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At this point it's clear that there's a deliberate effort to try and undermine the credibility of #JussieSmollett - who was the victim of a horrible hate crime in Chicago. This is precisely why people don't report hate crimes. Since 2017 hate crimes have risen nearly 20%.
This is serious and a critical civil rights issue. Black people are 13% of the U.S. population, but nearly half of all hate crime victims are Black. Anti-LGBT hate crimes are on the rise as well. nytimes.com/2018/11/13/us/…
We’re closely watching the Chicago PD’s investigation because first, just last week the Dept was locked into a consent decree by a federal judge to address years of misconduct. The Dept’s handling of the #Smollett attack is an early test for the agency.
Second the early misleading statements from the PD spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi caught the attention of those of us who’ve done work in #Baltimore. Guglielmi was *reassigned* as the spokesman for the #Baltimore PD because of inappropriate remarks abt levels of violent crime.
Some of us also remember him as the bearer of the news 10 years ago that going forward the names of ofcrs who used their weapons against civilians would only be released at the discretion of the-then Commr. @AoDespair wrote powerfully abt this at the time davidsimon.com/in-baltimore-n…
Hate crimes are a serious matter. At this moment in our country they are increasing at an alarming rate. Despite this, there is still no comprehensive plan from the DOJ. The attack on #JussieSmollett should not be the subject of jokes, misleading statements or speculation.
And is should surprise no one that this happened in Chicago. Last fall, members of the "Proud Boys" went on a rampage on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. huffingtonpost.com/entry/surveill… They also yelled homophobic slurs. We have to decide what kind of country we want.
In January a white supremacist plead guilty to traveling from Baltimore to NY in 2017 for the express purpose of killing a Black man. He killed 66 year-old Timothy Caughman with a sword on the streets of mid-town Manhattan. baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/…
In other words, this is serious. To their credit the NYPD systematically located & arrested the "Proud Boys" involved in last fall's melee. nytimes.com/2018/12/23/nyr… We expect no less from the Chicago PD in the #Smollett attack. And we need to stand firm in demanding it.
That means that we need to let the Chicago PD do the job of investigating this crime. The words of the Superintendent of Police have been clear: #JussieSmollett is the victim. Mr. Smollett's been fully cooperative. The rest is just noise.
I take this seriously because we have been demanding since 2017 that the Atty General (first Sessions, now the Acting & Barr, if confirmed) articulate a clear plan to address this issue. To date - nothing concrete. This means that local jurisdictions/law enforcement must step up.
