I will assume you posted this in good faith, and suggest that you read his piece again. Because none of this is accurate, except that he started filming and told a reporter from another outlet to tweet about his arrest.
Somehow I envision a joke where the 3rd cop tells him, “You’re really not here for the protest, are you?”
That wasn’t really a question, but thanks for your answer. It says a lot.
No, for the first couple of days, my only source was Twitter, Facebook, etc. Non-journalists, generally, who were on the ground uploading photos, videos, and first hand accounts. There were no reporters there for the first couple of days, because they were preaented from entering.
This is untrue, and there ahve been multiple links ITT showing this to be untrue.
Some of the reporters turned away have been present in actual warzones, Like in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are fine with the danger. Freedom of the press means they get to decide that for themselves.
No, they weren’t. You’re lying again.
No one in the McDonald’s had a Molotov Cocktail. No one in there was setting fires. Just because there have been a couple of incidents in a town does not mean you get to treat everyone in the town as though they are actively rioting.
It’s accurate to what the reporter said in his own words. He admitted he was slow to pick up his stuff because he was using one hand while recording them with his phone in the other hand.
Did you not read it, or does the video contradict this?
Speaking of the video, people are talking about it but I missed it. Anyone got a link? All I’ve read is the reporter’s account.
The whole thing from start to finish was between 1 and 2 minutes, and that includes the time when the first cop approached and only asked them to stop filming, and had not yet asked them to leave. Given that there was no active threat in or near the restaurant, does that sound like an unreasonable time to pack up your belongings and leave?
And that’s it. All you need, right there. Policeman said it, must be true. Period. Full stop.
Ah, I posted the wrong link for the video. So - to repeat:
By the way, just to show how reporter’s recollection of events can be wrong:
“As I turned the corner I tried to ask him… ‘Am I going to be able to move my car?’ They didn’t want to answer that question.”
If you watch the video, the policeman answers that question immediately after being asked. What’s weird is Lowery reporting that even when he had access to his own video that shows otherwise.
Who else are you going to expect to tell you that police helicopters were fired upon? Those who fired on them?
A video of a helicopter being fired on by these unarmed protesters would be useful.
Which part of “Stop videotaping, grab your stuff, and go” is “not yet asking them to leave”?
Well, that clears up several questions! First off, it wasn’t fifteen seconds to comply, it was 45 seconds! Three times as long! And it is clear from the video that the McDonalds was a hive of riotous criminal activity, there must have been at least six people in there! Well, no wonder they broke up this massive assembly!
If I’m in an area where people have been rioting every night and the cops tell me I’ve got to pick up and leave? Yes. I’d be able to do it quickly.
But I just watched the video. This guy isn’t even trying to leave. He’s arguing and asking questions and filming the cops. What an obnoxious asshole.
The other point was correct also, that he was asking about his car and the cop answered his question. He just acted like he didn’t hear him and continued whining about it. He was looking for any excuse to drag his feet and make a scene.
A cop tells you to leave, you leave. You don’t think it was just? File a complaint later. The cops were obviously ordered to clear out that McDonald’s. Maybe that was the right thing to do. Maybe not. Who knows? But if I was in that store when the cops came in you can bet your last dollar I would have been safely gone long before that reporter was handcuffed because I’m not the same sort of attention grabbing fool that he is.
Hey Terr don’t you think we should confiscate all of the firearms from all of these protesters? Lol!
Steophan did not say he was “slow”. He said, in essence, that he refused to leave - that he started filming “instead of leaving”.
Having just watched the video I’d say that’s an accurate description. Keep in mind that this was going on for a few minutes before the video starts.
The police have an obligation to protect the people, and that includes the media. They were clearing then out of that building for their own safety, and when the reporter began causing a scene and trying to create a story where there was none, the police were right to take him into custody for his own protection.
Even assuming that was correct, so what? He was sitting in a restaurant that was open for business and not actually at the scene of the riot.
First of all, do you have a cite for this? I haven’t heard that it was open. Was it just reporters using it under some arrangement with the owner? Or was it just open as usual? I wouldn’t be surprised either way, since it was right near where riots had been going on nightly for four days.
Also, where was the riot in relation to the store, exactly? Was it right down the street and moving that way? If so, emptying it out would be a good idea.
Like I said before I have no idea if emptying out the McD’s was something that needed to be done or not. But it very well might have been. Or not.
You seem to be assuming a lot, unless you have some info about the reasons for clearing the store that haven’t been posted to this thread.
In any case, how would the reporter sitting there tweeting know? Maybe they just got a bomb threat. Maybe the police had been guarding it to safeguard the reporters but they were now needed elsewhere. Maybe the looters were moving in that direction. Who knows? But the only intelligent response for the reporter to give was “yes, sir” when those cops ordered them all out of the store.