Steven Crowder, Fox News Contributor, Punched During Right-To-Work Protests (VIDEO)

[michigandem58]

Source: Huffington Post

Writer and Fox News contributor Steven Crowder aired video of his violent physical confrontation with opponents of Michigan's right-to-work legislation, who gathered in Lansing to protest the bills' passage through the House.

Crowder argued with protesters who began to tear down a tent pitched on the Capitol lawn by the pro-right-to-work group Americans For Prosperity. According to MLive, Michigan State Police Lt. Mike Shaw said they were contacted because several people, including two in wheelchairs, were trapped under the tent.

He was then punched repeatedly in the face by a protester, while another man speaking off-camera threatened to kill Crowder with a gun. Crowder said there was no police presence in the area during the altercation.


Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/11/stephen-crowder-punched-michigan-right-to-work-protests_n_2279609.html

[Archae]

1. Crowder is a wannabe "comedian."

His "jokes" however are simply crude and nasty.

http://mediamatters.org/video/2012/11/01/foxs-steven-crowder-use-halloween-stunt-to-atta/191042

I have no doubt he provoked the protestors.

[Indydem]

4. Well by all means, if he PROVOKED them...

He should be punched repeatedly in the face.

[Archae]

5. No. But throwing gasoline on a fire, is going to get you burned.

[awoke_in_2003]

30. Fuck him...

he went there to get that reaction. He is part of the group that is waging war on working class americans. He is lucky to have just got a few raps on the beak. His kind have been waging war on us for 30 years- he should expect some blowback.

[valerief]

2. Excuse me if I fail to work up any sympathy for the face of Fox News. nt

[awoke_in_2003]

31. I just checked my giveafuckmeter...

not even a twitch

[Cooley Hurd]

3. The title of the video is "UNIONS ATTACK ON CAMERA!"

...so I'm not trusting in the editing of it. Clearly, the producer of the video would be biased given the title. I'll reserve judgment until I see more of the story, unedited.

[awoke_in_2003]

32. Yeah, I saw that...

but what do you expect from Huffington? When a republican is in office she is a liberal. When a democrat is in office she is a conservative. She is the political Howard Stern.

[TheDebbieDee]

6. There's another thread on DU that claims that the folks that tore down some tent and punched the

FOX contributor in the face were AFP stooges paid to make trouble at this protest so that the union people would be blamed...............

[Cooley Hurd]

7. If there are no charges pressed, then I think we'll have our answer...

[Purveyor]

9. I heard him on the radio this afternoon and when I heard he wasn't going to 'press charges', I

smelled a rat.

Just saying...

[Cooley Hurd]

12. We need to ID the "assailants"...

Hopefully, we'll find out the truth, soon.

[jpak]

8. That video was edited

Right before the fight broke out - the FAUX douchebag pushed his way toward the union guys and placed his hands on one of them.

Then video cut to the fight.

There is a lot missing video in between...

yup

[quakerboy]

18. MAybe not a lot

But enough.
That was the first thing I noticed. They were standing a ways apart, then continuity jump, and then fighting. And it sure looked to me as if the fox guy was just as involved as the other guy, he was pushing forward before the edit jump, and again after the punches. Forward is aggressive, not defensive, in my general experience.

[Flying Goat]

25. If you listen to the audio...

"That was assauly, buddy", and then "You assaulted me, buddy". Then we see the guy seeming to straighten up (After being pushed?) with the help of someone next to him. Then we see the attack. We're clearly not seeing everything.

[Dustlawyer]

10. Why is it so heavily edited? What happened immediately before he goes after this, so called

reporter? Are they trying to say that he was just attacked for no other reason except that he was there for Fox? If so, why not air the footage immediately before the alleged attack. I smell another skunk? What was that twerps name that set up Acorn? This is what media does when it has ceased to be legitimate. They are nothing but a propaganda tool which has been destroying America ever since! Why on earth are we allowing that to happen? (Rhetorical of course)

[Cooley Hurd]

13. James O'Keefe. Punk. Wanna-be Breitbart...

[Ellipsis]

11. This doesn't strike me as LBN.

[Ash_F]

14. "Even if you hate me..."

"Even if you hate me, nothing I could have done warranted being suckerpunched and threatened with murder."

No, but he is using his power as a media celebrity to overwhelm the voices of thousands of ordinary working people. It's not an equal fight at all. He should stick to reporting and leave the arguing for people of the state of Michigan and their elect leaders.

[muntrv]

15. Nice editing job, ClusterFox!

[htuttle]

16. I didn't watch it, but were there palm trees in the background?

[mtasselin]

17. Wisconsin

I was at the Wisconsin protests almost 2 years ago and I can tell you that those tea party assholes were doing whatever they could do to inflame the protesters. I a not a violent person but I am glad he got his ass kicked.

[Pacafishmate]

19. That guy is a real douche. He probably did something to deserve it, then cut that out.

[la la]

20. he's on hannity right now..

bringing up breitbart's name...he's on a roll, i see the spittle coming out of his mouth...fishy bidness here, i'm thinkin'

[Tx4obama]

21. Article: Americans For Prosperity FAKE an Attack On Their Tent at Michigan Right to Work Rally

Americans For Prosperity Fake an Attack On Their Tent at Michigan Right to Work Rally

Prepare to be confronted with yet another example of right wing deliberate deception. Today at the Right to Work protest in Michigan, an Americans for Prosperity tent came down with people inside of it. Naturally, Fox was there to capture the scene and AFP were quick to blame it on violent union supporters. Also, Breitbart had a video, naturally, blaming the tent falling on violent union supporters, with a video that doesn’t start until well after the melee (of course).

But as you have learned, all is not what it seems in Right Wing world.

A protester of the anti-union law passed today, Tom Duckworth, saw a man he’d spoken to earlier in the tent, wearing NRA garb, kick the tent poles from the inside of the tent. Duckworth thought they must be getting ready to leave, until he realized there were people inside the tent. So, basically, a person described by Duckworth as “clearly a member of Americans for Propserty” kicked the tent down and then AFP blamed it on the unions.

-snip-

Full article here: http://www.politicususa.com/americans-prosperity-fake-attack-tent-michigan-work-rally.html

[Supply Side Jesus]

22. how's that for "pussy liberal"...punk ass

[Great Caesars Ghost]

24. exactly

Should've sent him to the hospital.

[awoke_in_2003]

33. Them damn pussy liberals...

like Hoffa, who fought for workers rights.

[Pterodactyl]

23. In order to get sympathy with the American people, we need to be on our best behavior.

They need to see this is not a violence-based movement, like the tea party gangs.

[TruthTeller]

26. I was standing about 75 feet away...

at the time. The tent was coming down not by the protesters. The AFP were taking it down. No one was in the tent. Interesting though, that the AFP rented out the lawn about 6 months ago. Hmmm... and then the bills ironically come out the week before? Amway Devos rented out the lawn too. Hmmm...

I did not see anyone punched. The police on horses came quickly to the area. The lawn had lots of riot gear police.

[PETRUS]

38. I was pretty close too

But I didn't have a good line of sight.

That's pretty weird about AFP nailing down that space months back. Do you have more information or a source?

[AldoLeopold]

27. I guess this dispels the Repuke myth that Dems are "liberal weaklings"

[Lefty48197]

28. There's a lot of inaccuracies in that report.

I should know. I was standing within 20' of that tent when it came down and there were NO WHEELCHAIRS inside the tent when it came down.

I did NOT see the fight, but in the video that was played on the Hannity show, it CLEARLY showed that the union member was lying face down on the ground before he jumped up and IMMEDIATELY punched the tea bagger in the chin. I don't know how he got on the ground but he sure as hell thought that the tea bag boy had something to do with it. Tea bag boy probably shoved the guy to the ground so he came up punching.

And as for 'the gun', it was one of the union supporters who shouted "he has a gun", referring to one of the tea baggers. Then another union guy stated that he'd "killed plenty of people with guns", meaning that he BARE HANDED beat up somebody who had drawn a gun. He wasn't threatening to use a gun himself.

[awoke_in_2003]

29. This video saddens me...

I really wished he would have got knocked the fuck out.

[mwrguy]

34. Crowder got off easy

He should have been spitting teeth.

[PavePusher]

35. So glad to see the endorsement of violence here on D.U.

As long as it's against the right people, that is.

Oy vey....

[AldoLeopold]

36. Hehe

A little punch now and again won't hurt. I was a little overzealous last night what with a wee drop of the whiskey in me veins.

[PavePusher]

41. Actually, a single punch can kill a person.

And yes, any punch can hurt. No-one should be expected to simply accept physical abuse for their political beliefs, no matter what side they're on.

The flaming hypocracy here is in the fact that many people are endorsing this behavior, in contrast to this: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021938139

[AldoLeopold]

43. You're probably right

But violence tends to be how these things end up - and violently is most likely how this Republic will end. Its not like it hasn't happened before just so.

Just a guess, though. Admittedly, I'm not really against political violence. However, it tends to solve and create problems. In my opinion, there are many forms of violence - and the powers that be and Fox News in Michigan seem to have used one or more of those alternate forms against these men and women. The union folks don't have the same tools as the Governor and his allies, so they are using whatever means are at their disposal.

That's how revolutions start, I suppose. Strikes and walk-outs and lack of a labor force may not work in this case. Gandhi's tactics might not have worked in this case. I'm not sure though. I just like a good brawl.

[HonEur12]

47. Thank you.

Lots of hypocrites in this thread. Its blatant.

Punch a liberal = Vile Scum

Punch a conservative = OK, he incited it!

[slackmaster]

37. Was that a bunch of male babboons attempting to pass themselves off as men?

ETA I really don't care if the scene was a real example of people getting punked by Fox, or if the whole thing was set up by agents provocateurs. The behavior was inexcusable either because it was bad, or because it was a deception. I need good information as I sip my coffee and contemplate the day ahead. I don't want to be "entertained" by images of savagery, be they real or pretend.

Sometimes the behavior of members of my own gender embarrasses the living shit out of me.

They got trolled by Crowder. He was OBVIOUSLY looking for trouble, found it, and got it on camera.

Automatic DU Rec for successful zealotry posting.

[Coyotl]

39. Of all the people at the event, how could this possibly happen to such a fine human being?

Oh wait, .... just maybe of all the people at the event, he was the best provocateur.

[slackmaster]

40. He punked them. In any crowd that intense, there is bound to be at least one hot-head who is...

...dumb enough to allow his emotions to control his behavior.

[struggle4progress]

42. FOX has edited out quite a lot there, such as what Crowder had said to the fellow who responded

"Get the fuck outta my face!"

And there's tape missing between the time Crowder blocks another guy's way and when that guy starts swinging at him -- in addition to which, Crowder in the available tape seems to fight back

I think the voice off tape yells "I'll kill the son-of-a-gun!" -- which probably isn't actually a murder threat and definitely isn't a threat to shoot anybody; moreover, it's unclear who yelled it or who it's directed at

[Harry45365]

44. Only fox had cameras

Seriously if there were more than we'd see it by now. Camera phones everywhere. If it were a tea party incident acting like that people would demonize them... Hypocrites.

[Crowman1979]

45. I know quite a few YouTube personalities who would have loved to punch Steven Crowder in the face.

You should see TheAmazingAtheit's epic PWNAGE of this douchebag.

[HonEur12]

46. Lots of victim blaming in this thread...

I agree. Sort of like those women that wear skimpy clothes. She was just antagonizing the rapist!

Under what circumstances do you people advocate violence? I'm sure if Steven Crowder was Bill Maher this thread would be about the "violence" that the tea party exhumes.

[struggle4progress]

48. Crowder hasn’t filed assault complaint, Michigan troopers say

Posted by Erik Wemple on December 13, 2012 at 4:19 pm

... why doesn’t Crowder himself make a bigger deal of the Crowder situation? Indeed he has made multiple media appearances since getting slugged. One thing he hasn’t done, according to multiple sources at the Michigan State Police, is to file a complaint to secure justice in the matter. “No complaints have been filed,” Banner said.

Says Michigan State Police Inspector Gene Adamczyk: “No one has filed a complaint on that assault.” A spokesman for the Lansing Police Department says that they’ve gotten no complaint in connection with the event and would have routed the matter to the state police in any case.

Perhaps Crowder has merely been too busy talking up his exploits to bother with paperwork ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2012/12/13/crowder-hasnt-filed-assault-complaint-michigan-troopers-say/

[wordpix]

49. why not call this "right-to-work" movement what it is. Suggestions here, please

Mine: "End unions" to make rich a-holes richer

[Eleanors38]

50. Mich. In the news. Another thread spits bullets about

recent gun legislation, blaming violence on pro-2A folks; here pro-2A folks express opposition to violence.

Such a world, such a world...