Voters marching to the polls in Alamance Co. today were turned back after cops pepper sprayed them

[sunonmars]

Link to tweet

This is outrageous.

[SheltieLover]

1. K&R!

[secondwind]

2. WTF??!!!?

[babylonsister]

3. What the hell did they do wrong to deserve this?

Wanting to vote while black?

[pnwmom]

56. Nothing. They even had a permit.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100214405694

[babylonsister]

57. Thanks. Arrest the damn cops! nt

[Nevilledog]

4. Background

Link to tweet

[Grins]

23. In exchange for what?

“...in exchange for the sheriff agreeing for his deputies to undergo bias training...”

Bias training? Really? The DOJ negotiated for that? That’s pathetic.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

48. Gotta admit, they've learned bias even better than before.

Now they're professionally biased!

[PutGramaOnThePhone]

51. Nice quips, and ....

cool screen name! Certainly not a laughing matter, but I like to tip my hat to intelligent, sardonic wit.

[leftieNanner]

5. What state is this? Nt

[dsc]

6. NC

Allamance County is between Durham and Greesboro.

[leftieNanner]

8. Thanks nt

[lastlib]

34. Greensboro--trips my trigger......

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greensboro_massacre

(I guess there are some "very fine people" there.........)

[dsc]

43. Greensboro is a very liberal place now

like most cities but Allamance County well that is more like Greensboro was then.

[Leith]

9. North Carolina

You know - the state where the rethugs have gerrymandered the fuck out of the map and when ordered by the feds to correct it, they come up with districts that are mutilated even worse.

[mucifer]

7. Biden's lawyers better be out there. He has thousands of lawyers for this reason

[bdamomma]

22. I read Biden

has 4,000 lawyers.

[blogslut]

12. And this warrants pepper spray?

Really?

[cstanleytech]

40. Answer...........maybe. What it comes down to is what exactly happened and in what order it happened

which are details completely absent from the tweet itself so for more details people would have to click on the article which even then might be glossing over key facts.

[Duppers]

13. That makes some difference

Thanks.

[Shrike47]

14. The police who sprayed them should all be fired. Too many officers think they must be obeyed.

We have not anointed them. The people they are harassing have rights.

[Grins]

25. Article says Sheriff not police.

There a HUGE difference there.

If you are interested as to why, find John Oliver’s show on them a few months ago.

[SergeStorms]

31. Well, if it's any consolation...

they're going to get a healthy dose of that pepper spray themselves. Paper masks are no defense from strong aerosol pepper spray. They're still jack-booted thugs though.

[bigtree]

36. they rally together, speak a while as people gather, and march to the polls

This is a standard practice in black neighborhoods' GOTV efforts around the country, most of them organized by churches.

... many who were marching may not have reached the polls.

Faith Cook was one of the few marchers to make it to the polling place on Elm Street.

“I’ve never experienced anything like that,” Cook told The News & Observer. “Nobody should have to.

“I think it was their intention, from the moment this march was announced, that we don’t get to the polls in numbers.”

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article246861942.html

[yaesu]

38. Not familiar with the tweeter nor the news source so was going to take it with a grain of salt

thanks for the update

[bigtree]

39. that's not an update, it's a distortion

...of a rally and march to the polls. The event was termed, “I Am Change” march to the polls.

Standard practice with churches in black communities.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article246861942.html

[yaesu]

41. just looking for verification, found another source

GRAHAM, N.C. — Police made several arrests during an anti-racism protest and march to the polls in downtown Graham, according to social media video.

The video shows hundreds of people kneeling in a traffic circle in front of the Alamance County historic courthouse, where a large confederate statue stands.

The area has been the center of controversy for years, but recent Black Lives Matter protests and counter protests have increased the tension.

https://www.wral.com/arrests-made-in-graham-during-anti-racism-protest-outside-confederate-monument/19364312/

[bigtree]

42. .

[Historic NY]

49. Somebody ought to find a big truck

[Demsrule86]

44. They were marching to the polls.

[Demsrule86]

45. Fuck the fascist police.

[PA Democrat]

52. WP reporting that it absolutely WAS a GOTV event and march to the polls.

Law enforcement officers fired a spray that left demonstrators coughing at an “I Am Change” march for voter turnout.

The racially diverse crowd of about 400 had stopped at a Confederate monument in front of the Alamance County Courthouse. The monument has been the site of months of clashes between anti-racism activists and self-proclaimed white nationalists.

Members of the march said they were listening to speeches about racial justice and the importance of voting when officers began to yell at them to disperse.

The “I Am Change” March was organized by the Rev. Greg Drumwright of nearby Greensboro, N.C. He planned to lead the group from a Black church to an early-voting site. Participants included relatives of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man who was killed by police in May, and the parents of Christian Griggs, a Black man killed by his White father-in-law in North Carolina in 2013.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2020/10/31/trump-biden-live-updates/#link-QIHU4BZVD5BORPMK3CJ4WBXOCY

[PA Democrat]

55. You are dead wrong.

First, they had PERMITS for their rally and second, numerous news outlets confirm that it was indeed a march to the polls.

https://www.newsweek.com/voting-activists-pepper-sprayed-police-while-marching-polls-north-carolina-1543808

https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/2020/10/31/trump-biden-live-updates/#link-QIHU4BZVD5BORPMK3CJ4WBXOCY



Best to get your FACTS in order before spouting the talking points of the far right.

[pnwmom]

58. You are wrong. They WERE on the way to vote.

This was planned with the police in the weeks before the protest.

They had a PERMIT for their march from a Church, to the Courthouse -- where they had intended to give speeches -- before going on to voting place.

The police ordered them to disperse, despite their permits, and suddenly started using pepper spray -- even on children.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100214405694

[Initech]

11. And people wonder why we hate the police.

[gulliver]

15. Well, "we" don't of course.

Those who do are misguided. Hate bad police, bad departments, bad police unions, of course. Hate Republican laws that create bad police and drive bad actions by police. But don't hate police in general. They are needed.

[lame54]

27. The good cops know who the bad cops are...

But don't turn them in

[Ligyron]

60. Exactly.

If if we rightly condemn GOP lawmakers who know how corrupt the Trump Administration is and yet do or say nothing, then surely "good" cops failing to call out this behavior deserve our scorn as well.

[treestar]

62. if you justify hating the police in general

for the acts of some of them, what stops you from justifying hatred of black people - there are a few who do bad things. Or anyone else.

[Tommymac]

16. "There were children here who got pepper sprayed"

From Scott Huffman US House Candidate NC-13

Link to tweet

[TheRickles]

18. What happened was bad, but the title is very misleading.

They weren't on their way to vote, but to protest. Still terrible to be sprayed, but please change the headline.

[Tommymac]

19. Umm, not my OP. nt

[TheRickles]

26. Yes, sorry about that. I meant it for the OP. I'll re-post.

[Tommymac]

29. No worries.

[bigtree]

35. You're wrong. Their intention was to rally, get a large number to attend, then march to the polls

... many who were marching may not have reached the polls.

Faith Cook was one of the few marchers to make it to the polling place on Elm Street.

“I’ve never experienced anything like that,” Cook told The News & Observer. “Nobody should have to.

“I think it was their intention, from the moment this march was announced, that we don’t get to the polls in numbers.”

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article246861942.html

[mopinko]

53. sorry. wrong. souls to the polls.

a proud tradition in black churches.

[TheRickles]

54. Yes, you're right.

Other links, below, to the local station have clarified that these people were doing both - protest marching and then voting. Thanks.

[zackymilly]

17. WTF! I'm in North Carolina and first I heard of this!! n/t

[FakeNoose]

20. Oh my God, I can't even ...

Be strong, North Carolina Democrats! We'll get through this somehow.

[TaylorWilliams]

21. MORE HERE:

WATCH: Cops pepper-spray voters marching to the polls in North Carolina — including a 5-year-old girl - RawStory

Link: https://www.rawstory.com/2020/10/watch-cops-pepper-spray-voters-marching-to-the-polls-in-north-carolina-including-a-5-year-old-girl/

[dalton99a]

24. Kick

[TheRickles]

30. It's hard to tell from the various embedded links what they were doing.

Some say that the marchers were protesting but were not in the process of voting, while others say there were prevented from actually voting. Either way, it's a terrible over-reaction by police. But it would be nice to be clear whether these people were "just" protest marchers, or were actually voters going to the polls.

[orangecrush]

32. OP title is misleading

This is not helpful.

[bigtree]

37. no it wasn't hard to tell at all

... many who were marching may not have reached the polls.

Faith Cook was one of the few marchers to make it to the polling place on Elm Street.

“I’ve never experienced anything like that,” Cook told The News & Observer. “Nobody should have to.

“I think it was their intention, from the moment this march was announced, that we don’t get to the polls in numbers.”

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article246861942.html

[TheRickles]

46. Good link - thanks!

[Alacritous Crier]

33. Trump's America is not too far removed...

from these "good old days..."

[warmfeet]

47. Fuck tRumpers.

They will lose biggly.

[58Sunliner]

50. What the hell. Blast them on the phone and through social media. Do we know who the cops are??

[email protected] of sheriff's office.
Sheriff Johnson: 336-570-6311
Article-https://www.yesweekly.com/coronavirus/sheriff-terry-johnson-tells-woman-you-re-breaking-the-law-by-being-an-activist/article_a95bcd28-e236-11ea-b16c-d7f665064dd9.html

Assholes.

Link to tweet

[BobTheSubgenius]

59. Time to get the feds on this.

There must be SOMEONE with integrity left in the election or legal structure.

[lsewpershad]

61. Guess

This is what makes America exceptional.

[Blue Owl]

63. Fuckers