Friday, March 8, 2013

It's official: No 'union violence' at Lansing RTW4Less protest



Remember the phony "union violence" video that Fox News promoted heavily after the No Rights At Work protests in Lansing late last year? It supposedly showed Steven Crowder, a Fox contributor, in a scuffle with a union member. Closer examination showed the video had been heavily doctored. That didn't stop anti-worker extremists tweeting out the video with pious denunciations of "brutality" and "violence." 

Fox's Sean Hannity went on and on about it:
Fox News contributor Steven Crowder was beaten by a mob, having been punched repeatedly in the face. Protesters wielding knives, brought down a tent on representatives from the conservative group Americans for Prosperity. By the way, that’s the tent that was housing women and children and old people and bystanders; they were also roughed up. 
If that had really happened, you would expect criminal charges. But it wasn't what really happened and -- surprise! -- there are no criminal charges. Today the Washington Post reports:
...the prosecutor in this case has determined that there’ll be no charges against anyone who popped Crowder on that December day. Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III “will not be authorizing criminal charges in this case,” Shanon Banner, a spokeswoman for the Michigan State Police, wrote in an e-mail to the Erik Wemple Blog this morning. 
Dunnings said in an interview that the video his office originally reviewed on the matter “appeared to have been edited.” A subsequent review of what the prosecutor termed “unedited” video helped the office reach its decision not to proceed with a case. 
“A look at the unedited video, taken in conjunction with the statements of the alleged victim and the alleged assailant, led me to the conclusion that I would not authorize issuance of the warrant,” Dunnings said.
What are the odds that Fox News will report the news of "no charges" as heavily as it did the initial "fight?"

These people are disgusting.