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.
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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