Hours Before Riot Cops Arrest CNN Crew, Mainstream Media Fail Only Compounds the Disaster
Riot police cuffed a CNN crew in Minneapolis only hours after a competing establishment media outlet gave the nation a dishonest account of the severity of the unrest in the city.
The shocking arrest happened early Friday morning as fires from the previous night’s riots still smoldered.
State police claimed the crew was put in handcuffs after refusing to obey an order to move, according to CNN.
Live video of the arrest appears to dispute that account, as network correspondent Omar Jimenez repeatedly asked officers where he should relocate to.
Watch the footage below:
The crew was eventually released later that morning after an intervention from Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
Walz reaffirmed the media’s crucial place in covering events like this, apologizing for the arrest.
But Minneapolis State Patrol isn’t the only group caught in an embarrassing place after Thursday night’s riots.
Hours prior to the CNN crew’s early morning arrest, an MSNBC reporter downplayed the protests as the night descended into chaos.
“This is mostly a protest,” reporter Ali Velshi said. “It is not generally speaking unruly.”
Velshi’s dishonest assessment of the situation was given as a massive blaze burned in the background and police control had clearly not been established.
MSNBC reporter just now: “I want to be clear on how I characterize this. This is mostly a protest. It is not generally speaking unruly.”
The guy is literally standing in front of a burning building in the middle of a riot. pic.twitter.com/IzCV6On4sF
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) May 29, 2020
The ongoing riot, the latest in a string of violent demonstrations, would tear through community businesses all throughout Thursday night and Friday morning.
Innocent business owners were caught up in the rampage, and a police precinct building was essentially surrendered by the MPD before being stormed and torched by the mob.
The failings of both media and the city’s policing system (though the CNN crew was arrested by state police) have been highlighted by the out-of-control protests, a state of chaos kick-started by the viral video of a since-fired Minneapolis Police Department officer keeping his knee on the neck of a suspect, George Floyd, who later died.
Although the officer at the center of the video, Derek Chauvin, was arrested Friday, it happened after days of peaceful demonstrations and violent protests.
Dishonest reporting from the mainstream media only compounds the problems faced by Minneapolis as conflicting accounts of what is happening seem poised to arise.
Even as outrage over the Floyd case reaches a fever pitch, many mainstream journalists have failed to shine a light on other shocking instances of police brutality happening across America.
With more protests appearing to be virtually guaranteed throughout the weekend, there’s plenty of time for the mainstream media to present an unbiased and honest account of what is happening.
From what we’ve seen so far however, the likelihood of that happening is not promising.
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