Over to you, Eric Holder: is this a hate crime? St. Louis alderman Antonio French tweets:
Gunman mentions Michael Brown as he robs three couples leaving a restaurant http://t.co/gfaqIJ9YVs via @stltoday
— Antonio French (@AntonioFrench) September 22, 2014
And here’s the opener from the St. Louis Post Dispatch article he linked to:
Gunman mentions Michael Brown as he robs three couples leaving a restaurant
St. Louis Metropolitan Police are investigating an armed robbery of six people who were walking from a restaurant in the 1100 block of Mississippi Avenue at about 11 p.m. Saturday.
Police said the three couples, all of them from 59 to 61 years old, had just left a restaurant and were walking north on the west side of the street when they were approached by two men. One of the men pointed a silver gun at the group and demanded their belongings.
After the second man grabbed items from the group, the first man said, “This is for Michael Brown,” according to a police account. Both men then ran off.
“Mentions” Mike Brown?
Mention is a pretty weak verb, defined as “refer to something briefly and without going into detail.” Is that really what happened here?
Maybe there a pattern of gunmen initiating small-talk with their victims that the Post Dispatch can point to defend why they chose “mention” as the best way to describe the alleged incident.
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Others see this already sanitized report as “propaganda”:
Smh Sounds like propaganda @PDPJ Gunmen mentions #MikeBrown as he robs three couples leaving a restaurant http://t.co/tYzxnOu22a #Ferguson
— Mdot (@KickGamePropers) September 22, 2014
Or somehow tied to the Mike Brown Grand Jury investigation:
.@stltoday What's the point? More trying of #MikeBrown in absentia & denigrating of #Ferguson protesters? http://t.co/JxCQTZHHh8
— Lauren Ray (@Lauren_lray) September 22, 2014
Just another example that the search for “justice” is anything but in this particular case.
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