Rebel News Podcast - Three Rebel reporters assaulted in three weeks： Help us fight back

00:00:00.160 Hello, my Rebels. You're listening to a free audio-only recording of my show.

00:00:04.240 It's called The Ezra Levan Show because I'm Ezra Levan and it's a show.

00:00:07.520 Today we talk about, well, it's sort of internal business at The Rebel,

00:00:14.060 but I think it's actually newsworthy and I hope you agree.

00:00:17.000 I mean, I hate it when journalists are self-indulgent and just talk about themselves,

00:00:20.340 but three of our reporters have been punched in the last three weeks.

00:00:24.360 David Menzies, Ephraim Monsanto, and just this week, Kian Bextie.

00:00:31.500 And that just ain't right.

00:00:33.840 And when Sheila Gunn-Reed was punched a couple years ago in Alberta by some male feminist, 0.71

00:00:39.660 we hunted him down until we got justice.

00:00:41.940 And when I say hunt him down, I don't mean vigilante style, I mean lawyer style.

00:00:45.940 And so today, I hope you listen to this podcast because I will describe what happened

00:00:50.560 to Kian and Ephraim and David.

00:00:53.640 I will show you the results of our Dion Beavs lawsuit in Alberta,

00:00:58.020 and I will show you the filed new lawsuit that we had in court today against the Radisson,

00:01:03.820 and I'll tell you about what we're up to.

00:01:05.120 There's a lot to go on.

00:01:06.680 If you care about The Rebel, if you care about conservatives in Canada,

00:01:10.240 if you care about stopping people punching conservatives,

00:01:12.080 I invite you to listen on.

00:01:14.940 But by gosh, you've got to subscribe to watch it because, you know,

00:01:19.160 I'm showing you a video of these conflagrations.

00:01:22.160 You're not going to get it if you're just listening to audio.

00:01:24.520 I mean, listen, enjoy the podcast.

00:01:25.860 I know a lot of people do it while they're driving or stuff like that,

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00:02:03.640 So without further to do, please enjoy this free audio-only version of my TV show.

00:02:09.920 You're listening to a Rebel Media Podcast.

00:02:14.240 Tonight, three Rebel journalists have been assaulted in three weeks.

00:02:18.500 Enough is enough.

00:02:19.280 We're fighting back, and I need your help.

00:02:21.360 Why should others go to jail when you're a biggest carbon consumer I know?

00:02:27.240 There's 8,500 customers here, and you won't give them an answer.

00:02:31.320 The only thing I have to say to the government about why I publish it is because it's my bloody

00:02:36.200 right to do so.

00:02:37.180 This week, our reporter, Kian Bextie, was assaulted by a leftist activist while he was covering

00:02:48.140 the United We Roll pro-pipeline convoy in Ottawa.

00:02:52.380 Kian had done great work covering the convoy all across Canada.

00:02:56.340 They were now at their final destination, Parliament Hill, at a rally that featured many members

00:03:00.860 of Parliament.

00:03:01.460 Not surprisingly, it being Ottawa and being outdoors, there were some professional protesters

00:03:07.280 on hand, too.

00:03:08.800 But it was Parliament Hill, the most policed square mile in Canada, so everything should

00:03:13.840 have been fine.

00:03:15.560 Kian covered the official speeches by the United We Roll folks, but as we do at the Rebel, we

00:03:21.080 like to cover what the critics say, often just because they're so inarticulate.

00:03:25.340 It's sort of amazing.

00:03:26.580 I always like interviewing protesters because they usually don't know why they're there

00:03:30.520 other than they were told to show up and hold this sign to collect their 50 bucks or whatever.

00:03:36.320 So Kian was amongst the Antifa, just asking them their views, and he was talking to one

00:03:41.600 guy, the guy with the aviator glasses you'll see on the left of your screen in a moment,

00:03:46.540 when some other thug sneaked up on him and just hit him.

00:03:52.060 Take a look.

00:03:53.240 Can you tell me why you're here?

00:03:56.580 You're missing your first time.

00:04:03.300 Hey! 0.99

00:04:04.520 Get that guy! 0.99

00:04:05.640 Get the police! 0.98

00:04:11.060 That guy just f***ing assaulted me. 0.97

00:04:14.220 He just threw my phone on the ground and smacked my arm, and my phone's busted. 1.00

00:04:17.940 F*** out of here. 0.99

00:04:20.280 He just hit him. 0.99

00:04:21.300 Now, obviously, it didn't deeply hurt Kian, but it's shocking, and it damaged his phone,

00:04:27.020 and more to the point, it's an assault, because some leftist thug didn't like what Kian had

00:04:33.300 to say or what Kian had to think, or for whatever reason or for no reason.

00:04:38.000 And instead of heckling Kian or debating him or ignoring him, he punched him.

00:04:41.580 And the cops, you saw, they just, they just did nothing.

00:04:46.420 In fact, worse than nothing, Kian told me the police, who were standing right there, feet

00:04:50.180 away, said to him that if he wanted to make a complaint, he should call the police department.

00:04:56.380 But they were right there.

00:04:58.560 But they couldn't care less.

00:05:00.220 Gee, I wonder where those leftist protesters get the idea that they can punch a reporter

00:05:04.480 and get away with it.

00:05:05.540 Now, if Kian were a CBC reporter, if he were a liberal reporter, do you think the police

00:05:10.960 would have ignored it?

00:05:12.560 We don't know, because I have never seen a liberal reporter attacked in Canada before,

00:05:18.380 and I don't want to see it.

00:05:19.740 I'm just saying it never happens.

00:05:22.000 But there's an urban prank these days.

00:05:24.120 It's very obscene.

00:05:25.520 But it's just an insult.

00:05:26.480 When some people see a reporter reporting live somewhere, some pranksters rush up to them

00:05:31.360 and swear at them in the microphone and then run away, it's obviously rude.

00:05:36.760 It's a bit of an internet fad all across North America.

00:05:39.920 It's done by both men and women to both male and female reporters.

00:05:43.940 Like I say, it's really just the shock of a live journalist being sworn at on TV.

00:05:50.080 But it's not violence.

00:05:52.680 And that's the worst thing I can think of that's happened to a liberal reporter in Canada.

00:05:58.540 And by the way, police actually lay charges in those cases.

00:06:01.720 Usually because the media company in question makes such a fuss about it, like the CBC.

00:06:06.320 One guy actually lost his job with Ontario Hydro, not for doing that swearing prank,

00:06:11.940 not for swearing himself, but for laughing when another guy did it.

00:06:15.940 That's how thin-skinned liberal journalists are.

00:06:18.700 Every year in Canada, someone is charged with this fake crime of swearing on camera.

00:06:22.520 It's rude, but it is not an assault.

00:06:24.780 Now, they usually let go, but journalists pretend it's this great free speech fight or something.

00:06:29.220 So that's if you're a liberal.

00:06:32.560 But if you're a conservative journalist, well, it's becoming a weekly thing.

00:06:36.260 Kian was attacked this week.

00:06:38.700 A couple of weeks ago, two other rebel journalists were attacked.

00:06:41.800 Again, they weren't beaten to a pulp.

00:06:44.060 I don't think they were hurt.

00:06:46.220 But so what?

00:06:46.880 You can't just punch anyone.

00:06:48.820 You can't punch a journalist.

00:06:49.820 You can't punch anyone.

00:06:50.600 I guess, unless it's a conservative journalist, I suppose.

00:06:54.380 Swear in the vicinity of a liberal reporter in that weird internet prank.

00:06:58.380 It's not even actually swearing at the reporter. 0.67

00:07:00.440 It's swearing sexually on live TV.

00:07:03.060 That's the obscene gag of it.

00:07:04.760 Just swearing gets a big investigation and a criminal charge.

00:07:07.900 But actually hitting a guy, if he's conservative, nothing.

00:07:11.660 Here, take a look at what a manager of the Radisson Hotel Toronto East did to David Menzies

00:07:19.060 and our cameraman, Efron, earlier this month.

00:07:22.900 Okay, it's a private property.

00:07:25.020 Oh, okay, then.

00:07:26.020 Would you like to come on camera?

00:07:26.880 No, I would not.

00:07:27.780 I would like you off our property right now.

00:07:30.320 I'd like you to stop taking my picture.

00:07:31.800 Hey, hey, excuse me.

00:07:32.440 Take the picture.

00:07:33.560 Hey, hey, hey. 0.98

00:07:34.720 Hey, get your rebel crap news out of here right now. 0.99

00:07:38.640 Why is it rebel crap news, sir? 0.99

00:07:40.660 Get out off of the property. 0.98

00:07:42.220 Robert, I'll call the police.

00:07:43.380 Good, and you'll be charged with assault for what you just did.

00:07:47.540 Sir, you can't punch people.

00:07:50.020 Our reporters were lawfully on that property.

00:07:53.160 That Radisson manager then asked them to leave, and they were about to leave.

00:07:56.940 Menzies even started to say he was going to leave.

00:07:59.220 But before the manager even finished his sentence, he just punched David and Efron.

00:08:04.560 and punched our camera gear.

00:08:06.660 So that's three rebel journalists assaulted in three weeks.

00:08:10.820 And, of course, it's not the first time.

00:08:12.320 The worst, when some male feminist named Dionne Buse hit our Sheila Gunn-Reed. 0.99

00:08:17.580 Had a women's march, no less. 0.99

00:08:20.560 Go away. 0.76

00:08:21.980 Get out of my face. 1.00

00:08:23.280 I will break your camera. 0.99

00:08:24.160 You don't have the right to.

00:08:25.940 Whoa.

00:08:27.020 Let's calm down.

00:08:28.200 You don't have the right to show me everywhere you go.

00:08:30.700 Yes, he does.

00:08:31.480 Yeah, he just hit me in the face.

00:08:33.660 If Sheila were a liberal reporter for the CBC,

00:08:39.180 not only would hate crimes charges have been filed against that thug,

00:08:43.220 but Sheila herself would be the new feminist hero of Canada, 0.76

00:08:46.360 a woman who was obviously attacked for her strong point of view 0.97

00:08:50.220 by a man who was so insecure he couldn't deal with a woman who was smarter than him.

00:08:55.220 Sheila would have won awards. 0.99

00:08:56.520 She'd be offered a professor gig at a journalism school.

00:08:59.580 She'd be a hero.

00:09:00.360 But instead, the CBC actually took the side of that thug in their news reports,

00:09:05.700 trying to humanize him and paint him as the victim.

00:09:09.840 In the end, Dionne Buse, that male feminist, was convicted. 0.90

00:09:14.100 But because of a court error, he got off with just a slap on the wrist.

00:09:17.580 So we sued him in civil court for more than a year.

00:09:23.380 And we finally got justice in the form of this court ruling.

00:09:28.000 Here, let me read to you from the judge who upheld our lawsuit against that male feminist Dionne Buse. 1.00

00:09:33.740 I'm quoting here.

00:09:34.380 In a free and democratic society, people, including the media,

00:09:38.600 should be able to attend public events and say what they wish

00:09:41.240 without fear of having themselves or their property threatened or physically abused.

00:09:45.840 The fundamental freedom in the media, as provided for in the Charter,

00:09:49.180 guarantees that the media shall have the freedom to report and provide opinion

00:09:52.240 with respect to such public events as the Women's March.

00:09:55.420 To seek to curtail the media's right to report and opine on the event,

00:09:59.380 such as Buse did here, was unacceptable,

00:10:03.020 and his resort to physical violence against a member of the media

00:10:06.040 qualifies as high-handed, malicious, arbitrary, or highly reprehensible misconduct

00:10:11.420 that departs to a marked degree from ordinary standards of decent behavior.

00:10:17.600 It is conduct that, by any reasonable standard,

00:10:21.680 is deserving of full condemnation and punishment.

00:10:26.580 Let me read just one more line.

00:10:29.380 Mr. Buse is entitled to his political views,

00:10:33.000 and the plaintiff and the rebel are entitled to their political views.

00:10:36.580 Mr. Buse, however, was not entitled to commit assault and battery

00:10:40.740 because his political views differed from those of the plaintiff or the rebel.

00:10:44.940 So we did that.

00:10:46.620 Now, it cost us more than $30,000 in legal fees.

00:10:50.140 Buse had to pay Sheila just $3,500, 0.99

00:10:53.280 and for the rest of his life he'll be known as the cowardly male feminist who hits women. 0.97

00:10:57.640 And I bought the website, dionbuse.com, 0.97

00:11:00.660 that will forever point to that video until he actually apologizes to Sheila, 0.75

00:11:05.220 which that little coward hasn't done yet.

00:11:07.220 So dionbuse.com stays up. 0.92

00:11:09.800 So back to Kian and David and Efren, our cameraman.

00:11:15.240 I'm pleased to say that this morning we filed a new lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice

00:11:24.200 against the Radisson Toronto East Hotel and their manager David Strong

00:11:29.000 on behalf of our employees, David and Efren.

00:11:31.720 We're not suing for millions.

00:11:33.800 We know that they weren't wounded for life.

00:11:35.940 The money isn't even the point.

00:11:37.400 We're suing for just $10,000 each, a total of $20,000.

00:11:40.520 We'll pay far more than that in legal fees.

00:11:42.500 We are suing to make the point.

00:11:45.140 You can't hit people, even if you disagree with them.

00:11:49.600 You can't do that whether you're a person or a multi-billion dollar corporation like Radisson.

00:11:54.580 We'll post that lawsuit online so you can read it.

00:11:58.520 Why are we doing this?

00:11:59.700 Why are we spending more on a lawsuit than we will ever win?

00:12:04.300 Well, because the police haven't laid charges against that manager at the Radisson.

00:12:08.520 David and Efren went to the police station and they filed a report with police.

00:12:13.560 And the police said they'd send someone over to the Radisson.

00:12:15.880 Yeah, they'll send someone by to caution that manager.

00:12:18.900 Is that how it works now?

00:12:20.480 So if you swear on TV in front of the liberal media, the police will charge you with an actual crime.

00:12:26.660 And in the case of that one guy, you'll actually be fired from your public service job if you just laugh at it.

00:12:34.860 But punch two guys?

00:12:37.300 Well, the police might pop by and say, hey, cool it. 0.64

00:12:39.980 Maybe switch to decaf.

00:12:43.160 Yeah, no.

00:12:43.700 No, no, no.

00:12:44.160 That's not enough.

00:12:46.160 We're doing this for justice.

00:12:47.580 We're doing this to teach the Radisson and its manager that they cannot do that with impunity.

00:12:52.660 And we're doing it to send a message to the rest of the world, too.

00:12:56.540 If you touch our people, we will sue you, even if it takes years like it did with Dion Buse,

00:13:04.000 even if it costs us $30,000 like it did with Dion Buse.

00:13:08.120 We will have justice for our people.

00:13:12.160 And so this morning, we sued the Radisson and their manager.

00:13:16.280 And today, I am asking you, our viewers, to help me identify the Antifa thug who hit Kian in Ottawa.

00:13:24.840 Now, I'm going to put this video on YouTube, this one I'm describing right now.

00:13:29.280 I'm going to email this out widely so we can get as many people as possible helping us to find the thug.

00:13:36.200 That's how we found Dion Buse.

00:13:37.660 We didn't know his name.

00:13:38.520 We posted the video online and offered a bounty, and his friends turned him in almost immediately.

00:13:45.160 Actually, one of his family members did, too.

00:13:47.320 So I am hereby offering a $500 reward for the first person who identifies that little thug who hit Kian.

00:13:58.420 We'll keep your identity confidential if you give us the tip.

00:14:02.520 Now, don't take the law into your own hands.

00:14:04.340 No vigilantism, please.

00:14:06.320 Just tell us who he is, and we'll do the rest.

00:14:08.860 We'll put him to the law, as we did with Dion Buse.

00:14:11.620 Here's what's amazing, and it shows how brazen this thug was.

00:14:17.560 He hit Kian. 0.57

00:14:19.460 He sort of sneaked up on Kian.

00:14:20.960 Kian was talking to someone looking to his left, and the thug came up to him and hit him on his right when Kian wasn't even looking. 0.99

00:14:28.820 Talk about a coward. 0.99

00:14:29.960 Even more cowardly than Dion Buse, actually. 0.99

00:14:32.260 But this Ottawa thug who hit Kian, when he was looking that way, he realized that Kian didn't actually see him.

00:14:38.940 So the thug came back and actually taunted Kian, but Kian didn't even know it was the same guy until later when we all sat down and went through the video footage frame by frame.

00:14:50.780 Can you believe that?

00:14:51.800 Here, take a look.

00:14:53.240 As you can see, this guy, he's been really obsessed with me, and he's been putting this flag in front of my face.

00:15:00.500 We're filing a report with the police, and I'm going to keep you guys posted as the day goes on.

00:15:05.420 That was the guy.

00:15:08.060 Not just that, but we went through all our footage, and this same guy was giving a hassle to our David Menzies, who was there, too.

00:15:15.980 He didn't hit Menzies, but he tried to block our cameras.

00:15:19.320 Take a look.

00:15:20.280 So, yeah, they talk a mean game, but when it comes to walking the walk, not so much.

00:15:26.400 I also love this part where we try to, sir, would you like to say what you wanted to say to me, or just stick your sign in the camera?

00:15:43.820 I'm just going to stick my sign in your camera, thanks.

00:15:46.200 You can't articulate your point?

00:15:47.980 Not to you.

00:15:49.560 Well, I guess I win the debate, then.

00:15:51.300 If you can't say why you're here, I guess you don't even know why you're here, then, sir.

00:15:56.400 You can see there were cops everywhere there.

00:16:00.740 This guy had hit Kean, and he was fine.

00:16:03.960 The cops didn't take him away.

00:16:05.300 And he obviously knows and hates the rebel.

00:16:08.320 He knew Kean.

00:16:09.160 He knew David Menzies. 0.96

00:16:10.880 Just like Dion Buse, the male feminist in Edmonton, just like that Radisson hotel manager who called us rebel crap news or whatever that means. 0.97

00:16:18.800 This thug in Ottawa obviously recognized Kean and David and harassed both of them. 0.98

00:16:23.240 And maybe heckling and harassing is fine.

00:16:26.560 I mean, I don't care.

00:16:27.860 We're not like the CBC.

00:16:28.820 We're not going to run to have police arrest people for swearing at us like the CBC does.

00:16:34.220 But then to hit Kean, to hit him, and to sneak up on him.

00:16:38.820 Not even to hit him, look him in the eye and hit him, but to sneak up on him.

00:16:42.980 Yeah, no, we're going to court over that.

00:16:45.620 So this is him.

00:16:47.420 This is him, two slightly different perspectives.

00:16:51.500 That's who hit Kean in Ottawa, cops five feet away.

00:16:57.260 So he's probably from Ottawa.

00:16:59.460 He seemed to be someone who protests a lot.

00:17:02.200 That's just a sense I have.

00:17:03.520 He seems to be political.

00:17:05.040 He obviously knew who the rebel was and our personalities.

00:17:07.580 My suspicion is that he's probably some public sector union thug who protests every day.

00:17:12.300 And when he saw our rebel people, he wanted to do more than just protest. 0.77

00:17:16.200 He wanted to punch a conservative.

00:17:18.700 Not on my watch.

00:17:21.340 No, no, no.

00:17:23.640 So please help me do two things.

00:17:26.840 Please look at this man.

00:17:29.220 And if you know who he is, please send me an email to tips at therebel.media.

00:17:36.860 T-I-P-S at therebel.media.

00:17:40.700 We'll keep your identity confidential.

00:17:42.760 If you are the first person to positively ID this man, I will pay you $500.

00:17:49.260 But don't take the law into your own hands.

00:17:51.420 We'll take it from there.

00:17:53.460 We're putting this video I'm recording right now.

00:17:56.360 We're putting the full video up at findthethug.com.

00:18:01.740 Findthethug.com.

00:18:02.800 So feel free to share this news that way.

00:18:06.140 So that's the first thing.

00:18:07.280 Help me findthethug.com.

00:18:10.160 The second thing I need your help with is to pay for the lawyers.

00:18:13.900 Like I say, if Sheila were a liberal and if David and Efren and Kian were liberals, not only would they not have been attacked, but if they were attacked, police would have taken care of everything.

00:18:25.980 But they didn't charge the Radisson manager.

00:18:31.060 And they were right there and they didn't lift a finger in Ottawa.

00:18:33.980 They said it was feet away from them.

00:18:35.720 So we have to pay for our own justice.

00:18:37.360 Like I said, the lawsuit for Sheila cost us more than $30,000 and she was only awarded $3,500.

00:18:46.020 It obviously was not about the money and neither is this.

00:18:50.520 It's about defending our people, defending conservative journalists and conservative citizens and our right to stand in the public.

00:19:00.660 It's about standing up to bullies and leftist thugs and letting the world know that if you come for the rebel, we'll come for justice.

00:19:08.300 And by the way, David, Efren, and Kian did not ask me to do this.

00:19:12.320 They did not ask me to sue.

00:19:14.500 I am choosing to do this because I am grateful to them for suffering an attack just for being a rebel journalist.

00:19:23.880 I'm doing this for them because it is right.

00:19:25.860 So go to findthethug.com and while you're there, you can also read a copy of our lawsuit filed today against the Radisson and their manager.

00:19:35.320 And I've also posted a copy of the court judgment against Dion Buse, which was a win for us, but a costly win at $30,000, actually $32,000.

00:19:46.560 I'm going to need $500 to pay the bounty to identify this thug because the police don't plan to investigate.

00:19:53.080 And then I'm going to need at least $30,000 to sue him and $30,000 to sue the Radisson.

00:19:58.320 I'm sorry, that's just how much lawyers are for a whole trial.

00:20:02.860 Do you think that's me being wasteful with our viewers' money?

00:20:06.280 Do you think that's a luxury?

00:20:07.760 Do you think I should just spend that on staff or equipment instead?

00:20:12.340 Do you think it's being wasteful?

00:20:14.720 I don't.

00:20:17.260 It's my way of saying to Kian and David and Efren that I value them and that I respect them.

00:20:21.760 And I want to treat them in this circumstance how I would want to be treated if I myself were assaulted by a left-wing thug.

00:20:29.340 I was furious with what happened to Sheila, but I think she knows that we had her back.

00:20:37.820 That's my goal here today.

00:20:39.240 $60,500.

00:20:41.120 $500 for the bounty.

00:20:42.560 $30,000 apiece to sue these thugs.

00:20:44.720 If you can help me cover these legal bills, please do.

00:20:48.740 As you know, we don't get a dime from the government like the CBC.

00:20:51.980 We're not taking the $595 million bailout like the other media.

00:20:56.140 It's just you.

00:20:57.420 We're 100% viewer supported.

00:21:00.460 I promise to keep you updated on this case, on both of them.

00:21:04.940 This is part of the price of being a conservative in Canada.

00:21:07.480 I'm sorry, it just is.

00:21:08.340 But I think we have to pay that price.

00:21:10.840 If you think so, too, and if you want to help us, please go to findthethug.com.

00:21:15.960 Help us find that thug and help me get justice for Kian, David, and Efren.

00:21:22.000 Thank you.

00:21:22.620 This announcement today recognizes that Empire actor Jussie Smollett took advantage of the

00:21:43.420 pain and anger of racism to promote his career.

00:21:48.340 I'm left hanging my head and asking why.

00:21:51.120 Why would anyone, especially an African-American man, use the symbolism of a noose to make false 1.00

00:22:00.140 accusations?

00:22:02.380 How could someone look at the hatred and suffering associated with that symbol and see an opportunity

00:22:09.740 to manipulate that symbol to further his own public profile?

00:22:14.120 How can an individual who's been embraced by the city of Chicago turn around and slap everyone

00:22:21.840 in this city in the face by making these false claims?

00:22:27.300 Bogus police reports cause real harm.

00:22:31.860 They do harm to every legitimate victim who's in need of support by police and investigators,

00:22:38.680 as well as the citizens of this city.

00:22:41.900 Well, I like the cut of that man's jib.

00:22:44.540 That is, of course, the press conference by the Chicago police.

00:22:48.400 I think it was absolutely essential that that press conference be chaired by an African-American

00:22:53.500 man to speak so bluntly about a privileged black actor who thought racism was nothing other than

00:23:01.860 a trick or a tool.

00:23:03.540 The cop there says it was to promote his career.

00:23:06.120 That's true.

00:23:06.940 But it was also to promote his own anti-Trump politics.

00:23:10.840 It was a very specific claim by Jussie Smollett that it was Trump supporters wearing Trump hats

00:23:17.680 and saying, this is MAGA country, make America great again country, as if anyone would say

00:23:23.380 that in Chicago, a city that voted 83 percent for Hillary Clinton.

00:23:28.440 Well, let me show you the new fashion shoot that Jussie Smollett was in. 1.00

00:23:34.160 Not quite as glamorous as his regular work.

00:23:36.840 That's his mugshot with the Chicago police.

00:23:40.440 He's been charged with a felony.

00:23:42.380 And joining us now to talk about this is our friend Pardes Saleh, a writer with Mediaite.com,

00:23:48.260 whose latest article is called 20th Century Fox Releases Statement on Smollett's Future

00:23:53.240 on Empire.

00:23:54.760 Hey, Pardes, great to see you again.

00:23:57.600 I think a lot of us knew this was a bogus story all along.

00:24:02.000 But hearing that senior police officer put it in those terms, it really, I mean, he gets

00:24:08.920 right to it.

00:24:09.560 I was impressed with that police statement.

00:24:12.380 And he impressed everybody, both on the right and the left.

00:24:17.000 Everything he said was 100 percent true.

00:24:19.400 And he said bogus police reports are causing, like, harm.

00:24:25.540 And he was 100 percent right about everything.

00:24:29.220 Not just, and then he emphasized, of course, you're taking away real police resources that

00:24:33.760 could go to actually stopping crime.

00:24:35.380 I didn't play the whole clip, but it's also important to note that when you make up an

00:24:43.400 enemy, when you confect a criminal, and in this case he described the criminal so clearly

00:24:48.540 as white Trump supporters, you are not only putting someone at risk of being falsely accused,

00:24:55.620 maybe even falsely convicted, but you're demonizing anyone who matches that description.

00:25:01.940 In this case, white Trump supporters.

00:25:03.440 It would be as if a Trump supporter said, I was attacked by a black man saying, I like Obama. 0.63

00:25:08.820 Well, now you've just cast aspersions on every black man.

00:25:11.940 And let me show you a clip, Pardes, I'd like your thoughts on this.

00:25:14.900 This is Jesse Smollett.

00:25:16.500 When his story was starting to come undone on the Internet, when people were poking holes

00:25:20.240 in it, but there was a grainy surveillance photo that purported to represent the people

00:25:28.120 who had attacked him.

00:25:28.980 And listen to him say how much he hopes that they get arrested and put in prison.

00:25:34.640 Take a look at this.

00:25:35.280 I was talking to a friend and I said, I just want them to find them.

00:25:39.640 And she said, sweetie, they're not going to find them.

00:25:43.140 That just made me so angry because so I'm just going to be left here with this.

00:25:49.260 You know what I'm saying?

00:25:50.100 Like, I'm just going to be left here with.

00:25:55.460 With like.

00:25:57.460 So they get to go free and go about their life and possibly attack someone else.

00:26:03.220 And I'm here to left with the left with the aftermath of this pool.

00:26:06.900 That's not cool to me.

00:26:09.200 That's not OK.

00:26:11.000 So I understand how difficult it will be.

00:26:16.120 To find them.

00:26:18.380 But we got to.

00:26:19.660 I still want to believe with everything that has happened, that there's something called justice.

00:26:26.300 He was willing to put in prison someone falsely.

00:26:32.220 I think that's incredible.

00:26:35.700 Yeah.

00:26:36.480 He put himself in prison.

00:26:38.500 No, as in he would have put someone else in prison.

00:26:41.000 I think if someone would have been arrested.

00:26:43.080 In fact, I saw online that he was shown the grainy footage of people walking and said, yeah, that's them.

00:26:50.000 So my point is, he was willing to swear.

00:26:54.200 He was willing to testify.

00:26:55.480 He was willing to go to court to put someone in prison who obviously didn't do it since he was the one who arranged this whole thing.

00:27:02.260 I think that is the most diabolical part.

00:27:04.900 That he would see his fiction all the way through to imprisoning someone falsely. 0.68

00:27:10.980 That's insane.

00:27:12.280 Yeah, and there's all these people coming out with sympathy for him.

00:27:16.640 Like, oh, no.

00:27:18.400 You know, he's obviously crying for help.

00:27:22.920 He's obviously going through something.

00:27:25.900 And it's like, well, he tried to get someone falsely accused of attacking him.

00:27:31.980 And not only this case, but, you know, the police, I mean, I didn't even think, I thought this was the worst.

00:27:40.360 It turns out this other letter, like a racist letter that was sent to his office, it was racist and homophobic.

00:27:46.360 He made that letter, too.

00:27:48.100 Like, he wrote that letter and sent it to himself so that he can use that.

00:27:52.980 And then that didn't work.

00:27:54.040 And that's why he did this bigger thing, this bigger attack.

00:27:58.560 You know, I've heard of people sending themselves flowers or chocolates on Valentine's Day.

00:28:02.340 To make them, from their imaginary friend, to make themselves feel less.

00:28:06.120 So I would never do that.

00:28:07.340 Never, never, never.

00:28:08.560 But that, you know, my imaginary girlfriend or whatever, that's a joke.

00:28:14.340 But to send yourself imaginary hate mail.

00:28:17.060 I mean, Jesse Smollett, he's a threefer in the politically correct Olympics.

00:28:21.880 Like, he's, if it was poker, he'd have like a royal flush. 0.98

00:28:25.260 He's gay. 0.99

00:28:26.680 He's black. 0.95

00:28:28.100 And he's actually Jewish.

00:28:29.440 I don't even know how you combine those three things.

00:28:31.520 But he did it.

00:28:33.500 And yet, you know how much money he makes in an episode?

00:28:37.540 I learned this today.

00:28:38.780 He makes $68,000 per episode.

00:28:43.940 $65,000, excuse me.

00:28:45.620 That's as much as your average American makes in a year.

00:28:48.760 So this guy is at the height of his profession.

00:28:51.240 Like, what's that, one in a thousand actors?

00:28:53.820 Like, are there, I mean, that is such a high level. 0.59

00:28:57.740 And his life is so easy, even as a gay black Jew, that he has to create problems so he can be, feel special. 0.99

00:29:08.500 Like, what is wrong with a guy who can't accept the word yes? 0.77

00:29:13.160 America has given him more love and privilege than 99.99999% of people.

00:29:19.880 And yet he has to say, no, I'm being victimized here.

00:29:22.480 What's going on in a man's head when he needs to create problems like this in a stunt like this?

00:29:27.380 Well, he probably also knew that it would pick up in the media.

00:29:31.700 He probably didn't expect that this would all go wrong. 0.99

00:29:34.900 And, I mean, although he did a stupid job, he paid the actors with a check and left all this evidence. 0.99

00:29:42.800 But he probably didn't think it would go wrong. 0.99

00:29:45.540 And he thought that the full media will accept this narrative because they've been, this is a narrative that they've been pushing until now.

00:29:52.320 And maybe he undermined that the police will go through with everything and that there will be holes and that there are going to be some people who won't buy the narrative.

00:30:04.220 Well, I mean, and it was absolutely completely accepted amongst, for example, I mean, half a dozen senior Democrats tweeted their support, including presidential candidates like Kamala Harris.

00:30:16.980 I want to show, sorry, go ahead.

00:30:19.560 Even the president believed it.

00:30:20.880 I mean, he said, you know, it's absolutely horrible.

00:30:24.220 And, you know, he believed it.

00:30:27.380 He probably, he believed that something happened.

00:30:30.620 It's incredible.

00:30:31.480 I want to show you, because it's just so funny, the closed circuit TV footage, security camera footage of Jesse Smollett's two buddies buying, you can see there, the balaclavas.

00:30:44.660 You can see the, you know, they basically said, hey, can you give us some balaclavas, some red hats, some gloves?

00:30:52.200 And, and this is them buying it. 0.98

00:30:54.640 And, I mean, America is so great, Pardes, that the white supremacists are black. 0.99

00:31:01.140 How great a country is that when you have so much diversity that you're white Republican MAGA hat wearing racists with a noose for lynching? 1.00

00:31:13.060 They are black. 0.99

00:31:14.660 And boy, they turned on Jesse Smollett. 0.97

00:31:16.980 That in one day, they immediately fessed up to police.

00:31:20.640 I guess they were worried about being extradited to, or deported to Nigeria, which is actually where they're from.

00:31:27.980 Unbelievable.

00:31:28.460 What do you make of the fact that he actually sent black men to play the role of white supremacists?

00:31:34.520 I don't know why he went to such an intricate job and had so many parts, all of which came undone with the easiest police investigation.

00:31:42.940 Like, there's so many holes here.

00:31:44.940 Help me out.

00:31:45.800 Help me.

00:31:46.420 Have you tried to figure this guy out?

00:31:48.480 Have you tried to put yourself in his mind?

00:31:49.740 Obviously, he probably thought that a white person, rightly so, would be offended by it because, you know, he's saying that a white man came and whatever. 0.65

00:32:00.020 So they probably would be offended by it.

00:32:01.960 And these guys already auditioned for some movie with him, so he already knew them.

00:32:06.980 And he probably felt like he could trust them to do this.

00:32:11.160 I just, the idea, I mean, I've seen people wearing balaclavas.

00:32:14.580 You can still tell pretty quickly if they're black or white because it doesn't cover every single square inch of your face other than your eyeball.

00:32:23.300 So, I mean, if someone walked into the studio right now with a balaclava, I could tell if they were white or black.

00:32:29.540 And there was security footage everywhere.

00:32:31.880 This plan was so crazy.

00:32:34.920 I don't know.

00:32:35.940 Go ahead.

00:32:36.300 He refused, like a lot of things, sorry, like when the police came in to interview him, he told them to take off their body cameras.

00:32:45.660 He refused EMS services.

00:32:48.000 He had, he was on the phone with his manager at the same time that this, like, supposed attack was happening.

00:32:53.860 Like, there were so many things, so many clues that people were just ignoring.

00:32:57.980 Yeah, and the fact that he held on to his Subway sandwich throughout the entire ordeal.

00:33:02.820 He was fighting two guys.

00:33:04.260 He had a noose around his neck, but he wouldn't let go of that sandwich.

00:33:07.320 I am a sandwich aficionado, and sometimes I get extremely territorial with my lunch, but I have never seen someone show the dedication to his sandwich as Jesse Smollett did. 1.00

00:33:18.120 What an idiot. 1.00

00:33:19.280 Let me ask you one last question. 1.00

00:33:20.680 I don't know American law, obviously, as well as I know Canadian law, so I know there's different degrees of felonies and different, there's felonies and there's misdemeanors.

00:33:32.300 That Chicago cop was sounding pretty mad, but from my layman's view, the species of charge that he has is a pretty minor one.

00:33:44.240 I mean, maybe there's another federal charge that might be pending because he sent himself a fake terrorist threat in the mail, and maybe that will catch him in a more serious law.

00:33:52.400 But it sounds like they're going to have a lot of huffing and puffing here, and I predict that he'll get off with the lightest of wrist slaps.

00:34:01.660 I think, what is it, a fourth-degree felony mischief or something like that?

00:34:04.980 I mean, I'm not a U.S. lawyer.

00:34:07.840 Pardon me?

00:34:08.700 He'll pay it off, too.

00:34:09.780 Yeah, I mean, 65 grand a pop.

00:34:12.880 I don't even know if Fox has the courage to fire him because they might be called racist or something.

00:34:18.320 As you reported today, Fox is sort of saying we're taking this seriously, but they haven't fired him yet.

00:34:23.320 If this was a white guy making an anti-black hoax, he would have been fired and his agent would have fired him, and he'd be unemployed right now.

00:34:31.660 Yeah, and 24 hours ago, Fox said that they actually will not fire him, and they were very, very certain about that.

00:34:40.260 They said, we're not going to fire him, and then he got arrested for this, and then this police statement came out, and then they were like, okay, we're going to, like, consider our options.

00:34:52.580 He probably won't get fired, though.

00:34:54.080 You know what, I mean, I'm a Jew, and I mention it sometimes, but life is easy for Jews in America and Canada.

00:35:06.280 I'm not black, and I'm not gay, so I don't know how it is, but it would seem to me that this guy, this is my theory, and I'll end on this, and I'd like your thoughts on it.

00:35:15.000 But this guy, who had everything in life, fame, fortune, excitement, he was black, he was Jewish, he was gay, and none of those things were a barrier to him in real life.

00:35:26.900 But somehow, someone, something convinced him that being a victim was higher than anything he could achieve on his own.

00:35:35.720 He's making 65 grand a pop on a hit show, I guess it's a hit show, on TV.

00:35:42.000 He's a singer, he's an actor, he's a celebrity.

00:35:46.040 And someone convinced him that being a victim is higher than all those things, and yet there was so little hatred for blacks, Jews, and gays in America that he had to make it himself. 0.97

00:35:56.940 I think this guy was screwed up by identity politics.

00:36:00.060 Instead of saying, I'm the most successful man in my family's history, and I'm living my best life, he said, no, my best life is being a victim. 0.91

00:36:07.480 Something, I think the something here is grievance industry, identity politics.

00:36:14.180 What do you make of that theory?

00:36:16.160 Yeah, and at a time when Chicago is one of the cities with top murder rates in the country, it's really sad that that should be the thing that he's grieving about.

00:36:27.300 Yeah, it's very strange.

00:36:28.560 Well, Pardes, great to see you again.

00:36:29.660 Thanks very much.

00:36:30.300 I enjoy reading your stories in Mediaite.com, and we'll hope to talk to you again soon.

00:36:34.220 You too.

00:36:34.820 All right, there you have it, Pardes Salat talking about Jussie Smollett.

00:36:38.780 I predict not a day in jail.

00:36:42.040 Stay with us.

00:36:42.680 More ahead on The Rebel.

00:36:54.220 Hey, welcome back on my monologue yesterday about Trudeau's plan to censor social media before the election.

00:36:58.940 Paul writes,

00:36:59.440 The fact that Trudeau wants to censor the internet before the next election should be of no surprise to anyone.

00:37:04.900 The fact that Scheer's conservatives are backing this is not a surprise to me either.

00:37:08.500 If Scheer were an American republic, he'd be a never-Trumper. 0.89

00:37:13.200 Yeah, in fact, Scheer occasionally pokes at Donald Trump.

00:37:17.080 I see that by Jason Kenney too.

00:37:18.700 My point is, why are you even doing that?

00:37:20.900 You're not a pundit.

00:37:21.680 You think you're going to buy some love from the CBC or leftists in Canada by disparaging Trump also?

00:37:28.900 Let me tell you, I wish we had someone in Canada who did for us what Trump is doing for America.

00:37:33.940 Three and a half percent GDP growth.

00:37:35.900 Huge, highest employment in history.

00:37:38.580 Lowest unemployment in history.

00:37:40.720 Massive reshoring of industry.

00:37:43.280 Largest oil and gas production in history.

00:37:45.280 America now an energy exporter.

00:37:48.220 Yeah, if that's what Donald Trump's all about, can I sign up for two helpings?

00:37:53.100 So I don't think a conservative in Canada should be anti-Trump.

00:37:56.720 And if they are, I think they should zip it.

00:37:59.260 Because what on earth does that have to do with being the leader of the opposition in Canada?

00:38:02.600 Or the leader of the opposition in Alberta?

00:38:05.420 And yeah, how about stand up for free speech?

00:38:07.540 I know the reason why.

00:38:09.660 I know the reason why Andrew Scheer is not against this censorship federally.

00:38:13.800 And why Jason Kenney has been quiet as a mouse about the fact that the election commission in Alberta is prosecuting us for our journalism.

00:38:21.580 I know why.

00:38:22.280 It's obvious why.

00:38:24.760 Because they both think they're going to be in power soon.

00:38:27.460 And with Jason Kenney, it's probably true.

00:38:30.040 And yeah, don't think they don't want those laws too.

00:38:36.420 Muta Ween, I'm guessing that's a nickname, writes,

00:38:39.400 Does foreign meddling in the election include all the Democratic Party operatives that came up from Washington to help Trudeau and the liberals defeat Harper?

00:38:46.600 That is a great point.

00:38:48.220 And that's the thing I remember back in the day.

00:38:50.080 If an American Republican even came within like 100 feet of a Canadian conservative or the Reform Party back then,

00:38:58.020 Oh my God, American influence, American style, U.S. style, it would be the five alarm fire.

00:39:04.400 But these Democrats working hand in glove with Justin Trudeau, that was just a sign of how worldly and mature the liberals were.

00:39:12.720 Absolutely, you're absolutely right on that.

00:39:14.200 On my interview with Lauren Gunter about the resignation of Gerald Butts and the SNC-11 scandal, Liza writes,

00:39:21.320 So glad Lauren contributes.

00:39:22.580 I'm always interested in his take.

00:39:23.980 The plot thickens, and I sure would like for the truth to come out.

00:39:26.860 Yeah, literally every day there's more craziness.

00:39:29.940 In question period, I don't even know what's going on.

00:39:33.160 But I like it.

00:39:34.960 Because unlike the previous three and a half years, the media are actually, some media are actually hunting for the news.

00:39:42.040 They're showing a tiny bit of curiosity.

00:39:45.200 And I hate the globe, six days out of seven, but Lord, thunder, and Jesus, they're taking a run at Trudeau now.

00:39:53.500 At least Bob Fyfe, Steve Chase, and Sean Fine are.

00:39:56.260 I don't know about the rest of them, but those three are.

00:39:59.480 Wow, interesting days.

00:40:01.120 Now, folks, I'm going to be away tomorrow.

00:40:03.160 We will absolutely have a show on tomorrow.

00:40:06.460 It's going to be a guest host, my friend David Menzies.

00:40:10.700 And, oh, sorry, Sheila Gunn-Reed, is that right?

00:40:12.860 Who's the guest host?

00:40:14.200 It's Sheila Gunn-Reed.

00:40:15.220 I'm talking to the producer.

00:40:16.820 Sorry about that.

00:40:17.320 So, Sheila's coming on tomorrow. 0.69

00:40:18.620 I want you to watch it because Sheila's the best. 1.00

00:40:20.720 Why am I not here?

00:40:21.700 I am going to the United Kingdom because our friend Tommy Robinson is having a major reveal in Manchester

00:40:27.860 about the most incredible case of fake news I've ever seen in my life.

00:40:33.600 And I have seen some bad, bad, bad fake news.

00:40:37.300 So, I'm going there to Manchester to report.

00:40:41.660 And I'll also have a few other meetings while I'm there.

00:40:44.220 So, I will have news for you on Monday.

00:40:46.820 Please watch the show tomorrow when Sheila hosts.

00:40:50.620 And if you're interested in Tommy Robinson because you care about free speech or fake

00:40:54.980 news or things like that, I'll have lots to say when I return.

00:40:58.980 Until next time, on behalf of all of us here at Rebel World Headquarters, keep fighting for

00:41:03.900 freedom.

00:41:04.360 And by the way, helpmefindthethug.com.

00:41:07.860 Go to findthethug.com.

00:41:09.060 We got to stand up for these young rebels, don't you think?

00:41:12.060 See you later.

Rebel News Podcast - February 22, 2019

Three Rebel reporters assaulted in three weeks： Help us fight back

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