video of the incident?

You certainly should.  As an example, in the days after the election, GotNews founder Charles C. Johnson was on an NYC subway wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat, minding his own business, when he was repeatedly harassed by someone who was angry with Trump’s election.  Once again, the whole incident was captured on video and splashed all over the internet, like so many other confrontations, altercations and assaults that take place on public transit that have been made quite popular on websites like World Star Hip Hop and LiveLeak.

And yet, BuzzFeed and the NYDN ran the Seweid story on her word alone, without any video, police or witness commentary to support her claim.  Notably, they presented her story as fact, never once stating that it could be fiction.  Given the attack’s alleged location and assaliants, if you were a journalist, wouldn’t you expect fiction to be the case, and not even bother running the story?

My sentiments exactly.  Though the NYDN was careful to post a follow-up story detailing discrepancies and doubts in her story, it wasn’t until almost two weeks later when she was arrested and formally charged by police for filing a false report that the NYDN acknowledged that their original story was totally bogus.  According to police, Seweid finally told them, “she didn’t want to get in trouble for breaking her curfew after being out late drinking with friends”, even though “she had numerous opportunities to admit nothing happened and she kept sticking by her story.”  And somehow, the original story remains up on the NYDN website, unedited and readily accessible to NYDN readers, and no retraction was ever published.  

As I have pointed out in the past, were any of the “fake news” websites listed by the MSM to do this, they would not only be called out by the MSM, they would instantly lose all of their viewers.  But somehow, people keep going back to the true purveyors of “fake news”, when they time and again demonstrate that they are not willing to hold themselves accountable for their mistakes.  Which is something that is readily apparent in the case of BuzzFeed, who has left their original story and click-bait headline up, and only posted the following addition below the title:

UPDATE: The woman was arrested on Dec. 14 for filing a false police report and obstructing government administration, police said.

TRUNEWS, who did an excellent job of covering a real, videotaped assault of a Trump supporter in Chicago, also did a superb job of summarizing the entire saga of the Seweid story.  I spoke with Edward Szall, the TRUNEWS correspondent who covered both stories, and he explained to me the specifics about how the Seweid story was run without question by the local news and the aforementioned outlets, noting the initial reaction to the story and the ensuing vilification of Trump supporters.  I’ve provided screenshots to the BuzzFeed comments section, which also remains up, so you have an idea of how exactly people reacted.

Note that you can see the doubt in the minds of some of the commenters.  Shocking, but hardly surprising; even BuzzFeed’s own comment section sees holes in the story that author Tamerra Griffin didn’t even bother to acknowledge at all.

And somehow, Seweid’s sister Sara is blaming the police for investigating the incident.  Yes, she really expects police to not be skeptical of a dubious allegation and not investigate her story.  WND reported what she stated in a Facebook post below:

…she said she was concerned about the “mental state of young Muslim women who feel that they have to lie so intensively to survive.”

She also wrote, “The NYPD should have never been involved in the first place even if the incident did happen. It became super clear to me these past two week [sic] that the police’s first instinct is to doubt your story and try to disprove it.”

Sara Seweid also blasted the police: “The NYPD doesn’t care about us or our safety. Never did.”

Then she went on to attack the media: “Things snowballed out of our control because of the media because by the next morning the news had started publishing stories. Reporters made things so much worse for my family.”

As ridiculous as she sounds, Sara Seweid makes a good point – we never would have heard about this story if it wasn’t for irresponsible reporting from outlets like BuzzFeed and the NYDN.  But in her post, she of course omitted the obvious fact that Seweid retold her lie to the media on her own. 

If journalists and publications plan to stay in business and retain readers, they will need to do a better job of providing tangible content that isn’t later proven to be completely fabricated.  If they don’t, they’ll soon find their names in the constantly growing list of defunct newspapers and websites.  BuzzFeed and the NYDN will need to learn that not only do they need to publish truthful stories that are credible and honest, they need to do a better job of owning up to their mistakes and retracting them.  It wouldn’t have taken more than a couple seconds to verify that Seweid’s story was dubious – they shouldn’t have posted it almost as much as Seweid shouldn’t have told it.

Look, we’ve all been teenagers and made teenage mistakes.  I’ve certainly made much bigger mistakes than coming home “after curfew” and dating someone my parents didn’t approve of, and you probably have too.  But, I’ve always faced up to the consequences of my decisions.  With Seweid’s indiscretions now being front page news, its fair to say that she is certainly facing up to the multitude of mistakes she made, and it almost feels unnecessary to write this article as a result.

But, Seweid needs to be held accountable for what she did.  Not only did she foolishly get the police and media involved in her ridiculous attempt to cover her tracks, she made a false accusation.  If someone ended up being accused of a crime against her, it could have been even more damaging personally and professionally as whatever Seweid is facing, from either the authorities or her parents.  What if it was you on that subway platform who was accused of assaulting her, and you got dragged before the police and falsely charged with a crime? 

What should her punishment be?  You’ll have to trust the courts to sort that one out properly.  Should her parents have punished her over this incident and being “upset she was dating a Christian” by shaving her head and eyebrows prior to her arrest, and having her display it by not wearing her hijab?  You’ll have to decide that one for yourself.

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