Thread by @aaronsibarium

Mark Joseph Stern claims my report on Yale Law "distorts reality." He claims that the panel "remained audible" as the protesters chanted outside, and that the police—while present—were not called to escort panelists out of the building.

Audio of the event debunks both claims.

https://twitter.com/mjs_DC/status/1504892549646929923

Stern writes: "It’s debatable this noise made it 'difficult to hear the panel." But in the first 18 minutes of the audio, the panelists are repeatedly drowned out. One chant of "protect trans kids" goes on for several minutes, making it very hard to hear the panelists.

To refute the claim that the panel was difficult to hear, Stern posts a video that is all of 13 seconds, comes from a relatively quiet moment during the protest, and is taken by an audience member in the front row of a large classroom, extremely close to the panelists.

Next, Stern credulously repeats Yale Law School’s claim that the police were not there to escort panelists out of the building. But that’s precisely what the police say they are doing in the audio we obtained: “We have cops lined up to let you guys go out," an officer says.

He continues: "There’s a big crowd out there. We have a vehicle outside.” The cop suggests the panelists take the vehicle, because “if not, you’re going to have people following you." Panelists and members of the Federalist Society can then be heard thanking the police.

Kristen Waggoner, the main target of the protest, independently confirmed that the police escorted her and her co-panelist to a patrol car, which then drove them to lunch.

freebeacon.com/latest-news/fe…

So the audio indicates that the panel did not, in fact, "remain audible" the entire time; it was inaudible, or close to it, for significant periods. The audio also indicates—and on-record sourcing confirms—that the police were there to escort the panelists out of the building.

I would also note that Stern reached out to the Beacon for comment before he published his article. We told him that claim about the police was sourced in the original story—in which we said that three members of fedsoc were told Gerken called the police. Stern omitted this fact.

Lastly, Stern derides "other conservative outlets" for endorsing my version of events. That's quite the accusation to throw at @DavidLat, who, based on his own sources, concluded that my story was "far more accurate" than the Yale Daily News's, which Stern credulously hyperlinks.

Skeptical? Listen to the audio and decide for yourself who's cherrypicking. freebeacon.com/latest-news/fe…