Over the weekend, a St. Louis couple living in an upscale neighborhood was terrorized by a Black Lives Matter mob that destroyed a metal gate and invaded their private community, all so they could target the mayor with calls for her resignation. When reporting on the incident Monday night, ABC and NBC intentionally hid those facts as they insisted the mob was just made up of “peaceful protesters,” and demonized the couple for protecting their home and lives with guns.
Kicking off the segment on NBC Nightly News, anchor Lester Holt decried President Trump’s retweeting of the video showing the couple. “This evening, a new firestorm involving President Trump after he retweeted an inflammatory video made during a protest in St. Louis,” Holt sneered.
Moments later, NBC White House correspondent Kristen Welker claimed, without evidence, that Trump was trying to stoke “racial” “tensions” with the video:
Tonight, as protests for racial justice persist, the President is again stoking tensions on Twitter, sharing a video today of a white couple in an upscale St. Louis neighborhood pointing firearms and shouting at peaceful protesters.
Over on ABC’s World News Tonight, chief White House correspondent Jon Karl also insisted Trump’s retweet was a way to “rally his base with racially incendiary rhetoric.” And absent of any context, Karl reported that the video was of “a white couple in St. Louis pointing guns at black protesters walking by on a street in front of their home.”
At no point did he inform viewers that the racially mixed mob had trespassed on private property by destroying a gate. And ignoring reports that the couple’s lives and property were being threatened by the mob, Karl scoffed at their defense:
The attorney for that gun-toting couple has also a statement out, saying, “their actions were borne solely of fear and apprehension,” were not race-related. In fact, Tom, the lawyer for the couple claims that they support the protesters and the black lives matter movement.
But he did manage to tout how the couple was being investigated. “The top prosecutor for the city of St. Louis announced they are investigating,” he cheered. “Saying, quote, ‘we must protect the right to peacefully protest and any attempt to chill it through intimidate or the threat of deadly force will not be tolerated.’”
Proving themselves to be better journalists than either Karl or Welker, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a local newspaper, reported that St. Louis police were investigating the mob for “trespassing and fourth-degree assault by intimidation.” Police told the paper that the violent mob was “yelling obscenities and threats of harm to both victims” and were brandishing their own weapons.
The Post-Dispatch also spoke with a constitutional scholar from St. Louis University, who said the couple had every right under Missouri’s Castle Doctrine to protect their home with guns:
Anders Walker, a constitutional law professor at St. Louis University, said that although it's "very dangerous" to engage protesters with guns, the homeowners broke no laws by brandishing or pointing weapons at them because Portland Place is a private street. He said the McCloskeys are protected by Missouri's Castle Doctrine, which allows people to use deadly force to defend private property.
And in an interview with 5 On Your Side, the local NBC affiliate, homeowner Mark McCloskey explained that “the only thing that stopped the crowd was my rifle.” Adding: “This isn’t a protest. It’s a revolution. It’s just an attempt to inflict terror.”
Also, none of the broadcast networks (CBS included) reported on how another St. Louis mob viciously beat Catholics trying to protect a statue of St. Louis.
ABC’s protection of the violent mob was sponsored by GEICO, while NBC’s was sponsored by Progressive. Their contact information is linked.
The transcripts are below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s World News Tonight
June 29, 2020
6:40:20 p.m. EasternTOM LLAMAS: We move on now to the White House, fighting battles on several fronts tonight. Responding to President Trump's new Twitter firestorm. Over the weekend, the president retweeting then deleting this supporter yelling a racist message at anti-Trump protesters. He also retweeted startling video from ABC news, showing a couple pointing guns at protesters marching past their homes in St. Louis. Here's ABC's chief white house correspondent Jonathan Karl.
(…)
JON KARL: This morning, another one. A tweet featuring video of a white couple in St. Louis pointing guns at black protesters walking by on a street in front of their home. One of the President's supporters in Congress [Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL)] tweeting, "This is all of us."
[Cuts to video]
LLAMAS: All right, Jon Karl joins us now from the White House. And Jon, local authorities investigating that couple tonight?
KARL: The top prosecutor for the city of St. Louis announced they are investigating, saying, quote, “we must protect the right to peacefully protest and any attempt to chill it through intimidate or the threat of deadly force will not be tolerated.”
The attorney for that gun-toting couple has also a statement out, saying, “their actions were borne solely of fear and apprehension,” were not race-related. In fact, Tom, the lawyer for the couple claims that they support the protesters and the black lives matter movement.
LLAMAS: All right, Jonathan Karl for us. Jon, thank you for that.
NBC Nightly News
June 29, 2020
7:08:30 p.m. EasternLESTER HOLT: This evening, a new firestorm involving President Trump after he retweeted an inflammatory video made during a protest in St. Louis. This follows a racist video he retweeted the day before. NBC’s Kristin Welker has more now from the White House.
[Cuts to video]
WELKER: Tonight, as protests for racial justice persist, the President is again stoking tensions on Twitter, sharing a video today of a white couple in an upscale St. Louis neighborhood pointing firearms and shouting at peaceful protesters. The White House has not commented on that video…
(…)
