In this episode, The Daily Caller's own The DC Riot Squad joins us to talk about the ongoing protests and riots across the country, and how the media has been covering them for the past year and a half. We also discuss the latest in the Vice Presidential Debates and Vice President Mike Pence's response to them.
00:00:38.000you appropriate to refer to protests as protests.
00:00:43.000Well, because, you know, there's been a bit of violence.
00:00:46.000They don't want to call them riots, so the AP new guideline says to call it unrest.
00:00:51.000And a lot of people are kind of upset about it, they're saying that's ridiculous, just call them riots.
00:00:55.000I don't know, I actually kind of agree, because you can lump the protests and the riots together by calling it unrest and still call it riots when they're explicitly riots.
00:01:03.000Now, we're entering in the final stretch for the presidential debate.
00:01:27.000I think for once, y'all have listened to me talk way too much, because we have right now the DC Riot Squad, and I'll just let you guys introduce yourselves.
00:02:16.000Yeah, just been covering the civil unrest, you know, been on the field kind of, you know, providing the audience a real kind of an in-depth look at the riots.
00:02:25.000You know, most of the time when you're watching the news, they'll stay out there till like 7, 8 p.m.
00:02:29.000and then they'll go, you know, reporters go right back to their hotel and then you don't see what happens after that.
00:02:33.000I think a really good thing that we've done at The Caller is we've been able to provide you guys like the full story, you know, from the daytime, from, you know, after 8 into the late hours like 2 a.m.
00:02:42.000So I think we've done, you know, a really good job and so far it seems like Americans are really appreciating the coverage.
00:03:06.000And once all of the unrest started around the country, as the video director, I saw a real opportunity for our team to actually go to these protests and cover them authentically, you know, tell the full story, you know, talk to the the protesters, the rioters.
00:03:22.000Law enforcement, and also the people who are cleaning up the community the day afterwards.
00:03:27.000So really trying to tell the full story.
00:03:29.000Aren't you the guy who gave first aid to that dude in Kenosha?
00:04:14.000We're gonna- we're just gonna- we're just gonna talk about it.
00:04:16.000We got a bunch of- we got a big crew here.
00:04:19.000But I- I guess I'll put it this way, man.
00:04:22.000I got really angry today when I was reading about all of these stories that are desperate to claim Donald Trump refuses to denounce white supremacy.
00:04:31.000And so they do this clever trick where they're like, Donald Trump refuses to denounce white supremacy.
00:04:35.000Donald Trump tells Proud Boys stand back and stand by, creating like this manipulation in media where they're trying to make you think the Proud Boys are a white supremacist group.
00:04:43.000And so what I always say is like, look, man, the Proud Boys are a lot of things and you can criticize them, but they're not a white supremacist group.
00:04:48.000The media is desperate to play that up.
00:04:50.000So the first thing I want to ask, as the leftist narrative and the media narrative tends to be, that it's actually right-wing militias and right-wing groups that are starting all the violence.
00:05:07.000Is it really right-wing groups that are secretly starting all the riots?
00:05:11.000No, and I think a really good example of this, actually, a New York Times article just came out, I think it was today, and a photographer, I believe it was, wanted to go undercover to confirm that right-wing militias and extremists were starting this violence, and he actually found the exact opposite.
00:05:36.000Yeah, it came out today and I think we've seen that too, you know.
00:05:42.000You look at Portland, you look at Seattle, you look at some of these other areas that we've been to and it is very clearly not right-wing militias starting It's absurd to imply that.
00:05:54.000I mean, all you have to do is go out there later than 9 p.m., 10 p.m.
00:05:58.000and see it for yourself and talk to these people.
00:06:04.000They're definitely, you know, it's absurd to imply that.
00:06:08.000Like, it's crazy to me that you guys can pump out hours of videos every
00:06:12.000time you go to these places, but then you have low information.
00:06:16.000I guess I call them low information culture war belligerence.
00:06:19.000There are people who are online screaming like, we're right, you're wrong.
00:06:22.000It's actually right-wingers doing it, and I'm like, the only videos I see are like leftist black bloc people and Black Lives Matter going around throwing bricks and starting fires.
00:06:32.000Yet for some reason, you see all these people on Twitter.
00:06:34.000I wonder if it's just they know they're lying, and they have to.
00:06:37.000Because I mean, if they admitted what was really going on with left wing violence, they'd lose.
00:06:43.000It's like I think when people see an image of someone in like militia gear, they just automatically assume they're like a trumper or on the right.
00:06:51.000And like Shelby was saying, and actually, I was kind of in shock myself when we actually interviewed these people.
00:06:55.000These people are actually on the side of the protesters.
00:06:56.000They're not they're not even on the right at all.
00:06:59.000You mean like the Boogaloo Boys and stuff?
00:07:01.000So a lot of these folks are not even, you know, don't even consider themselves like Republicans.
00:07:04.000A lot of these folks consider themselves like Libertarians and kind of want to like, not, I don't want to say overthrow the system, but obviously want less laws and stuff like that.
00:07:12.000So that's one thing that, you know, me and Shelby kind of learned on the ground, you know, covering this stuff in, you know, different cities too.
00:07:17.000But I mean, that's referencing these instances where there have been Boogaloo Boys.
00:07:22.000I mean, for the most part, it's just black block, far-left people, right?
00:07:25.000Like most of the places you've been to?
00:07:26.000Yeah, I mean, Richie and I went to Seattle for CHAZ, the Autonomous Zone, and that was definitely not right-wing people, I would say, but, you know, everyone had guns there, and everyone, it was...
00:08:51.000Yeah, I mean, actually to be fair though, while we were in the Chaz, Shelby and I did film a video of a couple of Proud Boys, four Proud Boys, beating up a guy pretty badly.
00:09:33.000And actually, a couple of the Proud Boys were armed, and at one point in the video, it looks like the guy who's getting beaten actually is leaning for the gun.
00:09:40.000And that's the kind of situation where I'm looking like, do I have to form-tackle Shelby, and are we going to hit the deck here?
00:09:47.000As the Proud Boys are basically the biggest story right now, I can't believe Joe Biden decided to shout that out at the bait because I immediately got messages from friends.
00:10:11.000So let me ask you guys, out of all of the riots you've been to, You mentioned, you know, in the Chazz shop, whatever, there was an instance where the Proud Boys beat some dude pretty bad.
00:10:21.000Has there been anything else you've seen across the country?
00:10:24.000I mean, like, not like the... Well, yeah, actually, just... You guys can answer.
00:10:29.000That, I think, is the only example that we've seen of the Proud Boys really inserting themselves into a situation like that.
00:10:41.000I mean, Richie went to a Proud Boys rally last weekend, and I think the police did a pretty good job of keeping... Was there even, like, Antifa there?
00:10:51.000Well, there were actually there was a counter protest, which actually was much, much larger by a magnitude of at least five.
00:10:57.000Which was just a couple of miles away, but it was a really big park.
00:11:00.000And so unlike there wasn't there was a kind of a Proud Boys rally downtown in August, which got pretty violent, which we weren't present for.
00:11:07.000But that was where Antifa and the Proud Boys, whatever, the prayer group, they were clashing.
00:11:12.000Was that Patriot Prayer or was that really Proud Boys?
00:11:41.000I mean, obviously there's no credentials that say Antifa.
00:11:43.000So I'm not sure of the validity on that, but there was a small.
00:11:46.000Commentation, but I'd say other than those two instances.
00:11:49.000No, we haven't seen anything or Sorry, that was that was even I would say like that was a proud boys rally so it wasn't an example of the proud boys, you know going into a protest or a riot and trying to You know change the direction of things or even start a riot.
00:12:07.000Yeah, and Yeah, so... I mean, even the main thing, the reason why the Provos are even coming up again is because the violence has gotten so bad in these cities.
00:12:15.000Now, this is not me saying this, this is from folks that I've interviewed in the Provos.
00:12:18.000What they've told me is just, you know, the violence is getting so bad in the cities, they feel like they have to come in there and, like, restore law and order, or at least show other Americans, hey, you know, we stand with law and order.
00:12:28.000We, you know, we want to, we want, you know, this to be restored to how it was.
00:12:32.000So that's the big thing that I've been picking up is they feel like they got to come in and kind of, you know, just, you know, just restore something back.
00:12:39.000Well, they declared victory in Portland.
00:12:42.000So I mean, first of all, we should probably describe what the Proud Boys are because like we're sitting here acting like I can straight up say nobody knows who the Proud Boys are.
00:12:50.000Joe Biden brings them up and then I'm just operating under the assumption everybody's listening.
00:13:08.000I know the first... So basically, to join the Proud Boys, first there's like, you go to a chapter, and you make an announcement that you're not going to apologize for creating the Western world, something to that effect.
00:13:19.000The second degree, I think, is that you get beat up, they punch you, while you name five breakfast cereals.
00:13:26.000It's because it was a joke, it wasn't a real, like, you know what I mean?
00:13:29.000Like, this is not an actual, like, gang or something, whatever.
00:13:34.000So then, I don't know what the third one is.
00:13:36.000It might be getting a tattoo or something.
00:13:37.000But then I remember the fourth degree, like the highest rank or whatever, was getting into a fight defending Western values.
00:13:45.000So there was actually a component where if they went out and Antifa started a fight and they fought somebody, then they got a rank up or something.
00:13:52.000So, they've been... The media likes to vary, like, they give no favors to the Proud Boys.
00:13:58.000They give favors all day, at least in my experience, to Antifa.
00:14:01.000Like, Antifa doesn't exist, it's just an idea.
00:14:03.000And then you get the Proud Boys, and it's like, well, they're far-right extremists, neo-Nazi white supremacists, alt-right white nationalists, like every name in the book.
00:14:09.000They endorse violence, and they're hunting people down.
00:14:11.000In fact, they're responsible for all of the violence.
00:14:14.000Like, I was reading CBS today, and they said, the Proud Boys, comma, a white supremacist group, comma, and I'm like, That's just ridiculous.
00:14:21.000Like, you gotta get your facts straight, man.
00:14:24.000And this is what really, I hope it's clear to everybody listening, like, if you guys have no problem saying, oh man, the Proud Boys beat up some guy really bad, like, you're giving us the honest take.
00:14:34.000You're not protecting any of these people.
00:14:36.000But the reality is, I don't see far-right groups starting riots for the past 110, 120 days.
00:14:43.000But how is that, that narrative exists for some reason?
00:14:54.000For me, it's like a huge media creation.
00:14:57.000It's like like I was like we were speaking before the show started is for them to be brought up at a presidential debate.
00:15:03.000To me, it was really disappointing because it's like we're in the middle of a pandemic.
00:15:07.000People are literally trying to put food on the table.
00:15:08.000People are wondering if we're getting a stimulus check.
00:15:11.000And we're talking about the problem is like, you know, like I said, if you're in Michigan or Pennsylvania and you're an undecided voter, if there are any undecided voters still, You're just wondering, like, how does this even affect my life?
00:16:05.000And in other cities, like Portland, for example.
00:16:08.000But they're flying Black Lives Matter flags in Portland.
00:16:11.000Yeah, there's a combination there as well, but I'd say in terms of the organization of the tactics and stuff like that, like when we were in Portland, you know, the BLM activists would come up and take the stage right around sunset and they'd say, I'm not going near that fence.
00:16:24.000You know, I'm just, I'm here to demonstrate.
00:16:26.000And when we come in near that fence and they come out and when we're violent, I can rag on the media forever.
00:16:30.000here, then that defeats the whole purpose of what we're doing.
00:17:10.000What do you guys think like you're the only ones down there?
00:17:12.000I think part of it is because The media is a really like these protesters and riders do not like the media So if you come in with a big camera and a legitimate crew the chances that you get Forcibly pushed out are high.
00:17:30.000We've seen it multiple times before and so what we do is we go in much more low-key with literally our cell phones and And the difference is that a lot of these outlets will say, OK, you know what?
00:17:56.000And I think that's that's the other issue I have with a lot of people in the media is that they say that, you know, conservatives are are overblowing the violence.
00:18:04.000But when it's happening night after night in multiple cities, it's part of the story.
00:18:08.000And then, you know, even on my very first night, you know, ever actually reporting for Daily Caller on the job, I believe it was, uh, that it was like May 29th and the White House goes on lockdown.
00:18:20.000And it was like, I believe it was like 12, 15.
00:19:16.000Then the next morning I woke up to like, you know, Fox playing it, Tucker wanted it.
00:19:20.000But right there, that was my first experience saying, wait, you know, this game is different now because, you know, I went to school where, you know, I majored in broadcast journalism, like the old school style where like, when you go report a story, you dress nice.
00:19:45.000And right there at that first night, how, like Shelby said, is we kind of learned, like, hey, we can't, we can't approach this, you know, how we used to.
00:19:51.000Aren't you mad that you wasted all that money?
00:21:04.000And and I One or two protesters were actually trying to calm the situation down.
00:21:10.000I showed them, like, my bio, I showed them, you know, my Twitter to show them, you know, who I was, and one of them was like, yeah, okay, she is who she says she is, and they were like, delete the footage, stop filming, and I, you know, am Irish Catholic, like, short-tempered.
00:21:32.000You know, if you tell me to do something I'm probably just gonna do the exact opposite.
00:21:37.000So I, well I stayed because it was sort of, I also knew that a lot of media will just
00:21:43.000leave and I feel like that's really wrong and you can't let, you know, this is my job
00:21:49.000and you can't be bullied into something and so they started pushing me around, shoving
00:21:54.000me, one of the girls grabbed my phone, she was on the ground, like with her, I think
00:21:58.000one of my coworkers was like prying her fingers off of my phone and I got shoved into the
00:22:03.000police line actually and the police pulled me through and then they handcuffed me.
00:22:09.000You guys have like special phones when you go down that like?
00:23:56.000And all of a sudden now, to see people who normally have never tweeted about it, like, sounding just like these other left-wing journalists, It's a legitimate- I'm not trying to disrespect anybody.
00:24:04.000I'm saying like, now we're seeing conservatives be like, whoa!
00:24:07.000And then my reaction was like, you know what man, look.
00:24:20.000But when your guys' boss called them up and said, yeah, they're reporters and the police refused to cut you loose, that's when I was like, now that's some BS.
00:24:30.000You can make a mistake and I'm willing to be like, well, fine, mistakes happen.
00:24:35.000You guys want to tell a story about what went down when you got arrested covering the Antifa riots?
00:24:40.000Yeah, well, I think Shelby should start because her starting point is a little bit more interesting than mine because she was like a block away from the police shooting, right Shelby?
00:24:48.000Yeah, so, well, earlier in that night, two police officers had been shot.
00:25:08.000I had just recorded, the chief of police had done an update, you know, the two officers were alive and one was in surgery.
00:25:18.000And then I headed back to the protest area.
00:25:21.000And it was, you know, after curfew, but press are exempt from the curfew and exempt from unlawful assemblies because, you know, it's news and this is our job.
00:25:31.000And there was a really long line of police officers and sort of a scattered protester crowd.
00:25:37.000And the police were telling them to disperse.
00:25:39.000And after, I want to say, 10-15 minutes, they did appear to be leaving.
00:25:47.000Some of them went left, some of them went right, and that's when the police just came from all sides.
00:25:55.000And I just started recording and apparently one of the police officers said that we were running from the police.
00:26:01.000And I have a video of me literally just standing walking around in a circle like police are corralling everyone in and then yeah the kettle and then we were told to get on the ground and I recorded that too so I got on the ground they were like put your Real quick, she got a watermark on the video as she was getting arrested.
00:26:21.000So that's, yeah, that's somebody you want working for you.
00:26:24.000I was told that we have to have watermarks on our videos.
00:26:28.000So I, you know, in the video you can see I'm saying, you know, we're press, we're press.
00:26:33.000And we, the first big issue was that we didn't have press credentials on us.
00:26:38.000And so I knew that we were likely going to be taken in, but I also knew, or I assumed, because I had already told my boss and everyone who worked at The Caller I knew that they were calling already to get us out and so I I assumed we were not even going to be processed because it was very clear like Jeff, our editor-in-chief, you know provided ample evidence that we were who we said we were and
00:27:04.000I ended up getting processed, getting charged with two misdemeanors, unlawful assembly and failure to disperse, and I was held for 16 hours.
00:27:12.000And then you got arrested at the same time?
00:27:20.000My arresting officer was like, he actually believed that I was pressed, like I had a little press thing on me.
00:27:25.000And he was like at least trying to he was at least trying to talk to his officers on what to do with me But he at the end of day, you know, it wasn't his call.
00:27:31.000He then we get into the Until like we're about to get processed or like chained up with everyone He then like a sergeant or like a chief like a higher-up comes into that that section and says, you know, he yells my name Jorge Ventura and I said, you know, I raised my hand and he brought me over he says hey I'm on the phone with your editor-in-chief.
00:27:51.000You are accredited media or even sir and your partner, you know, he says Shelby's name And he says, just hold on one sec.
00:27:57.000So when he walks back, so for me, I was already doing like a celebration dance.
00:28:39.000A third reporter, Drew Hernandez, was also arrested and I had been already, at this point, when I saw him come through, I had been chained.
00:28:48.000They had us chained up literally like dogs.
00:28:57.000There was a chain link line with like multiple handcuffs and we were all just handcuffed next to each other on the same chain for like two and a half hours.
00:29:11.000And Drew walked by and mouthed to me that someone was on the phone.
00:29:15.000So he must have been right next to Jorge.
00:29:17.000And so I assumed at that point that I was getting released.
00:29:20.000So then and shortly after the female officer who had arrested me came and and uncuffed me and and two girls next to me started cursing at me asking me, you know, white privilege.
00:29:43.000And they went Crazy and then I ended up being in the cell with one of them I can only imagine being chained to those people is like the scene from dumb and dumber Where I don't you have you seen this am I too old?
00:29:59.000Where yeah, like the dudes in the middle of Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels and they're going It was a mixed bag.
00:30:26.000Well, I was zip-tied and handcuffed with one handcuff and the girl behind me was using the other handcuff and she was like six inches taller than me.
00:30:35.000So my like shoulder was like it was yeah.
00:30:59.000But before, when we were chained up, I still had my phone.
00:31:01.000So I was taking pictures and using my phone.
00:31:04.000And I would look at Chubb and she was just like...
00:31:08.000Were you like in the same holding cell?
00:31:10.000So when first before they processed everyone they arrested over a hundred people that night so they were like a mess so we were like there was one line of people chained up that were females another line were females another line of men And then once we got processed, we went into holding cells and that was separated.
00:31:28.000My holding cell was like off in a corner so we couldn't even see the men.
00:31:31.000I think you guys were across from another female holding cell.
00:32:11.000And I would just be like, look man, I've been arrested, I think, off the top of my head I can remember two instances, but I've never been processed.
00:32:22.000Louis, I got arrested, and this is really, really annoying to me that there's like, it doesn't matter what political faction people are involved in, they don't understand what arrest means.
00:32:31.000So, I literally had an officer say, you are under arrest.
00:33:15.000The cops surround everybody in this little space that I was in.
00:33:18.000And so the first thing I did was I went to the far edge of where the police, like, were lined up.
00:33:24.000So I was, like, literally standing next to the cop and staying away from the people screaming.
00:33:28.000And then I just asked one guy for a supervisor, and they, like, wouldn't really give me any attention because they're, like, standing with their batons out.
00:33:34.000And then someone, like, finally, one of the cops nods, and then, like, you know, I guess whispers somebody, The lieutenant comes over, and I was like, I'm holding my press card, I just wanted to let you know I'm press.
00:33:42.000And he goes, don't care, everybody here, you're under arrest, you are not free to go, and that's just what's happening.
00:33:46.000And I was like, dude, dude, I know, I know.
00:33:48.000Just letting you know, that's all I'm saying.
00:33:50.000And so then finally, he comes back over, and there was like a news crew, it was like an NBC crew, and they had a camera.
00:33:56.000And he looked at him and he fingered, you know, come over here.
00:33:59.000And then the cops move out of the way.
00:34:02.000And then I immediately like pop up behind him and I hold up my card and the guy looks at me and he fans me over.
00:34:06.000And then he was like, show me your press cards.
00:34:09.000And they pulled out a small handful of the journalists.
00:34:12.000A couple of the journalists that were in there were screaming at the top of their lungs at the cops, you mother effer, I'm effing press, what gives you the right?
00:34:22.000I was sitting there with my hands up, just chilling, and I was like, the cop that was next to me was agitated and looking, and whenever I was doing something, I'd let him know, I'm just gonna go in my bag, grab my cell phone, just want you to know, he nods.
00:34:35.000Because he doesn't know what these people are doing, so I'm trying to be very careful of that.
00:34:39.000But so I've never been, I say this because I've never been actually brought down to the station with these people, and I'm eternally grateful, because I'll tell you what.
00:34:46.000I've been arrested for skateboarding before, and I got charged.
00:34:49.000They wanted to get me on a felony, which is like just ridiculous over the top.
00:34:53.000He was riding his skateboarding down in Chicago, so we're gonna throw the book at him.
00:34:57.000Ultimately, the judge like got really angry, because they ended up giving me a misdemeanor.
00:35:01.000But the judge got super angry when he found out.
00:35:03.000So I'm sitting, when I got arrested, I got put in this concrete block.
00:35:26.000But I tell you what, man, if you put a couple hundred like Antifa leftists singing Kumbaya, I'd probably bash my skull against the wall and that'd be the end.
00:35:33.000I will say I think that I did much better with these people in with me.
00:35:40.000Granted they didn't know where I worked because I was genuinely afraid of saying where I worked so they asked me and I said I was a freelancer and then they asked me who I was freelancing for and I said I'm just freelancing for Yeah, you just say, well, we, we, we just, we just sell it afterwards.
00:36:39.000But I will say, actually, I think that Louisville was more BLM focused than Antifa focused.
00:36:48.000That was one of the cities, you know, compared to Portland, I would say is more Antifa focused.
00:36:53.000So was the message was a lot clearer in Louisville than in some other cities where I feel like they're just destroying things for no reason.
00:37:32.000Well, she said she didn't, but I don't know.
00:37:35.000But some of them, you know, seemed like they really were against, you know, violent protests.
00:37:42.000They were, you know, more for peaceful stuff.
00:37:46.000And they did have, you know, legitimate stories and messages to share.
00:37:50.000So that was interesting because it was it sort of opened up my eyes to a different side of the protests that you don't see as much and they don't really give you the ability to see because they don't like media and they don't like press.
00:38:05.000And it also opened my eyes to just how bad jail is.
00:41:52.000If you tell me that somebody got shot and they shouldn't have, let's talk about it because cops should not be executing people if it is a murder.
00:41:59.000If it's the instance where it's like, a fight breaks out and someone's struggling with cops, like, I don't know what we're supposed to do, you know what I mean?
00:42:06.000Like, he was fighting with cops, he had a knife, and he was apparently, you know, stealing the woman's car on a felony warrant, and she was yelling, according to the lawyer, He's got my kids, he's got my keys, and so what's a cop supposed to- how's a cop supposed to respond to this guy who's wanted on a felony warrant doing these things?
00:42:23.000The problem I see is, I got no problem sitting down with a Trump-supporting conservative who's like, you know, yelling, blue lives matter, and we gotta respect the cops.
00:42:30.000I'm gonna be like, I absolutely agree.
00:42:33.000For a society to function, cops gotta be able to make arrests, even if sometimes they make mistakes.
00:42:37.000It can be really annoying, but you deal with the process after the fact, and you don't fight with them.
00:42:43.000But then the other side is like, burn it all down, destroy, you know, abolish police, defund police.
00:42:48.000And it's like, it's so far removed from a reasonable approach to how we deal with it.
00:45:01.000So, so, uh, when you mentioned you wouldn't recommend it, I, I agree.
00:45:07.000Don't go to jail, but there is something to like, we're too comfortable, you know, like young, young people in this country don't understand how bad things could be.
00:45:18.000And that includes many of these protesters who are like, burn it all down, defund this, abolish this.
00:45:25.000Cause I know like there are regular people who just are angry about police brutality and stuff, though.
00:45:29.000I think they're being manipulated for sure.
00:45:32.000These people have never experienced real hardship.
00:45:34.000That's why it's funny to me when like, you mentioned that some of the women are crying and some of them are just like, well, this is what's happening.
00:45:40.000I'd be willing to bet the women who are like, this is what's happening, are the people who have actually experienced something hard and they've been toughened up and they understand, you're going to be okay.
00:45:49.000You don't need to worry about this stuff.
00:45:51.000So like, I remember when, you know, every time I've been arrested more than once, I just like, all right, you know, I'm not gonna die in a jail cell.
00:46:09.000But there are many circumstances I've been in where you can clearly tell people who are wads of cookie dough, who are marshmallows, and the people who have actually experienced real hardship.
00:46:43.000So I had been covering civil unrest, riots.
00:46:47.000When I say civil unrest, I mean like borderline revolution.
00:46:49.000I mean that in a literal sense, not just like, we're not going to call protestors protestors.
00:46:52.000So I've covered protests, unrest, like actual revolution, and rioting.
00:46:57.000And so when I started working for the ABC News company, they were like, everybody's got to have hostile environment training.
00:47:03.000And I was like, I should be giving the training, because I've been doing this, you know, for X many years, and most of these people, like, even the people who are doing the training don't have the most up-to-date understanding of the modern technology and what's going on.
00:47:15.000And, you know, I got a whisper, a wink-wink, it's the insurance company, dude, like...
00:47:21.000Insurance company wants all the reporters to have special training, but I tell you what man when we were doing the training they paired me up with a Former marine fresh out of the Marines and we they could not get us So like the way these trainings work is like they have fake landmines, you know So they're like they put these things in the ground that are hidden and when you step on it It sprays, you know ink or something and they're like, oh you got landmine and there are a bunch of scenarios where they try and get you and And it was a lot of fun.
00:49:04.000So anyway, I bring that up just because when you're on the ground, and you guys probably know this too, you can see, when you see journalists or whatever, which one of them has actually got experience, and which ones are the local desk reporter who was asked to go out and film this stuff.
00:49:19.000Because I'll tell you what, man, when I was in Ferguson, there's a couple things I love.
00:49:23.000Two instances in Ferguson where gunshots are ringing out, And I'm on the deck, and then I look up and I see one of these local reporters going, are those fireworks?
00:49:33.000And then one of my favorite all-time blunders is from CNN, when they were in Ferguson and the gunshots go off, and it's this woman, and she goes, what, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, and she's just like waving her arms, and like, I'm like, stop standing there waving your arms, they're shooting bullets, get on the ground, and then she just like hobbles over like behind a building, and I'm like, The first shots that went off when I was in Ferguson, I was standing by one of the shops in the parking lot, and we heard a shot, and then I heard another shot, and I immediately just dove.
00:50:31.000But then it is really weird that you see like, like especially with you guys in Kenosha, because all the footage out of Kenosha, you don't see any reporters anywhere.
00:50:38.000It's just literally people running around and all this chaos, right?
00:50:42.000So let's, you guys want to talk about what went down in Kenosha and your experience with that stuff?
00:50:50.000Well, one thing I wanted to kind of mention too, Tim, is not also, like, we know when we're in Kenosha, we're like, obviously, we're, you know, running around covering all the crazy stuff, but also taking the time the next morning and, like, actually speaking to the business owners who were, like, affected.
00:51:05.000Even, because, like, when I was going down, I think I woke up at, like, 7.30, hit the streets by, like, 8, and was interviewing the business owners.
00:51:11.000I didn't even see local news like talking to these folks and a lot of these folks this is like their whole livelihood is destroyed you know and I think that's a another big mistake is that news is not making is like taking the time to tell the stories of the people who were like affected.
00:51:24.000Yeah it's it's been I mean insane like I think when uh the night of the I mean show you guys were actually right there I think you guys should should tell your side of the of your Kenosha story because you guys were in the midst of it.
00:51:36.000The shooting happened the second night the first night was when everything burned down so So the first night, uh, these people burned down, I mean, entire streets.
00:51:50.000Um, it was the, probably the worst destruction I've seen covering riots.
00:51:55.000Yeah, because we didn't see anything like that because they basically, you know, attacked that courthouse and then when they got back, you know, once, once they got back there from the courthouse, They just ran rapid on Kenosha.
00:52:28.000I think that's a good place to start the story at night of though because what happened was we all got pushed out from outside the courthouse around the fence and all the protesters were pushed out to the park and then a block beyond which is where that car dealership was burned out that everybody saw on the first and second night.
00:52:45.000Massive car fires, but across the street from there Shelby and I encountered Some individuals who were working for that business who had power washers and they're trying to put out the car fires That was on the second night.
00:52:56.000The shooting happened on the third night.
00:52:58.000So I went in to get Wi-Fi at the Hotel and I saw on Twitter that there were armed
00:53:02.000individuals and You guys were still out there and I saw that
00:53:07.000Those videos and those photos of the armed individuals in front of the same business that we had just seen the guy
00:53:12.000with the power washer The previous night because the fire department was nowhere
00:53:17.000to be seen and so that's why I went out Thinking well, there's a story right there
00:53:22.000You know Why are these armed individuals here and that was actually
00:53:25.000I arrived there 15 minutes before the shooting and that's when I interviewed Kyle
00:53:30.000Rittenhouse so it was just that short a period what happened? Well, basically I was just walking
00:53:36.000Towards that business and I saw at least three armed individuals on the ground and then like three up top as well and it was really dark up on the top of the building, which is a little bit intimidating when you know these guys are armed and you can't even really make out what they're holding or what they're doing.
00:53:51.000But I just said very loudly, are any of you guys willing to do an interview?
00:53:55.000Because again, we're trying to interview the full story here.
00:53:58.000So not only the protesters, not only the rioters, the unrestors, the cops, but also the people who are there, whatever, to defend the small business or whatever they were doing.
00:54:10.000And basically interviewed him for three minutes.
00:54:14.000And then he mentioned that he was a trained medic.
00:54:17.000He mentioned that he was there to protect the small business that he was standing in front of.
00:54:21.000And then he said, with one other armed individual, he said, we're going to go out and see if any of the protesters who have just been cleared out need medical attention.
00:55:11.000And in hindsight, it wasn't very smart to walk along with him.
00:55:14.000But, you know, I basically was I was wondering what these people, why they were mad at him, why they were yelling at him as he was asking if anybody needed medical.
00:55:23.000And actually four individuals shouted something like, we remember you from earlier.
00:55:27.000And that's actually when I parted ways with him after the interview, because I wanted to get their story.
00:55:32.000I wanted to hear why they were mad at Kyle.
00:55:35.000And so I walked over to those individuals, and you can see in the video it's this guy with bright yellow pants.
00:55:40.000And they were not happy about me recording, so I turned my phone off.
00:55:44.000I went with my go-to of pulling out a white claw to diffuse the situation and offering it up.
00:55:49.000And I talked with them for a couple of minutes and just asked them why they were mad.
00:55:53.000They mentioned a confrontation with him when they were jumping on some cars earlier.
00:55:57.000But clearly they recognized him from earlier, and they were very mad about it.
00:56:01.000And the only thing that stuck out to me was that Kyle, you know, you can see on the video actually as I'm walking behind him, he kind of looks at them, smiles and walks away.
00:56:08.000And I don't know if we've been to enough of these for me to know, for us to know that that stuff can descend into chaos pretty quickly.
00:56:14.000And that's actually after I finished speaking with them is when I saw Kyle running with fire extinguisher in one hand and the gun in the other.
00:56:55.000And I told Shelby, oh, swear word, I gotta go.
00:57:00.000And that's immediately when Rosenbaum started to pursue Rittenhouse.
00:57:04.000And you can see on the video what happened from there.
00:57:06.000But basically Rittenhouse sees him advancing and like does a juke and runs into the direction of the car lot where the shooting eventually took place.
00:57:13.000And me being a dumb idiot, who lectured Shelby about not getting into unsafe situations, ran after Rosenbaum, who was running after Rittenhouse.
00:57:23.000And that's when there was a pop that went off.
00:57:28.000At the time, there were so many fireworks and flashbangs going off that it wasn't clear to me what it was at the time, but what was clear is that the moment that went off, Kyle stops and turns around.
00:57:39.000And we were both trailing him and at that point he had his gun pointed 45 degrees at the ground and Rosenbaum was advancing at him still and there wasn't much distance so it was only a matter of a second or two from when he stopped to when Rosenbaum was on top of him and that's when basically Rosenbaum lunged for the front portion of Rittenhouse's gun.
00:58:00.000He shouted something that I also can't say without swearing but you can see on the video what he said right before he lunged and Did he make physical contact with Rittenhouse's gun?
00:58:11.000They were extremely, extremely close, but he didn't, and Rittenhouse actually dodged with the rifle around his lunge.
00:58:18.000And I only know that because my focus, the moment that he turned around, went onto the barrel of his gun.
00:58:24.000Because I realized that I was now in the crossfire of whatever was about to go down, and actually when he swung the rifle to his left, my right, My first instinct was to go to my left, but I realized that's where Rosenbaum was, and that his rifle was going to return to there.
00:58:39.000So I actually stepped in the direction where he swung it.
00:58:42.000And that's, you know, basically right as he swung it back is when Rosenbaum was falling forward.
00:58:48.000He fired what I thought were three or four shots.
01:00:13.000And this guy had life-threatening wounds.
01:00:15.000So it was literally right across the street, and from the moment the shooting happened to the moment that we got to the hospital, because I've looked on my phone from the calls that I made when I got to the hospital, that was about six minutes.
01:00:59.000And it was only once he hit the side of my face that I realized it was a punch.
01:01:03.000And I turned and gave like, as I'm getting into the back of the car, like a little brother kind of kick, you know, me on the middle of three boys.
01:01:54.000So they identified the guy who fired first, right?
01:01:58.000So what triggered Kyle to turn around?
01:02:01.000They say this is the guy, he's holding the gun, and at first, people were reporting New York Times that he fired into the air.
01:02:08.000But when you actually watch the video slowed down, it doesn't look like he fired in the air, it looks like he was shooting at...
01:02:13.000Kyle or presumably Kyle, but that there were, I think, three more shots not from Kyle after he shot Rosenbaum, and it was reported that one of the hits to Rosenbaum went in his back.
01:02:28.000Was this because Rosenbaum was spun around somehow?
01:02:32.000Or do you think maybe he got shot by somebody else?
01:02:36.000Based on what I saw, Rosenbaum was falling forward as he lunged, and I do remember the sensation of something going past my legs, and it's not clear now, looking afterwards, when exactly that took place, because all the shots were such rapid succession, but with respect to where Rosenbaum was hit, As he was falling forwards, it would make sense that actually he could have been hit there by Rittenhouse.
01:03:03.000Because he was falling forwards and then his head goes down.
01:03:05.000And for me, it was like one of those, it's like that in the movie Snatch, like you always think, you know, like when you're in a dangerous situation, you might die, you'll do something heroic.
01:03:45.000I mean, you can see in the video, he fires that first shot, second shot.
01:03:48.000And I think just because of the momentum that Rosenbaum had, that the moment that he got
01:03:52.000hit, that just that momentum continued to carry him forward.
01:03:55.000And you can see he landed right on his face.
01:03:57.000And so that's consistent with the fact that he lunged for the front portion of the run.
01:04:02.000So, I'll ask more about the other guys in Kenosha, but you guys were there.
01:04:07.000And I don't know to what extent you witnessed everything beforehand, but would you consider
01:04:10.000Consider what Kyle did to be self-defense.
01:04:14.000I definitely can't comment on that, because my role in this situation is, I'm a witness, and... I see.
01:04:22.000All I can say is what I saw, and I saw Rosenbaum reach for the front portion of that gun, and I saw Rittenhouse dodge it and shoot.
01:04:33.000Now, I'm not going to comment on the laws in Wisconsin, what constitutes self-defense, I'm not a lawyer, I'm a video director, but I saw what I saw.
01:04:45.000from very close range and like I said given how focused I was on where the rifle was going
01:04:51.000it was that was very very clear. Can you talk about the charges on Kyle Little?
01:05:03.000You know, I don't want to... I'm also... Because you're a witness, I don't want to... If it's too much, like, you know, we'll just... Well, just let me know.
01:05:43.000I mean, I'm sorry to be graphic for people that are listening, but You can see in the video, the meat of his arm vaporized.
01:05:51.000I'm not kidding, like it turns into dust.
01:05:53.000I cannot believe he didn't lose his arm.
01:05:55.000And the bones were broken in there too, I mean it was... Wow.
01:05:58.000So did you guys see, were you guys there when then Kyle ran and like what happened next?
01:06:02.000So I was right across the street during that whole thing so as soon as the shots rang out Earlier you were talking about dumb people who like don't go to the ground.
01:06:10.000Yeah, so I ran towards the gunshots Wow because I was genuinely worried that Richie, who is not just my co-worker but my friend, was shot and so I was like, I don't know what I would have done if he was shot but, you know, I needed to make sure that the team was okay.
01:06:33.000And as I was, I ran across the street, I have, I think I got video of it actually, Kyle's running right past me and there's people chasing him saying, You know, he's a shooter.
01:07:33.000And I realized after a few seconds that it was Richie.
01:07:36.000And so I was like, okay, you know, and at this point there was sort of a crowd gathering around the body, which is never helpful when you're trying to move a body.
01:07:47.000So I stayed pretty close, like right behind.
01:07:52.000But at one point I think as they were trying to get get him down The the driveway of the hospital people weren't moving and I remember screaming like move What are you doing?
01:08:06.000Like get out of the way this car can't drive and it was so chaotic and it just makes the situation so much worse and then I uh you know Richie went to the hospital and I sort of was just roaming the street not the you know like what just happened and then more shots rang out and at that point I just dove behind a car with
01:08:31.000like two other random people and as we're sitting there firecrackers go off right behind us and all three of us jumped so high in the air because like and this one guy I remember just curses at nobody like who's who's throwing fireworks right now like are you kidding me um and that those second round of gunshots we heard was the was the Second shooting which was just up the block and I thought it was really crazy that it took Both of these shootings must have happened.
01:09:01.000It probably took total seven or eight minutes Maybe less but police officers were down the street because they had been out all night pushing the protesters and the riders back and I just was shocked that it took them so long after the first round of gunshots to get there because that seems like a long time they're two blocks away.
01:09:24.000There was a lot of confusion too because I was about three blocks and the shots go off and I was with another reporter named Caitlin I just looked at him and said, we're running to the hotel.
01:09:33.000So we ran to the hotel and I looked at Ken and said, let's wait 20 minutes and let's get back on the scene.
01:09:38.000So when you heard the first shots, you went to the hotel?
01:09:40.000I just ran because I was already headed.
01:11:21.000And so we've been covering that since the beginning.
01:11:23.000But I think the difference here is that In this election year, everything is being polarized and cast into one narrative box or another.
01:11:34.000And so I think the vacuum that exists now in terms of people being unwilling to cover the protests, honestly, is much bigger than it was in the past.
01:11:47.000after the inauguration and then like Charlottesville and all that stuff, I think there was there was no shortage of coverage of those events.
01:11:55.000And that hasn't been the case in the past six months.
01:11:59.000So I think that the opportunity that our team has to actually go there and really show what's happening is greater now because it's more important now.
01:12:14.000And I think that that was not the case in protests leading up to this summer.
01:12:19.000They become incredibly aware of the fact that if crimes are perpetrated, all the people who are there who are oppressed are going to be the ones who get them in trouble.
01:12:28.000So they've known this for a long time, but they've just now like it wasn't.
01:12:34.000When you go to one of these unrests, whatever you want to call it, and I do think it's fair to draw the distinction between a protest, unrest, and riot, because unrest might have some clashes with cops, but they're not burning things down, and a protest is people waving little signs and singing Kumbaya, and then a riot is just wanton destruction and everything.
01:12:51.000But for the longest time they would say don't let anyone film because you'll get you'll get arrested use it as
01:12:56.000evidence Now they really know now they've been active in organizing
01:13:00.000But I but just just to clarify too is this like the first time you've been covering riots and protest and stuff
01:13:05.000yeah, I mean I when I traveled as a professional tennis player I
01:13:09.000There was what year was it where the with the Taksim Square in Istanbul? Oh
01:13:23.000But I was very much, because I always wanted to do sort of this field correspondence.
01:13:29.000I studied journalism in college, and so when I would go to these places, if there was something interesting going on, I would go just more for myself, you know, just to check it out.
01:13:40.000And so I did do that, but really These were my first.
01:13:46.000I tried in 2019 when I first got to the collar and there were some issues because I was a female.
01:14:20.000But I think you can't blanket, you know, all females cannot do this stuff.
01:14:26.000I think also, so Tahrir Square, I was actually there in December of 2010, because I was studying Arabic in college, and I lived in Jordan.
01:14:33.000And that was right before the Arab Spring started.
01:14:37.000There as a female in a public place like that, I actually think Shelby being on the ground at these riots actually is much less threatening than Jorge or I. And as a result, she's able to blend in a lot more.
01:15:14.000I mean, I have to give credit to the caller because if you really want to do something and you can prove that you're capable of doing it, The freedom there is, you know, it's an amazing place to start your career.
01:18:27.000I think it's, you know, it's not a good president for our country to be in.
01:18:31.000We'll, you know, we'll see what happens.
01:18:32.000But I mean, when we have the destruction that we're seeing, you're going to have a portion of people who feel like they are not protected and they have to do something for the community.
01:18:41.000And we're going to continue to see that until, you know, we see some type of, you know, law and order restored, you know, hopefully coming into this new year with this election.
01:18:53.000Yeah, well, what I think is that what I've noticed is an ongoing theme from across all these protests, and we were talking about this yesterday, is that the individuals who are out there, everybody has a cause, right?
01:19:06.000And the ones who are actually engaging in the violence are perhaps the most lost in terms of how much they're putting into it and how much they hate, for example, law enforcement.
01:19:18.000So what we saw in Kenosha was Basically, two different sides that had causes that they really believed in.
01:19:27.000And in a situation where there's no law enforcement, well, they were close, but clearly they weren't doing their normal jobs.
01:19:46.000Well, I think that actually comparing DC's riot control to Kenosha, I mean, DC is literally they're babysitting that crowd the entire time that they're out marching.
01:19:57.000And there's a little bit of irony there that, you know, the cops are stopping the traffic for the protesters who want to stop the traffic to keep them safe.
01:20:04.000But in Kenosha, that was not the case.
01:21:31.000So what does that mean for small towns, towns like Kenosha, where law enforcement isn't getting the job done, where we see these district attorneys not prosecuting?
01:22:24.000What happens when there's a small town in, I don't know, Pennsylvania?
01:22:28.000You know, maybe it's a town of like 30,000 people, so it's not, you know, the biggest town, but it's 30,000 people.
01:22:33.000And what happens when the rioters show up, and then some dude hands a handgun, like, laws be damned, we're not gonna burn, take this weapon, and that person's never fired before.
01:22:44.000It's it's you know, we can talk about the laws and gun control all day and night But when it comes to someone marching down your street with a torch or a brick or a Molotov People are gonna be like I don't care, you know when people talk about whether Kyle should have had weapon or not I mean, look, the kid picked up the weapon when he's not legally allowed to have it because he was 17, not 18.
01:23:05.000What do you think people are going to do?
01:23:09.000You come to that neighborhood, they're going to say, I don't have the luxury of worrying about what comes after with these laws.
01:23:15.000I have to worry about right now the guy in front of my house with the Molotov.
01:23:19.000That's what I'm worried about happening.
01:23:20.000And we kind of saw that example, too, when we were in Louisville, Kentucky.
01:23:25.000There was that moment that I was able to capture with the Middle Eastern business owner, where you just have this huge mob of people.
01:23:33.000Oh, that was, what was his name, Fari?
01:23:35.000Yeah, and I visited him earlier in the day before I even got that video.
01:23:40.000So real quick, this is a guy who was, like, surrounded and was refusing to say Black Lives Matter.
01:23:44.000Yeah, and the thing was is, um, so he has a smoke shop then, like right there he's leasing another business that was firebombed the night before.
01:23:52.000So I showed up when they were still doing an investigation and, you know, he was very, very upset.
01:23:57.000They don't want to, they don't want to speak to me and I don't, I don't blame him.
01:23:59.000You know, he just had a business firebomb.
01:24:01.000And then later that night, you know, me and Chubb are kind of following this crowd.
01:24:05.000And then that's when we see, I just see this huge, you know, kind of like a mob start to approach him.
01:24:10.000And they come up to him and say, you know, does Breonna Taylor's life matter?
01:24:15.000They're trying to get him to say, and he, you know, he wouldn't say that, you know, he was chilling there with his gun.
01:24:19.000But even that situation could have ended, you know, bad.
01:24:22.000I mean, he was, you know, he was cool, calm, and collective.
01:24:25.000We're just seeing those type of examples all across the country where people don't even trust the cops anymore to restore law and order.
01:24:32.000They have to literally sit in front of their business throughout the whole night if they have to just to make sure it doesn't get burnt to the ground.
01:24:37.000And all it takes is one person with a gun who doesn't quite know what they're doing or gets frazzled or gets surrounded and that's literally all it takes.
01:24:51.000And those people were kind of charging them.
01:24:55.000So I mean, like I said, you know, thank God he was cool, calm and collective.
01:24:58.000But like, you know, like we said, if it was another individual was inexperienced, as soon as people charge up, they could already, they're already like, you know, you know, gun swinging.
01:25:05.000So it was just a, you know, crazy moment to capture.
01:25:08.000Then, you know, when we post it, it's just it's opening Americans eyes to like what what's happening on the ground.
01:25:13.000It's crazy to me that, uh, in the debates, Joe Biden says Antifa doesn't exist.
01:25:19.000And it's not just Antifa, it's just, I think the bigger issue is far-left extremism.
01:25:23.000It's crazy to me that you get, like, from the FBI, oh, oh, you know, right-wing and white supremacy are the biggest threats.
01:25:29.000And I'm like, they talk about the Proud Boys, and you know, I was saying this earlier, if 300 Proud Boys, like, started marching around my neighborhood, you know what I would do?
01:25:37.000I'd do literally nothing, I wouldn't care.
01:25:39.000Like, when the Proud Boys have come out, and they're left to their own devices, they just wave little American flags and then get drunk.
01:25:45.000And then they leave, and they yell Uhuru or whatever it is they do.
01:25:48.000If I heard that Black Lives Matter Antifa was coming, I'd pack up and get out.
01:27:24.000I don't know if you guys get that political on the issue because I think you're mostly just on the ground reporters and I'm talking, you know, like all politics, but I don't know if you have any thoughts on, you know, like, well, yeah.
01:27:33.000What do you think about the local government?
01:27:34.000What do you think about Trump's responses?
01:27:36.000Do you think they've said Trump's made it worse?
01:27:40.000I mean from I mean one one thing that I could kind of take away is when we were like covering the situation in like Seattle and Chaz when we go you know I'll just you know go out to just speak to regular folks in Seattle even like one thing I found interesting was like the Trump supporters and the conservatives They got to a point where they really wanted Trump to intervene and not kind of use it as like a political playground, you know, because Trump will come out and say, hey, well, that's happening in Democrat cities, let them burn.
01:28:07.000But people forget there's Trump supporters in those Democrat cities who do want to see their city or state, you know, see the law and order restored.
01:28:14.000That's one thing that I took away was folks in Seattle and then conservatives in Portland, they got to the point where they actually want to see Trump like actually come in and do something and not kind of see them kind of bashing their city.
01:28:26.000But you know, every city is different or every situation is different.
01:28:30.000I think with the situation in Louisville, I think they wanted to avoid the chaos so bad that they just said, hey, we're going to declare unlawful assemblies like right when curfew occurs and we're just arresting everyone.
01:28:44.000I mean, one thing that I could kind of take away from my jail experience was, with the men that I was with, is after they were in jail, almost all of them said, we're not coming back anymore.
01:29:23.000Yeah, so maybe that's what needs to happen.
01:29:26.000When I went to Atlanta after Rashard Brooks, the unrest was bad because we were at the Wendy's where he got killed and there was literally, it was a no cop go zone.
01:29:35.000So the gangsters in that hood ran that Wendy's and they literally did not let white people in and out.
01:29:44.000So that was one of the good times that Shelby and Richie weren't with me because they probably wouldn't have been even let into the no go zone.
01:29:53.000Yeah, and one thing that bothered me when we were in Atlanta was that me and another reporter, Julio Rosas, we were blasting it on social media trying to show people the violence happening in that little section because it was a no-go zone.
01:30:03.000The three nights that we were on the ground reporting, two of the night's shots were fired at the Wendy's, so we were there for that.
01:30:09.000And almost, it didn't get any traction with any big media or law enforcement.
01:30:13.000Even the very next week after we were gone is when that eight-year-old girl went to visit that vigil and got shot and killed.
01:30:19.000And it took that moment for them to say, okay, we're sending national guard.
01:30:24.000We went in there and like attacked it, attacked it, you know, trying to expose it.
01:30:28.000And then it took two people getting shot and killed for, you know, for something to happen.
01:30:33.000It's just been, uh, you know, every city's different.
01:30:35.000I don't know how, you know, what's the correct way to handle it, but, um, it's kind of been interesting just to kind of, uh, get that feedback.
01:30:41.000One of the first things I asked you guys, I was like, oh, you've clearly got time to be here.
01:30:45.000You know, we've had, like, you know, for the past four months, every day I wake up, I'm like, oh, it's my mo- like, I do a segment in the morning.
01:30:50.000My mo- my morning riot update for everybody.
01:30:52.000Turn on your car stereo on your way to work and listen about the riots.
01:30:54.000Because every night, every single night, There have been a couple over the past few nights.
01:31:17.000I was talking to Richie about that earlier actually we were sort of looking at where the unrest is right now and I said something like you know it's Portland and Seattle like they're not protest they're not doing this for like any reason it's just violence at this point you know they're it's not like Louisville where they began protesting over the Breonna Taylor the verdict it's They're just doing it to cause chaos.
01:31:49.000And so it's, it's less interesting almost.
01:31:52.000It's because, you know, compared to going to Louisville or potentially going to Kenosha next week, depending on what happens.
01:32:26.000I agree with that and I think what Kenosha and my experience my personal experience with Kenosha really the lesson that I learned there is The degree to which the facts on the ground are being neglected in favor of whatever narrative you want to push.
01:32:43.000And I think both sides are guilty of that.
01:32:45.000But specifically, you know, with respect to Kyle, it was weeks before, you know, CNN, Washington Post contacted me.
01:32:56.000And I think part of the reason is because my testimony, they just it didn't fit what they wanted to put out there.
01:33:04.000Wait, so they didn't hit you up, like, hey, you're THE witness, you were involved, they didn't talk to you, or what?
01:33:10.000I think what happened was, basically, Wednesday night after the shooting, I went on Tucker Carlson.
01:33:18.000And my goal in this is one thing and one thing only, and that's to tell the public, the greater public, not just one echo chamber, what I saw.
01:33:27.000And I think after I went on Tucker that really turned off half of the media establishment from what I had to say.
01:33:35.000And there's actually a CNN report that said that I supported the conservative belief that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense.
01:34:16.000And then Facebook deleted it because it was misinformation, but I'm like, but it's just a press conference that was hosted by doctors and a Republican politician.
01:34:24.000Why is the news organization being struck down?
01:34:26.000Your story is similar in the sense that if the narrative doesn't fit, the news organization is, you're a provocateur.
01:34:34.000The moment you say something that steps out of line, like, Andy Ngo, all these news organizations say, right-wing provocateur, and it's like, What has he done?
01:34:42.000Other than just like, here's people, here's what they're doing, here's a video of it.
01:34:46.000Nope, that makes him an activist, a provocateur.
01:34:48.000And I think part of it too has to do with how prominent, you know, Andy started getting, so for those unfamiliar, Andy Ngo is just, he's a journalist in the Pacific Northwest who covers far-left violence.
01:34:59.000And now that he's gaining more and more followers as he's, you know, publishing a lot of this information and exposing what these people are doing, now he's so, you know, well-known, they say he's a right-wing provocateur.
01:35:10.000I don't know of any right-wing groups that he's a part of.
01:35:24.000I don't know if you guys can even comment on this, like why it is that you think the media is downplaying or even protecting the extremists that are causing the violence.
01:35:35.000I mean I think I mean I just off the bat I would say maybe it has to do something with it you know doesn't protect their side doesn't fit the narrative for for for their side it's it's it's hard to tell um but like like how we said we're you know we try to be out there try to get the full scoop show you guys everything and then let let you decide it's It's difficult to understand.
01:35:55.000I mean, one thing that bothered me was that thing in Kenosha where, you know, I didn't even see any, like, reporters talking to the business owners.
01:36:02.000You know, these people are devastated.
01:37:12.000One of my first weeks there was the Newtown shooting.
01:37:15.000And I, that will forever stick out in my head because When you have people who sit in these multi-million dollar studios and they talk about these human tragedies day in and day out, I think there's a certain callousness that you develop.
01:37:27.000And having experienced that human suffering firsthand, literally having Rosenbaum dying in my arms, I am now so much more aware of the actual suffering that is taking place as a byproduct of What's happening in our country right now?
01:38:11.000We're probably the first generation of Americans who are inheriting in America that's less prosperous than what our parents grew up in or entered their professional lives in.
01:38:20.000And I think there's a profound disillusionment that's happening in 20-somethings and millennials.
01:38:40.000We've talked about that a little bit too, like, these groups, it almost seems like they don't know who they are, what they want, and this is a, like, this is a community for people.
01:38:54.000As strange as it sounds, it's, you know, a team.
01:38:57.000It's something to fight for and belong to, and I think And I think that the media, I think also it's so divisive these days, like with Trump, you know, if Trump says something, I think, and this does not mean I am pro-Trump or anything, you know, I'm very non-political, but you can just see it.
01:39:22.000You know, you don't have to be political to see that if Trump says something, many people in the media just automatically go to the other end of the spectrum.
01:40:05.000But one thing I actually kind of wanted to mention, kind of piggyback on what they were saying too, is, you know, being on the ground and like just striking some conversations with folks, I think it's that too is the lack of purpose in their life.
01:40:19.000I think a lot of folks that I've met, they kind of see this as like a moment of revolution.
01:40:24.000I mean, one thing that I would be more interested in if I could have a chance to sit down is just, you know, finding more about these people's family lives.
01:40:31.000You know, I think that one thing that we don't talk about in media and politics is just like, you know, having a strong family structure is a big, big deal in our society.
01:40:40.000And I think we shouldn't shy away from that conversation.
01:40:43.000We should be speaking about it, especially in 2020 in a time like this.
01:40:46.000We should be talking about family again.
01:41:12.000Morgan Lippincott says, there's a petition by Notre Dame students asking the university president to resign.
01:41:17.000He was seen breaking the school's social distancing rules at the ACB nomination ceremony, and once on campus in August, students can be expelled for breaking said rules.
01:41:26.000I'll also mention right now, too, if you guys want to actually ask questions, we got the DC Riot Squad, so you guys, I mean, look, if you want to ask a question about the riots, these are the people who are on the ground covering all of it, so they have the answers for you.
01:42:08.000Tony says, Hi Tim, I very much like your videos, but I think you might be misinformed on Turning Point.
01:42:12.000I work for Turning Point, and we go to college campuses to talk about capitalism vs. socialism, big government vs. small government benefits of Bill of Rights.
01:44:05.000SootyThunder says, your story reminds me of a time in college.
01:44:09.000Word started spreading that there was a gunman on campus, and as soon as it went from drill to gunman, I was out the window, avoid the pathways using the tree line, and got to my truck and GTFO.
01:44:48.000I was there, and Richie was there, and I think Richie would back me up when I said he did not always have complete control of his weapon.
01:44:58.000Well, you can read the criminal complaint.
01:45:00.000I'm not going to comment on I said and how that was interpreted by prosecutors, but
01:45:05.000what you can see on the video if he I'm not sure exactly whose video feed
01:45:09.000It was so apologies to whoever filmed it Kyle's running down the street with a fire extinguisher in
01:45:13.000one hand and an AR and the other at a full sprint I don't know what fire there was over there, but if it was
01:45:21.000a dumpster fire You probably shouldn't be sprinting down the street with an
01:45:24.000AR-15. Well, actually you guys know drew Hernandez lives matter show
01:45:28.000He said I don't know if this is the same incident but he said they had lit a dumpster on fire and were
01:45:32.000pushing it towards a gas station and The reason they got mad at Kyle was because it was either
01:45:36.000him or someone who looked like him who put the fire out So I don't know if this is the same scenario, but maybe if you see three dudes with a flaming dumpster being pushed towards a gas station, you do sprint towards it.
01:45:48.000But listen, just because he didn't have... I mean, me saying he didn't have control of his gun the whole time does not mean that, you know, I'm not saying that he was...
01:46:00.000You know, I... You're not accusing him.
01:46:02.000Yeah, it's just a statement based on what I saw being on the ground.
01:46:42.000Glenn says, as former military and as an armed security, I give credit to Rittenhouse for his restraint.
01:46:48.000The last guy he had to shoot, I would have seen him still as a threat, for he still had a weapon.
01:46:54.000So actually, yeah, like in the video you can see after all three, you know, after the final shooting of the dude's arm, there's another guy with his hands up and Kyle lowers his weapon and just gets up and starts walking away.
01:47:07.000I guess, you know, I think that, in my opinion, and you guys have to comment on this, but this proves intent to murder.
01:47:14.000I mean, I saw him earlier in the night, he's in one of my videos in the background, yelling at protesters to, you know, if you need first aid, come here.
01:47:25.000What we saw that evening doesn't add up with the idea that he came to just shoot people.
01:48:01.000I'm saying we are going to see more people who don't know how to handle the weapon.
01:48:05.000I'm not saying... I'm not... I'm not saying that about Kyle.
01:48:06.000I'm saying we're going to see more people who don't know how to handle a weapon coming out and saying, if the cops aren't coming, I'm coming.
01:48:12.000That's why I say before I get to any criticisms of Kyle, first I criticize the cops.
01:48:38.000But this was, what, the third night of unrest and riots.
01:48:41.000So I'm not, I'm not judging the kid for not being a, you know, a trained, full, like, you know, military, whatever, marksman, lurking in the shadows, knowing how he's gonna defend a building or anything like that.
01:48:53.000Alright, let's see, we just got a bunch of Super Chats just popped up right now, so let's see.
01:49:53.000And they come out, and then, you know, the Trump supporters make the stories go viral because they're kind of like... I don't wanna downplay the severity of the chaos, but there's a humor in, like, the absurdity of some of these stories, for sure.
01:50:05.000Bo Stoker says, talk to my local militia about this citation.
01:52:02.000I mean, I don't, like, I'm not in law enforcement, so I wouldn't know, but I mean, I'm reading Lennon B. Johnson's book right now about 1968.
01:52:10.000So one thing that he did during the race riots is they put troops on the ground.
01:52:13.000And it seems like when you put troops on the ground, violence deters.
01:52:17.000But as an individual person, it's tough.
01:52:22.000I mean, I don't know the answer to that.
01:52:25.000I can speak on where I have expertise, which is in the media.
01:52:29.000I'm incredibly angry about the way that this entire situation has been treated by the media and the way that it's been downplayed for partisan purposes.
01:52:38.000And also, by the way, when we were in Seattle, there was a Fox News reporter coming in there and saying, oh, it's a party-like atmosphere and then leaving.
01:52:46.000So I don't think it's necessarily that it's conservative or Democrat, but it's very much a corporate media narratives that are spun up and then you have to stick to them.
01:52:57.000Because independent journalists will say what they actually think, but people who are working for a massive corporation, they've got corporate overlords who have shareholders to worry about.
01:53:06.000And I think media is being democratized now.
01:53:08.000But apparently not as much as it could be because, I mean, our voices are lost.
01:53:13.000Nobody wants to pay attention to what we're saying at the Daily Caller, that's for sure.
01:53:38.000Well, you know, to be honest, far be it for me to comment on whether or not someone is trained properly, because I certainly don't know what, you know, a trained SWAT or military member would do in a situation like that.
01:54:15.000And then Kenosha, I would argue the police were really Failed in that situation, and I think they were underprepared Small town versus like the likes of DC though, you know Louisville of course two officers got shot, but I I think every night They were declaring an unlawful assembly right when curfew was I think they were way more aggressive than we've seen in other cities Louisville was yeah
01:55:01.000Could that have been because they didn't, they didn't want these people to go into like suburban neighborhoods or even just other neighborhoods?
01:55:10.000There were about 50 who were corralled in our section, which isn't a huge number when you think about it, compared to some of these other places we've been to.
01:55:21.000But I do think it varies city by city so much.
01:55:47.000And as Shelby mentioned, we have to dress down a little bit, especially because if we're wearing press and then they know what press we are, it's not going to be good.
01:55:56.000So I kind of just shake my gas mask at this guy who's aiming the canister at me and he shoots and hits me and I actually was live on Facebook and I said things that I couldn't say.
01:56:07.000And actually as I'm bending over he must have reloaded because then I got hit in the leg again.
01:56:21.000I was there covering what was happening in the midst of it dressed in black.
01:56:25.000I think New York is actually, you know, for all the complaints people have about the NYPD, I've seen the least amount of heavy handed tactics from NYPD.
01:56:33.000It's funny you say that because we commented when we were there, the difference.
01:56:38.000They don't really rely on anything other than just a good old fashioned billy club.
01:56:41.000And I think that goes back to riots from 200 years.
01:56:45.000They just grab you and get rid of you.
01:57:05.000And I talked to the NYPD there and they're like, listen, my you know, some
01:57:08.000Irish guy who says, yeah, my dad did this and my grandfather did this.
01:57:11.000And they were in this riot and this riot.
01:57:14.000And so I think actually those tactics, when you actually have just a cop rather than like a shield or something like that, you're less likely to just like, you know, bump into it because that cop is going to swing back.
01:58:09.000And we actually, when we were in Louisville last week, some of the organizers were saying, you know, why aren't we doing these things that people in Portland and Seattle are doing?
01:58:18.000Look at what they're doing and we're not doing that.
01:58:21.000So they are looking to these other cities and Portland is I mean, absurdly, like militant with their, you know, they they have tactics depending on what the police are throwing at them.
01:58:53.000Hydro PX says this dude in yellow said it's about family, but how about, uh, but how, when women are egotistical and want to take the role of the man?
01:59:16.000Mom, I love you, but you're really strong.
01:59:19.000We were talking about this last night with Jack Murphy about, you know, feminism trying
01:59:24.000to push everyone towards a kind of middle-of-the-road masculinity.
01:59:30.000So that might be kind of where the comment is coming from.
01:59:33.000So you basically have like general masculinity is now associated with toxic masculinity,
01:59:38.000but then you have women being encouraged to take more masculine roles.
01:59:41.000So they're basically, like, pushing everything to a slightly masculine kind of space instead of recognizing the contributions of femininity to society.
01:59:50.000Yeah, I think part of femininity is also being strong, and I don't know about you guys, but your parents very much are two parts of a whole, and there are definitely feminine characteristics that my dad had that my mom didn't necessarily embody, and vice versa.
02:01:13.000Well, I just want to say my parents were in DC in the late 60s, early 70s, and...
02:01:20.000I think the one thing my mom always says about the difference between now and then is the fact that the protesters at the time, I think, were unified in.
02:01:32.000It wasn't necessarily, you know, specifically Nixon or I mean, they were obviously anti-Nixon, but it was it was the fact that we were overseas in a war that they thought that we shouldn't be engaging in and things on the home front.
02:01:47.000I think there was a lot more I love how the modern left kind of just doesn't care anymore about the Middle Eastern wars and the peace agreements, and it's crazy to me that, like, if, you know, I grew up with war being the biggest issue, and we were talking a lot about this last night, because the liberals just wanted to get rid of George W. Bush.
02:02:13.000And then as soon as Obama wins, they're like, we don't care anymore.
02:02:15.000So now we have Trump actually trying to pull our troops out and they're resisting and fighting against him.
02:02:20.000I kid you not, I was talking to a friend of mine who said, I was like, do you agree with Trump's position on withdrawing troops from the Middle East?
02:02:28.000And then this is a progressive goes, well, I actually was reading this article from, and she names a very famous neocon, about why we need a presence in the Middle East.
02:02:58.000I was really scared when I got arrested because, again, you know, my mom is a prosecutor.
02:03:03.000I grew up, like, really fearing law enforcement and, like, breaking the law.
02:03:09.000And it was also really scary to be in a cell with people where I knew if they found out where I worked, I had no idea if it was going, if it was going to get bad.
02:03:23.000And then as the hours dragged on, you know, I know you're gonna get out at some point, but it was nerve-wracking because I didn't understand why, as a reporter, you know, I was still in there.
02:03:37.000And so that was, that was probably, I don't know if it was, I was frustrated.
02:03:45.000But that was scary and anytime you get into a situation which we have where you're surrounded by protesters and they're, you know, targeting you, that's also...
02:06:48.000Do you guys want to mention anything else before we wrap up or anything?
02:06:53.000I mean, I just wanted to say, you know, thank you to you guys because, you know, Shelby and Richie and I, we've been just really working hard this summer, like trying to get this content out to people, to folks.
02:07:04.000And we do appreciate, you know, you guys coming on.
02:07:06.000And I mean, you guys having us come on and share at least our stories and perspective.
02:07:10.000And hopefully there's other Americans who are maybe looking for this type of media to say, hey, you know what?
02:07:38.000But I think people are still going to try and... There's no middle anymore, you know?
02:07:42.000So they're going to say, if you're being honest about what's going on on the ground, that means you're going to be saying things that's going to make people angry at Antifa.
02:07:49.000They're going to accuse you of being right or whatever, you know?