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© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Rally supporting police draws scores to downtown Kenosha
By JENNIFER PELTZ and RUSSELL CONTRERAS KENOSHA, Wis©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
80 Comments
kurisupisu
Blake was fighting with police and then reached for a knife-his intentions were not peaceful at all!
PTownsend
Under Trump's watch the US is getting as violent and UNsafe as it's ever been.
Trump and his Republicans continue to further divide the nation along class and ethnic lines. Instead of trying to calm things down, they throw more fuel on long burning fires.
Toasted Heretic
War is hell.
Fascism will be removed.
jack o helen
Some police say he had a knife on him; some say they later found it in his car. Which is it? Something is obviously fishy with their stories. Of course the public is not going to believe and trust in the police when they act this way.
ohara
It’s amazing how you know Blake was reaching for a knife when not even the investigators know this.
Blake had just brawled with the police, shrugged off being taserd twice, ignored three police with guns drawn ordering him to stop, then reached into his car to get something. The police didnt know what he was reaching for, whether it was a knife a gun or a hand grenade for that matter. It doesnt matter what it turns out to be - Blake brought this shooting on himself.
ohara
Under Trump's watch the US is getting as violent and UNsafe as it's ever been.
Trump and his Republicans continue to further divide the nation along class and ethnic lines. Instead of trying to calm things down, they throw more fuel on long burning fires.
Oh no you dont - this is all on the Dems and their marxist allies BLM and Antifa. Its the Dems who are stirring this up and fanning the flames. This is a neo Marxist insurgency - yes, such is what passes for the Democratic party today.
Trump, and a whole lot of Americans, wont allow it to succeed.
ohara
That may very well be the cases, but it doesn’t change the fact that there is no way for a poster on JT to know what Blake whether Blake was reaching for anything.
Obviously he was reaching for something. Nobody knew what it was and thats the point. In the circumstances it was perfectly correct to assume he was reaching for a weapon. Whether it was a weapon or not matters not one bit. The police ( and any sane person) would justifiably assume, UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES that Blake himself had created, that the probability was extremely high that he was reaching for a deadly weapon.
ohara
@ToadtedHeretic, Fascism will be removed.
I agree. Im confident Trump will take down Antifa.
Stop!Hammertime.
Firstly, shooting the man seven times in the back is excessive and unjustifiable.
However, it could be argued that Blake was committing the felony of fleeing/ resisting arrest. Police are justified in using deadly force to stop a felony in progress but only if their lives, or the lives of members of the public are under direct threat. On the other hand, one is allowed to resist arrest if the arresting officer is acting unlawfully. It’s hard to say without knowing the details of the first interactions between Blake and the officers.
The police union says Blake was holding a knife, and independant(?) investigators from Wisconsin’s Department of Justice seem to be saying the knife was in the car. Given the blue wall of silence (cops protecting their own) is an established and documented reality, I’d be disinclined to believe the union’s version.
Blacklabel
you said three grown men. oops
bass4funk
Wrong! The catalyst of the violence spinning out of control are these disgraceful Democrat leaders that continue to not speak out on the violence and allow these thugs to destroy these cities.
That’s not true, if it were minority communities under the Democrat leadership would be equal, but the wide disparity is due to the fact that Dems don’t care about inequality, they just care about their votes and nothing else.
Democrat governors and mayors could enforce the laws of authority and yet they don’t and won’t.
Blacklabel
Can guarantee if Biden tried to come visit the Dem leaders would welcome him with open arms. Well now they cant cause they whining about Trump coming.
If you dont want video/pics of President Trump standing in your violence destroyed city and getting re-elected by it, maybe dont let Antifa/BLM destroy your city?
arrestpaul
Floyd died after resisting arrest. Floyd died after being caught passing counterfeit money.
Blacklabel
I have to admit that until about 3 weeks ago, I was under the impression that George Floyd died as the officer had his knee on him until he died. That wasnt the case, he passed away hours later.
Also didnt know that George Floyd has fentanyl in his mouth and overdosed on it after swallowing it to hide it from the police.
I am sure that this new case will have additional facts that will come out, that is why Obama told the NBA to go back to playing basketball. wrong martyr.
bass4funk
So far the preliminary police reports say that he was.
Blacklabel
You really dont get it, do you? If you would do any basic investigation into the case you might learn something about it.
Blacklabel
Blake has a knife in his "possession", that has already been confirmed. A knife was found inside the car, exactly where he entered it.
So it was either in his hand already or he was reaching for it.
Here is a hint about the case that might help in the "3 grown men" misstatement.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/names-2-other-kenosha-officers-involved-jacob-blake-shooting-released-n1238681
Toasted Heretic
No. That's the narrative of fascists.
It's always the same, black victims deserve being executed because of their history.
How's he going to stop us? We've existed for 90 years or more and we are in every country in the world.
Som
Toasted Heretic
Some of our families and friends died fighting fascism and imperialism.
We shall be here long after the racist administration in the US has been overthrown.
Blacklabel
there were not three adult MALE police officer, now were there?
arrestpaul
In self-defense, police officers, and civilians, can repeatedly fire at, or repeatedly strike/hit someone who they consider to be a deadly, and immediate, threat, until that threat is neutralized.
The consensus seems to be that there was a knife in the car. Are you questioning how the knife ended up in the car. Was it Blake's car, or was he stealing it from the woman who had called the police?
jack o helen
It's all on the police and right-wing extremists that are working hand-in-hand together. Why only mention Antifa and not white supremacist groups, even though it is the right-wing extremists that are doing the killing at rallies? Time and time again, it's been proven that police target only at stopping Antifa, and give groups like "boogaloo" a pass.
https://theintercept.com/2020/07/15/george-floyd-protests-police-far-right-antifa/
lincolnman
Trump's call to his far-right, white supremacist, armed, domestic terrorists....violent ISIS-like terrorists roaming our streets shooting people...
It's a nightmare - thankfully one that will end on Nov 4th, or whenever Trump falls on his face walking down a ramp or up a set of stairs...
Blacklabel
you would just say no it wasnt, just like you claimed for days there was no knife. So I had to force you to read and figure it out for yourself.
Now do the knife, same article.
The DOJ said in its press release that Blake "admitted that he had a knife in his possession" and that investigators recovered a knife from the driver's side floorboard of his car. No other weapons were found in the vehicle, the agency said. It is not clear whether Blake was carrying the knife at the time he was shot.
Toasted Heretic
Part of it will end, but remember that Trump is a symptom of the disease. It will take a lot more hard work to cure hatred, bigotry and ignorance.
The fight will continue online, on the streets and wherever racism and apologists for racism raise their ugly heads.
Blacklabel
many of the methods that were previously used to do just that are now no longer allowed.
Knee in the neck/back was effective, but killed people who resisted. Chokeholds were effective, but killed people who resisted. Before it used to be the fault of the person resisting if they got injured resisting, but now seems resisting is allowed and even encouraged.
So now you have people getting up off the ground after being held down, continuing to fight after being tased multiple times (drunk or high so it doesnt work), so they end up getting shot. Same as happened in Atlanta.
Stop!Hammertime.
arrestpaul
Having a knife in one's car is not a crime. Nor is carrying one, actually. And if he was stealing the car - again, the union says he was, the DOJ says he wasn't - then it probably wasn't his knife, and he wouldn't have even known it was there.
Yeah. Key word there is 'consider.'
bass4funk
No, you guys are making excuses for the Democrat leadership in these rouge States for allowing these thugs to riot.
So why are black communities still poor and impoverished after 60 years of Dem leadership? So much for equality, right?
If you break the law, I would hope so, but since Dems want to defund the police expect the madness to worsen.
bass4funk
Many fine women and men in law enforcement died from fighting these mobs with their fascist ideology I’ll definitely keep them in my prayers.
Not as long as Radical Marxism rears it’s ugly head, not going to happen.
Toasted Heretic
Standing up to an inherently racist police and patriot prayer types is common sense.
If only the Democrats were actually taking the tenets of Marxism on board, but they're not.
Just another centre right party who have a long way to go.
ohara
How's he going to stop us? We've existed for 90 years or more and we are in every country in the world.
Since the communist revolution in Russia - yes, we know.
Toasted Heretic
True, radical Marxism is not going to happen under the current system.
But with education, international solidarity and maybe crowdfunding... it might come sooner.
Toasted Heretic
Hmm.
So, fighting fascism is communist now.
That means the US soldiers in WW2 were communist.
Well, I never.
ohara
Yes, me too. Then I watched the full bodycam video (abt 40 minutes ) and was stunned.
The cops were very professional and actually gentle with Floyd. The knee on the neck was without any pressure and didnt interfere with his breathing. Floyd was already complaining of not being able to breathe several minutes earlier just sitting in the police car. Floyd killed himself by swallowing his drug stadh. Obama knows all this now too.
bass4funk
The majority of police aren’t racist as most White people and Black people. You do have a few racists in any group or part of society, but overall No.
Thank God, but people like Sanders and AOC will always try.
Oh, I wish...
Texas A&M Aggie
All this strife will be put to rest after Biden visits his voters in Kenosha tomorrow.
bass4funk
And it never will in the US.
If we want the country to be another Somalia or Venezuela, sure. People seem happy there and the job market seems lucrative.
arrestpaul
The tenets of Marxism? What is that? Mass murder of a Marxist nations intelligentsia? Lost of free speech for all? No right to defend yourself?
ohara
If only the Democrats were actually taking the tenets of Marxism on board, but they're not.
Oh, if only. Riiighht.
Toasted Heretic
Nonsense.
Pick up a copy of Marx's Communist Manifesto, as opposed to Capital. It's not a long read and has nothing to do with your above post.
Toasted Heretic
And yet, you claim every day that it has.
Which is it?
Kuya 808
Antifa is a white supremacist group. Take a gander at the booking photos of arrested antifa rioters, white, white and white again. Watch the videos of white antifa screaming racial epithets at black cops, lily white privileged "suburbanites" calling a black person the N-word. Racist to the bone and white as the driven snow. They feel like they need to be the voice of black people, why? Because they are white so their voice carries more weight.
Toasted Heretic
Your country is also being destroyed by capitalism, militia and corporate power.
When capitalism starts to absorb and beat down the rich, they will begin to understand.
Sorry, I mean the US, not Germany.
Toasted Heretic
Friends, reality and truth are disintegrating before our very eyes.
You knew it would get bad in the approach to November.
Expect worse. The far right, the internet research agency and fanatics are prepared to sacrifice the very fabric of reality in order to get their agenda across.
It really is time to pick a side.
ohara
Antifa is a white supremacist group. Take a gander at the booking photos of arrested antifa rioters, white, white and white again. Watch the videos of white antifa screaming racial epithets at black cops, lily white privileged "suburbanites" calling a black person the N-word. Racist to the bone and white as the driven snow.
**EXACTLY**.
arrestpaul
The dream never manages equal reality.
ohara
As Herschell Walker said the other day, with the Dems its all race, race, race. Every 4 years they pimp race to get elected - and then do nothing.
Hes voting Trump, by the way.
Seaman
I'm not the biggest Trump fan, but I think the Democrats are in for one hell of a shock come November. I don't see how Trump can lose anymore.. The insane riots, looting and violence being seen in the US now is turning so many people against BLM and the Democrats in general. Trump will turn this election into one over law and order and the Democrats just can't win an election like that.
Look at recent polling indicating Trump possibly even leading battleground states, and massive loss of support for BLM among Democrats. Social media and comments sections everywhere are overwhelming pro Trump but more importantly anti-Democrat (meaning even those who dislike Trump are still willing to vote for him to go against the Democrats). Regardless, Trump voters are way more fired up than Democrats, meaning a likely big win for him considering the silent Trump voters will come out in swarms in November.
I hate to say it, but I think this election may already be over in Trump's favor because of these riots. If I were a Democrat in America right now, I'd be seriously worried and would make efforts to increase turnout among voters and to immediately support the put down of the riots.
Toasted Heretic
Whereas Republican supporters are intent on cheering on and justifying the deaths of black people, applauding the tear gassing of protesters and the violent clearing of people so their crazed leader can pose outside a church.
They are a boil on the backside of humanity.
bass4funk
Yes, scary and the reading it is pure unfulfilled propagated garbage that is devoid of any tenet on human rights and prosperity in the real sense.
In States like Washington they’re trying and people are now leaving, I guess CHAZ wasn’t the paradise it claimed to be.
Geeliez
The longer the Democrats associate themselves with BLM and Antifa, the more voters they are going to lose. Already the NY Police Union has endorsed Trump, and if they are doing that in NY then you can bet nationwide the Police population, and those that have friends in the Police and support the Police, probably are backing Trump already. Anyone who is against mindless mob violence, looting and destruction of private property, and who are small business owners probably have law and order on their minds this election, meaning an instant loss for the Democrats.
I think the silent majority that gets talked about so often is starting to make itself heard, which is bad news for the Democrats.
bass4funk
No, it’s being destroyed by the liberal fascists that THINK Marxism is the way to prosperity and for all the screaming liberals do about capitalism why is it not a single lob moves to Cuba or Venezuela? Socialism is so great right? Lol
When capitalism starts to absorb and beat down the rich, they will begin to understand.
Yes.
Fight for freedom and the constitution, why how dare these people?!
Yes. I pick freedom and capitalism and economic prosperity and self reliance and small government.
arrestpaul
The DOJ hasn't publicly, or fully, addressed that issue yet. Telling the police that you have a knife, while they are trying to arrest you, could sound like a threat. Waiting for a drunken suspect to stab you while you are trying to detain them doesn't sound like a good idea, either.
Desert Tortoise
That comment cuts two ways. Read the Communist Manifesto and actually understand what Marx and Engels advocated. A lot of things are labeled "marxist" that are not even remotely related to anything Marx and Engels wrote. It's very short, they really didn't have much to underpin their ideas and we all know they were complete failures. But if you do bother to read it, and you are even a little bit honest with yourself you will realize that there are no real marxists in any political party in the US. Marx was extreme, advocating not just socialism, but on top of that no private property at all, the end of the family, communal child rearing and free love, meaning bedding down with whomever and whatever children materialized were raised communally. Then add no religion and a "dictatorship of the proletariate, whatever that means (ended up being an old fashioned police state). That is marxism.
Calls for social justice and an end to racism have no relationship to marxism. Those considerably pre-date Marx and go back to the founding of the US. The US has never lived up to the high words of its Declaration of Independence. That is what the calls for an end to racism and social justice are. They are a call for the US to live up to its stated ideals as expressed in what was at the time one of the most radical political statements ever made. But the nation has not yet lived up to that document and citizens of the US will continue to agitate for change as long as the nation falls short .
bass4funk
Exactly! That’s the reality and now Biden announced he will speak in Pennsylvania next to a group of voters, I’m sure his handlers are working hard to write the script and preparing him to memorize his lines.
Blacklabel
Biden (and Harris) released generic statements about the violence.
What was missing was calling out their BLM and Antifa supporters by name and ordering them to stop rioting and looting.
Both statements were extremely generic, like "someone" is doing "something bad" and it needs to stop. That isnt enough to put the Democrat released and supported monster back in the bottle.
Geeliez
Remember, a number of BLM "leaders" have come out publicly to say they support looting and violence. Ariel Atkins said it was "reparations":
"If some decides to loot a Gucci, or a Macy's, or a Nike, because that makes sure that person eats, that makes sure that person has clothes ... That's reparations. That is reparations. Anything they wanna take, take it, because these businesses have insurance. They're gonna get their money back. My people aren't getting anything."
And one of the speakers at the Kenosha rally said:
"if you kill one of us, it’s time for us to kill one of yours"
This sort of logic is what will drive moderate voters away from the Democrats. If nothing else changes before November I think this election is already over in Trump's favor.
bass4funk
This is the thinking of your true Marxist right there in all it’s gray glory.
But they get angry when you want to defend yourself or your livelihood. Amazing!
arrestpaul
People who were never slaves are going to continue to justify the blaming of people who were never slave owners for the history of slavery.
Blacklabel
I believe it was San Francisco where the Dem politicians said that police should ask the looters if they "need" these items or not before they decide to arrest the looters or not.
yes, I "need" this Gucci bag officer. Ok, you are free to go.
No one stealing work clothes or work boots. or even food. Despite AOC claiming looters stealing bread to feed their starving families.
Blacklabel
meanwhile shots fired at Trump supporter cars simpy driving by on the street.
BLM/Antifa throwing rocks from an overpass down onto cars travelling at high speed on a freeway trying to cause a car crash and more death.
"peaceful protest" right?
Toasted Heretic
It appears the far right are having a meltdown and it's only lunchtime.
They will end up turning on each other. Just wait and see. This mindless fury and ignorance can't sustain itself forever.
Toasted Heretic
And apologists for modern day plantation brutalising of black people are going to continue making excuses for it.
Besides, capitalism enslaves all of us but the rich.
No wonder they're terrified of the uprising.
Stop!Hammertime.
arrestpaul
I agree. But still, we don't know exactly what happened at first contact. Although you don't have to, you may tell the officers that you are carrying a knife if they ask, or even if they don't, in the interests of a smooth interaction. It's often advised that you tell an officer that you are carrying a firearm during a traffic stop, for example. "I have a gun on my right hip, officer. How should we proceed?"
It doesn't. But confirming that there is indeed a threat to your person (by not following the retreating suspect and making a grab for his clothing) before pumping seven bullets in someone's back seems prudent. If he'd said 'there's a gun in my car' then the argument would be stronger. The advantage of a gun over a knife is that the knife wielder can be kept at a distance.
arrestpaul
Wanna-be Marxism, and firearm registration/confiscation, are just more reasons why the Harris-Biden ticket has already lost the election.
I believe, regardless of what the CNN-types would like their viewers to think, that most eligible voters in the U.S. support their local police officers. Most eligible voters in the U.S. do not want to be bullied by wanna-be Marxist, or socialists, or thugs who constantly try to justify the looting, arson, theft, physical violence, and moronic stupidity of the peaceful rioting.
Sneezy
Sounds rad.
bass4funk
What? Huh?
Like the liberals that control black communities and refuse to take responsibility for the decimation of these communities.
Socialism will lead us into poverty, check out San Francisco.
Socialism should make people terrified.
jack o helen
Ah, so in other words, what you're saying is that a white supremacist group developed Anitifa to try and discredit the liberal supporters. They use Antifa to create violence and crime to make it look as if the violence in the protests are being done by the left. That would further support the fact that local law enforcement is allowing gun-toting right wingers like "boogaloo" to hunt down protesters (and even some federal agents, as what happened in the George Floyd protests in Oakland), or mow them down with cars.
Kuya 808
"Yeah, ain't it cool?"
John Travolta 1996