I'm remembering back to the story just a couple of days ago and I'm thinking about all the commenters who immediately accepted the story of the 'peacekeeper' guy - and the official line from the police - that Arturo was raising his weapon and heading towards the crowd, so the 'peacekeeper' shot "in defence of the crowd". Many commenters repeated the line he had been, "likely about to do a mass murder - it's very sad that a bystander died, but they just prevented a shooting spree". Anyone saying 'wtf why is the actual killer not arrested' and suggesting that we only had one side of the story (the killer's, who the cops were suspiciously immediately siding with) and that there is no proof beyond biased witness claims yet - was being downvoted.
Remember this shit next time you take the word of the police at face value when very few facts are available.
Yeah send Venmo money to this random QR code! Clowns.
Edit: reports say he was seen move away from the crowd, hid behind a low wall where he removed his rifle from his backpack, and "assumed a firing position" and moved back towards the crowd. No amount of Open Carry allows you to raise that rifle into a ready to shoot position without repercussions.
So how do you explain away the whole showing up with your rifle hidden in a backpack, and then hiding to take it out. Open carry all you want, why the fuck would you do that in the middle of a tense protest
Yeah actually, who does this actually get Venmo'ed to? The Mastodon post didn't really clarify that IMO.
Edit: so I haven't tried this myself, but according to Salt Lake County Corrections, you can donate online, but I'm not 100% sure we have enough information to do so. Also I imagine you'd have to give the State your personal info. Link is below for people who trust the cops more than the QR code. (Personally, my trust for the cops is negative so I trust the random QR code more.)
Nooooooo. It's a leftist DO NOT BRING FACTS AND LOGIC just support them blindly and "amplify the message" from somewhere you don't live or know jus because it aligns with your narrative.
Kinda crazy tbh. At least it's not Twitter I guess.
I've kept quiet about this online so far, but my local 50501/no kings organizers are dangerously uninformed about organizing protests and haven't taken any of the experienced local organizer's advice about security at these events. They're literally primarily organized on a "liberal women's" Facebook group. At least in my area, experienced community organizers have been staying well clear of their mess. Let them gather all the white liberals from the suburbs to go kettle themselves on a pedestrian bridge and yell at cars passing them by. They'll learn why the experienced community defenders don't want anything to do with them after it's too late, but it's not like any of us are surprised by right wingers coopting and declawing a protest movement.
A single blurry still doesn't pose a convincing argument that he was or wasn't pointing the weapon towards the crowds.
I've not seen enough to conclude either way.
So many contradicting things.
If you were wanting to assist with security, when someone obviously doing security addresses you then you'd try and comply, and explain your intent.
But did the security actually address him? Or did he just run away from a gun pointed at him? Or did he have his gun pointed in the direction of the crowd while moving towards the crowd and ignoring security?
Much of this doesn't make sense.
A single blurry still doesn't pose a convincing argument that he was or wasn't pointing the weapon towards the crowds.
We don't go around making plausible reasons and then asking the victim to prove them wrong. Maybe the killers are lying to cover their ass?
Facts on the ground is: Arturo didn't shoot anyone, had a right to carry, a bystander was killed by the "good guys" and Arturo was shot himself. Nothing in all of this proves that Arturo was a danger to anyone.
Security was across the street and started shooting before he ever acknowledged them. They were far enough that it's conceivable he didn't hear them at all. He didn't run until they fired. This is all in the link they provided. It's a video, not a still.
I like the spirit, but IMO we need more "on the ground" details to come to an actual conclusion. Cops suck but there are lots of ways to come up with "the opposite story".
I'm working under "innocent until proven guilty" logic, but as of this posting I absolutely cannot make any positive conclusion about what happened other than the one second video clip posted in the comments.
You don’t have to prove you didn’t do something. The state has to prove that you did do it. We should assume he is innocent in the absence of evidence.
At the least, it's reasonable to expect someone who claims to be an "armed peacekeeper" to check their background before shooting. I don't know if that firearms sin is worth criminal charges or not, but it's bad practice.
Liberal politicians, despite their bellyaching, always end up funding the police and standing up for them when push comes to shove.
I don't even think it's a "liberal plot". It's just shitty police work on top of the mistake of one trigger-happy peacekeeper. But it's absolutely ridiculous to think that Democratic and Republican parties are practically different when it comes to funding the police.
I don’t see any explanation of why he was trying to blend in with the crowd while injured and hiding his weapon in his backpack. Why didn’t he work with the protest group to get on their protection detail.
Please do not victim blame. People act strange when being shot at sometimes. He was within his rights to carry and not work with official organizations.