Since there was no violence what so ever at the gun rights rally in Richmond, Virginia on Monday, CBS Evening News apparently decided to make-up some fake news and claim there was. As fill-in anchor Maurice DuBois began discussing the event, he falsely claimed there was “more than a week” of “violence” leading up to the rally. But back in reality, there wasn’t.
Before he even got to the report, and longer still until CBS admitted there was no violence, DuBois used the opening tease of the program to mislead viewers by suggesting rally goers forced Richmond law enforcement to deploy riot police. “Tight security, more than 20,000 show up to protest stricter gun laws in Richmond as police in riot gear turn out in force. The latest on Virginia's showdown over the second amendment,” he purported.
At no point did CBS show pictures or video of these supposedly-deployed riot police.
That misleading narrative about police deployment continued as he got to the segment. “The tightened security came after more than a week of threats and violence and the governor after he declared a state of emergency,” DuBois lied. There was no evidence to support his suggestion that gun rights advocates were responsible for “more than a week” of “violence” ahead of the event. If that really was the case, then why hadn't CBS covered it?
CBS chief justice and homeland security correspondent Jeff Pegues was on the ground in Richmond, giving the sense that Second Amendment supporters were a threat to national security.
The tone in Pegues’s voice gave away how scared he was to be around peaceful, law-abiding gun owners. “22,000 gun-rights supporters came out today, many armed to the teeth, some dressed in fatigues, others with handguns on their hips,” he fretted to viewers. “And rifles draped across their chests.”
Pegues kept up his fear-mongering against the crowd as he pointed out which parts of the Virginia Capitol area had gun bans because of Governor Ralph Northam’s (D) ridiculous state of emergency.
“On Capitol grounds, right in there behind this fence, this is where the state of emergency is, where you can't bring any weapons. But just beyond the fence, a lot of guns,” he said with clear dread in his voice. “There are probably thousands of them out here, far outnumbering what law enforcement has.”
It wasn’t until the end of his report that CBS finally admitted the protest was entirely peaceful. But, of course, Pegues still wanted to try to tie the rally to white supremacists. “The extra security came following the arrest of three members of a white supremacist group threatening to come to the rally to cause a race war. But today's event ended peacefully,” Pegues relented.
Despite just admitting the rally was peaceful, Pegues concluded by spreading the smears from anti-gun groups: “Gun control advocates had called for a counter-protest out here today, but in the end, that was called off out of concerns that it could have led to confrontations.”
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CBS Evening News
January 20, 2020
6:30:47 p.m. Eastern [Opening tease]MAURICE DUBOIS: Tight security, more than 20,000 show up to protest stricter gun laws in Richmond as police in riot gear turn out in force. The latest on Virginia's showdown over the second amendment.
(…)
6:36:39 p.m. Eastern
DUBOIS: Hundreds of police were out in force today as gun-rights supporters rallied outside of Virginia's capitol. The tightened security came after more than a week of threats and violence and the governor after he declared a state of emergency. Jeff Pegues reports tonight from Richmond.
[Cuts to video]
JEFF PEGUES: 22,000 gun-rights supporters came out today, many armed to the teeth, some dressed in fatigues, others with handguns on their hips.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 1: I carry it with me every day.
PEGUES: And rifles draped across their chests.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 2: You see people who want to stand up and keep their guns because it's our right to do that, defend ourselves in a time of danger.
PEGUES: Thomas Steele came here from West Virginia.
THOMAS STEELE: I actually brought two guns. I brought a smaller gun. I usually have an AK-47, but that's quite the “scary” rifle. But I decided to bring out the .22 because nobody is shooting nothing today.
PEGUES: Governor Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency which banned all weapons on capitol building grounds and brought with it extremely tight security.
On capitol grounds, right in there behind this fence, this is where the state of emergency is, where you can't bring any weapons. But just beyond the fence, a lot of guns.
There are probably thousands of them out here, far outnumbering what law enforcement has.
The extra security came following the arrest of three members of a white supremacist group threatening to come to the rally to cause a race war. But today's event ended peacefully.
[Cuts back to live]
Gun control advocates had called for a counter-protest out here today, but in the end, that was called off out of concerns that it could have led to confrontations. Maurice?
DUBOIS: Okay, Jeff Pegues in Richmond tonight, thank you.
