Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
UNICORN RIOT Profile picture
@UR_Ninja
Aug 30, 2022 • 21 tweets • 11 min read • Read on X
Scrolly
NEW: Federally charged with two others for burning a cop car during the #GeorgeFloydUprising in #Philadelphia, Khalif Miller wrote a "Letter of Injustice" from inside prison saying that his rights are being violated as he awaits trial.

Read his letter: unicornriot.ninja/2022/philadelp…
Federal inmate Khalif Miller said he hadn’t had an attorney visit for his first 19 months, that he was stabbed 10 times & almost killed in an attack & has caught COVID-19 twice while awaiting trial from what he says was political targeting by former US Atty Bill McSwain.
Khalif Miller was arrested on October 28, 2020, & charged along with Carlos Matchett of Atlantic City & Anthony "Ant" Smith, a prominent activist, for allegedly throwing flaming materials into a police car near Philadelphia's City Hall on May 30, 2020.
The federal government says the "Philadelphia Three," as Miller calls them, conspired together to burn the cop car. Yet, Miller said he’s never even “met nor spoken” to the other co-defendants & said he was simply taking a picture from atop the police car when it was set aflame. “The same photo that should’ve set me free, the federal
Khalif Miller & the Philadelphia Three were some of over 300 people across the U.S. who were federally charged during the height of the anti-police & anti-racist uprising of mid 2020, including 80 for arson. Miller, a father and business owner, was only 25 when he was arrested. Press release from the Department of Justice 'Over 300 Peopl
The Philadelphia Three were indicted on October 20, 2020, after a grand jury charged them with obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and two counts of arson. If convicted, they face a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison with a maximum of 65 years. Indictment of Carlos Matchett, Khalif Miller, and Anthony Da
After the uprisings left millions of $ in damages across the U.S., the federal government then levied arson charges and a rare 1960s vintage civil disorder charge in attempts to punish protesters who participated in the popular uprising with long federal prison sentences. 18 U.S. Code § 231 - Civil disorders (a) (1) Whoever teache(2) Whoever transports or manufactures for transportation in
At least 21 people in MN were given federal arson or civil disorder charges from the #GeorgeFloydUprising, including one case where an Illinois man traveled to Minneapolis & was later charged with arson & sentenced to 105 months in prison. [Story from '20] unicornriot.ninja/2020/feds-leve…
Among the several high-profile arson cases from May 2020 in Philly & directly related to the Philadelphia Three was the case of Lore Blumenthal, a 32y/o white massage therapist. Wearing a bandana over her face, she was seen in images throwing flaming material toward a cop car. Image of Lore Elisabeth Blumenthal with flaming material dir
Authorities traced the t-shirt Blumenthal was wearing to an Etsy review and arrested her within days. In March 2022, Blumenthal pled guilty to two counts of interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder. Her arson charges were dropped.
Lore Blumenthal was sentenced to 2.5 years in federal prison with what the feds state was “arson of two” police vehicles on May 30, 2020, the same two vehicles the Khalif Miller & the Philadelphia Three are charged and still awaiting trial for.
Khalif Miller maintains his innocence in setting the police cars on fire: “I was taking photos when suddenly mid-photo chaos erupted and the car that I was standing on (a government official vehicle) erupted into flames as it was firebombed.”

Full story: unicornriot.ninja/2022/philadelp… “As the protest started to take a turn, I was taking photo
As for the other two co-defendants of Khalif Miller’s: Anthony Smith was bailed out on house arrest in early Nov 2020 & is awaiting his trial slated for Oct 31, 2022. Matchett recently pled guilty to federal charges of using social media to incite riots & has further court dates.
Former US Attorney William (Bill) McSwain, appointed by President Donald Trump, was the prosecuting federal attorney during the time of the uprising. McSwain often took to Twitter to post about being 'tough on crime' while also making contradictory statements on sentencings.
Khalif Miller said that while former US Attorney Bill McSwain denied the arrests of the Philadelphia Three “was politically motivated…[it was] one of his main selling points in his political race for Governor.” McSwain resigned from the DOJ in Jan 21 & failed in his run for Gov. The person placed in power to uphold the agenda of the Unite
After being called “a coward” by Trump for not stopping "election fraud," McSwain earned 15% of the PA Gov. primary vote in May 22, losing to controversial nominee Sen. Doug Mastriano, who was present during the January 6 riot in DC & has espoused Christian nationalist ideology.
The underlying racist overtones present in the political & judicial system are what Khalif Miller blames as the reason why he languishes in prison for years while others like the January 6 defendants have received bail & lenient sentences compared to #BlackLivesMatter protesters. On the other side of justice, the insurrectionist who invade
Khalif Miller has recently acquired a new attorney, according to court filings & has filed a complaint for violation of civil rights against the correctional officers working during the time he was viciously attacked in his cell and stabbed in August 2021: unicornriot.ninja/wp-content/upl… Khalif Miller's statement of claims - civil rights violation
The side effects from the extensive injuries from the attack that Khalif Miller said “received no medical attention” are noted as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, blurred vision/loss of vision, increased anxiety, night terrors/trouble sleeping, & “constant, persistent migraines.” list of injuries Khalif Miller sustained during prison attac
Incarcerated since October 2020, political prisoner Khalif Miller wrote to Unicorn Riot from inside a federal prison cell in Philadelphia & called for support by sharing his story, writing him, & donating for legal fees.

Link to the letter: unicornriot.ninja/wp-content/upl…
Maintaining his innocence, federal inmate Khalif Miller says he was politically targeted & his rights are being violated while in prison awaiting trial on federal arson charges for burning a Philadelphia cop car during the 2020 anti-police uprisings. unicornriot.ninja/2022/philadelp…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with UNICORN RIOT

UNICORN RIOT Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @UR_Ninja

UNICORN RIOT Profile picture
Dec 17
NEW: Groundbreaking for a Minneapolis Youth-Serving Community Staple

For nearly three decades, the educational nonprofit WE WIN Institute has been nomadic, serving youth in Minneapolis out of rented spaces. But that era is coming to a close — on November 19, 2024, WE WIN held a groundbreaking event for their new building in Minneapolis’ Bryn Mawr neighborhood. Unicorn Riot was there to document the historic occasion and interview board members, organization partners and a former student-turned-staff. 🧵
Founded in 1996 by award-winning educator Titilayo Bediako, WE WIN Institute has served thousands of youth in Minneapolis with in-school, after school, summer school, tutoring and more. WE WIN recently broke ground on a new building they can call home. unicornriot.ninja/2024/groundbre…
Known locally for its vivacious Kwanzaa Celebrations, large urban garden, Harvest Fest, and back-to-school and Black-authored book give-away events, WE WIN has also offered parent groups, tutoring, entrepreneurial programming, a litany of arts related programming, as well as cooking, gardening and mentoring.

UR interviewed WE WIN's founder and Ex. Director Titi Bediako during Juneteenth celebrations in North Minneapolis in 2020. WE WIN handed out 500 books by Black authors for free to the community.
Read 12 tweets
UNICORN RIOT Profile picture
Oct 23
🧵: Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff (now Jennifer Kerkhoff Muyskens) oversaw the failed prosecution of over 200 Trump inauguration protesters on felony conspiracy riot charges, with demonstrators and journalists facing ~80yrs for being around when others broke windows.
The #J20 case collapsed when it came to light that Kerkhoff, working with her star witness DC Police Detective Greggory Pemberton (also a police union official), had *altered and deleted exculpatory evidence* and lied about it to the court repeatedly:

unicornriot.ninja/2018/prosecuto…
The hidden evidence was portions of an undercover video taken by an operative of right-wing disinformation group Project Veritas during a planning meeting for Trump inauguration protests, which Kerkhoff said implicated all protesters present that day in a violent conspiracy.
Read 5 tweets
UNICORN RIOT Profile picture
Aug 21
A march of several dozen Palestine protesters is moving near the Morton Salt Shed (@saltshedchicago) which is a heavily secured location where Democratic delegates are partying on night 2 of the #DNC - an entry point to the convention is also nearby
A small group of masked protesters stand in an intersection holding a banner that reads “Israel Bombs Illinois Pays” in red and green text on a white banner - bike cops are seen speeding past behind them. In the background a banner on a post reads “Democrats Deliver”
A small crowd of protesters marches through the street at night holding the aforementioned banner past The Salt Shed - a large building about a block long with an an industrial style roof that reads “MORTON SALT” in big letters
The venue is hosting a large party hosted by the Pritzkers with John Legend reportedly performing tonight per corporate media reports - protesters chant “if we don’t get no justice, you don’t get no peace” as CPD on bikes form up to separate them from #DNC partygoers


About a dozen DNC delegates or attendees with suits and lanyards or other nice dress standing in front of an building
A bunch of cops and/or event security standing around in a street. One female officer shown from behind has a leashed dog and.m a back uniform patch reading “USCG K-9”
A line of bike cops formed up against protesters holding a banner in an intersection
Protesters seen from behind holding up a cloth banner with Chicago cops holding bikes lined up facing them - the Salt Shed’s lit up sign visible across the street
A noise demo outside a DNC event at the Salt Shed where John Legend is performing as part of convention programming tonight - 10 Illinois State Police just turned up


Diverse group of protesters march with megaphones and Covid masks holding a banner reading “War Criminals Not Welcome in Chicago” as bike police in the street get pretty darn close to the group
A group of protesters wearing masks and holding various kinds of drums march in the street past the lit up venue roof sign for the Salt Shed. Bike cops visible at back of shot
A protester wearing a balaclava holds a banner in front of a Chicago cop with a bike helmet and vest on - tent style canopy over DNC entrance and “democrats deliver” sign in background
10 or so Illinois State Troopers with Dudley Do-Right style hats standing in middle of the street in front of the Salt Shed
Read 12 tweets
UNICORN RIOT Profile picture
Jul 12
Nyah Mway, a 13-year-old refugee, was killed by police in Utica, NY the day after he graduated from middle school.

Learn more here: unicornriot.ninja/2024/protests-…
On the evening of June 28, Mway and his friend were stopped by three police officers from the Utica Police Department and two Oneida County Deputy Sheriffs on their walk home from a Bible study class and a graduation party.
Body camera footage was released by UPD, but only from three of the officers who were on the scene. The footage shows a pedestrian stop, otherwise known as a stop-and-frisk — a controversial tactic of interrogating and searching someone based solely on “reasonable suspicion.”
Read 6 tweets
UNICORN RIOT Profile picture
Jun 29
A year ago French police killed Nahel Merzouk, 17, during a traffic stop, leading to a week of mass revolt.

A pattern of deadly traffic stops in France show that police in the U.S. aren’t the only authority figures who regularly kill Black motorists.🧵

unicornriot.ninja/2023/french-po…
The two French police officers who killed Nahel Merzouk on June 27, 2023 initially stated that they were in danger of being run over and fired in self-defense. However, video footage from witnesses shows a different version of the story. Both officers were standing to the side of the car as it started moving again and one of them fired the shots. The car continued to move for about 50 meters and then crashed into a pole. The driver was killed instantly, one of the two other passengers escaped and the third was arrested.

The arrested passenger in the car says one officer urged the other to shoot Nahel at point-blank range. The youth alleged that “the first officer asked Nahel to roll down the window. He told him ‘turn off the engine or I will shoot you’. And he hit him with the gun. Then the second officer arrived and stood in front of the windshield at Nahel’s height. From there, the first officer standing at the level of the window put a gun to his temple and said “don’t move or I’ll put a bullet in your head.”

He went on to report that the second officer told him “shoot him,” and when a frightened Nahel let his foot off the pedal, which was an automatic and not in a parked position, it started moving and the officer in front of the vehicle fired point blank.

Full story from 2023: unicornriot.ninja/2023/french-po…Monument at the traffic pole where Nahel Merzouk’s car crashed after he was fatally shot by French police on June 27, 2023, in La Defense, Paris. A sign reads “How many Nahels have not been filmed?” Photo taken July 2, 2023, contributed by Yegor Halva.
The man who killed Nahel Merzouk is 38-year-old police officer Florian Menesplier. Menesplier previously served in Afghanistan under France’s 35th infantry regiment and was a motorcyclist with the Direction de l’ordre public et de la circulation (DOPC, Directorate of Public Order and Traffic). Before that he belonged to the compagnie de sécurisation et d’intervention 93 (CSI 93, Security and Intervention Unit 93), which was ordered to disband in 2020.

The unit was the subject of 17 judicial investigations for “violence, racist remarks, unlawful arrests, extortion of dealers” and more. He was also a member of the BRAV-M (Motorized Brigades for the Repression of Violent Action), a unit decried for its violence during the Yellow Vests movement, which he joined shortly after its creation on October 1, 2020.

Full story - French Police Kill Teen During Traffic Stop, Leading to Mass Revolt: unicornriot.ninja/2023/french-po…Florian Menesplier poses for a picture while serving in Afghanistan. Menesplier went on to be a French police officer and killed teenager Nahel Merzouk in the summer of 2023.
Read 11 tweets
UNICORN RIOT Profile picture
Jun 14
🔎 New investigation 🔎
Cobwebs Spy Software Locks Onto Protesters:
Israeli Social Media Mining Contract with Homeland Security Revealed
Israeli Firm “Cobwebs” Linked to 2020 Protests, Provides Monitoring Services to Homeland Security for Tracking Dissenters
An Israeli spy software tech firm licenses web surveillance tools to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The software contract shows new details about this sensitive technology DHS has used to spy on activists during the last several years. Story:
unicornriot.ninja/2024/cobwebs-s…
Last year, Unicorn Riot reported how Cobwebs, a privately owned Israeli spyware firm, helped the Department of Homeland Security monitor the online presences of Americans—including protesters and journalists.
[Aug 2023]unicornriot.ninja/2023/aimed-at-…
Read 21 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(