BIG THREAD: Tonight police wielding shields and less lethal weapons in #ElizabethCity again formed a line and pushed back on protesters who remained peaceful but present past the beginning of the 8 pm curfew.

At about 9:20pm, they began to push.
As officers pushed past alleys and backyards, they checked to make sure nobody escaped those directions.

In this instance, an officer pointed a weapon around a corner, while another unholstered his handgun as he searched the area.

They found a bag, but not a person.
Here's the scene of the first arrest.

"We just want justice, that's all!"

"Leave now, or you will be arrested!"

Officers pushed forward, grabbed a man, and pulled him away from sight behind the shield line.
A second man walked into the intersection and held his fist in the air, knowing he'd be arrested.

"Do not resist Darius, give them your hands!" a concerned woman begged from behind him. Police pulled him away and continued their push.

"Leave now or you will be arrested!"
Some mocked the police by doing wheelies and stunts on four-wheelers and dirt bikes on the street, within view of the police but absolutely out of range of arrest.
As some of the four-wheel riders sped away past the police, an officer pulled their car out into the intersection in an apparent attempt to block them.

I apologize for absurd camera shakiness and saying "holy shit" with how close that was to a collision.
An occupied vehicle (at least a driver and passenger - maybe more) had been on the block the police had lined up at.

Officers surrounded the car and arrested the occupants.
In a really comically relieving moment, I then came across a local who thanked me for my livestream.

He was actually watching the stream at the time, and then appeared on it.

He said he's shocked at what the city fell into and does "absolutely not" support the police response.
A second (!!!) live viewer came out on her porch as I streamed. "I'm literally watching your live right now!"

She says it's "heartbreaking" and "hurts on a different level to see it in your own town."

"We will get justice for Andrew Brown, because if we won't, who will?"
Myself and a few journalists found the handful of activists still on the street, but they quickly dashed away when police arrived.

One cop declared "stay where you are, you're under arrest" which didn't work.

They then threatened to arrest press if we didn't leave.

We left.
Here is my full @N2Sreports video of tonight's action in #ElizabethCity #NorthCarolina

As always, all footage is available to license.

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More from @FordFischer

29 Apr
VIDEO THREAD: Tonight, riot police in #ElizabethCityNC pushed in to arrest #AndrewBrown protesters for violating an 8pm curfew at about about 10:30pm.

This clip shows the first couple arrests.

I had been livestreaming since about 6pm, and no violence or vandalism had occurred.
Police slowly pushed forward against the crowd, while an arrest squad grabbed a third individual.

Police and the man briefly struggled during the arrest.

One water bottle was thrown toward police (which missed) which was the only time I saw something like that all night.
Across the street, a fourth person was arrested. I didn't see what led to it, but it most likely was a similar arrest for being out (without being credentialed media) past curfew.
Read 10 tweets
28 Apr
In a story about the federal government making illegal a drug (menthol) that NBC describes as used by 85% of legal cigarette smokers who are Black, they don’t include any voice that oppose the ban or consume menthols.

nbcnews.com/health/health-…
This ban is being framed by NBC as possibly “a significant positive impact on the health of Black Americans” but never mentions unexpected consequences.

If/when somebody dies in the enforcement of this law, will NBC note its racially targeted origin?

nbcnews.com/health/health-…
If/when sale of Menthol cigarettes is criminalized, do you believe law enforcement will be equitable across communities in enforcing laws against what they believe to be illegal cigarettes?

nbcnews.com/health/health-…
Read 4 tweets
27 Apr
THREAD: Mainstream media outlets like NBC consistently use the passive voice and euphemism to prevent themselves from clearly stating when elements of government, such as police, kill people.

This isn't objectivity.

Let's take a look at what they just wrote about #AnthonyBrown
"The Black man who died during an attempted arrest"

He "died," or was he "killed"?

And who was arresting him?

"...was killed by a bullet in the back of his head."

As gun owners know, guns/bullets don't kill people. People do.

Cops killed him by shooting him in back of head. Image
"...who found that Brown was shot four times in the right arm and once squarely in the back of his head."

'Brown was shot'

"That head shot was fired from "intermediate" range"

'head shot was fired'

The first time NBC says police shot at him is quoting the family lawyer. Image
Read 6 tweets
26 Apr
"F*** off, c*** f***er!"

As protested were outside the house of prosecutor Pete Orpu in Stillwater, neighbor/corrections officer Paul Gorder confronted the crowd.

"You touch my wife, I'll kick your ass," he said.

"All you f***ing n***ers, get out of here," his wife said.
Sgt. Paul Gorder is a "30-year veteran of Minnesota Correctional Facility – Stillwater. He is well known and highly respected among staff and incarcerated men at the facility" according to the jail he works at, whose team logo he wore during the encounter.
You can see the full context of the interaction here from the 02:05:16 mark of my livestream.

"Shut up!" Sgt. Gorder says to Stillwater Police trying to calm the situation. "She's [wife] trying to help!"

Only ID'ing him because he is in law enforcement.

pscp.tv/FordFischer/1Y…
Read 9 tweets
25 Apr
Content warning for thread: Emotional discussions of violence and suicide.

Yesterday I filmed as families of victims of police and other state violence from 1997 to this year gathered in front of the Minnesota governor's mansion to tell their stories and demand justice.
I felt it was important to let every word be heard.

I will post some highlights on Twitter, but this includes uncut footage every family speaking.

Following each Twitter clip is a timecode for where to find the full speech in the YouTube video.

"When you only know the names that are in the media, it's almost like isolating the story," explained an organizer. "That makes the world believe that this is not as severe a problem as it really is."

"You have to say the names of the people that have been swept under the rug."
Read 25 tweets
24 Apr
VIDEO THREAD: Black Lives Matter activists protested for Ma'Khia Bryant this afternoon outside the Minnesota Governor's mansion in St. Paul.

"Say her name! Ma'Khia Bryant! Say her name! Ma'Khia Bryant!"

#makhiabryant
In addition to policing, speakers focused on the foster care system, which they say can be "genocide" for children.

"A Black child is 42% more likely to die in foster care after they have been removed to so called 'safety and protective custody' just as Ma'Khia Bryant was."
Activists compared police shooting of Ma'Khia Bryan to Kyle Rittenhouse, who left Kenosha unharmed before turning himself in.

"I don't wanna hear about 'this girl had a knife.' She was defending herself. Kyle Rittenhouse wasn't defending himself. He wasn't defending anything."
Read 6 tweets

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