Tucker reacts to leaked George Floyd footage: 'Why haven't we seen the rest of the video until right now?'

The American people should have been allowed to see police body camera footage of the moments before Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin pinned George Floyd's neck under Chauvin's knee much sooner than this week, Tucker Carlson argued Tuesday.
Footage from the cameras of former rookie officers Thomas Lane and J. Alexander Kueng was obtained by the Daily Mail and published Monday. The video shows about 18 minutes from Kueng's body camera and 10 minutes from Lane's.
The footage shows four Minneapolis police officers struggling with Floyd this past May 25 before one of them, Derek Chauvin, ultimately pins Floyd to the ground in a scene that sparked protests worldwide.
POLICE BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE OF GEORGE FLOYD ARREST LEAKED, PUBLISHED DESPITE DISTRIBUTION BAN
"The catechism has been written and it's in stone. 'George Floyd is a martyr, period' ... " the "Tucker Carlson Tonight" host said. "But in America, that's not good enough. It's not a real answer. In free societies, citizens have a right to know why things are changing so quickly.
"What exactly is the basis of this cultural revolution that we're all living through?" Carlson asked. "Once again, it may be some time before we can answer those questions with certainty. Maybe we never will. We'll probably debate them for decades. But more facts are always the first step toward establishing what the truth is ...
"Floyd's death has been used to justify a nationwide convulsion of violence, destruction, looting, in some cases killing ..." Carlson went on. "In addition to unprecedented levels of political upheaval, the wholesale reordering of our most basic institutions, Floyd's death changed everything. It was a pivot point in American history. No matter what your side you're on, that's very clear at this point. So with all of that in mind ... it's striking how little we really know months later about how exactly George Floyd died."
Carlson then played clips of the body camera footage. Prior to its publication by the Daily Mail, the video was only available for viewing at the Hennepin County Courthouse, by appointment only.
"You can decide for yourself what you think of that video. And we hope you will. That's the whole point of having a news network, to bring you the facts and allow you to decide what they amount to. We hope that takes place in this case," Carlson said. "So the question is, why haven't we seen the rest of the video until right now? The video seems relevant, particularly considering all that happened next."
Fox News' Sam Dorman and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Cruz slams Dems after contentious hearing on Antifa: 'They want to encourage these radical leftists'

Democrats are "facilitating" riots and violence in major American cities and encouraging "radical leftists" who are threatening Americans, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Tuesday on "Hannity."

"What's happening, unfortunately, is not free speech," Cruz said, "and those who are peaceably protesting are seeing their protests hijacked by violent anarchists, by Marxists who are engaged in acts of terror.
"At the end of the day, none of this is complicated," he added. "Don't assault your fellow citizens. Don't firebomb a police car. Don't loot and destroy small businesses. Don't murder police officers."
Cruz, who chaired a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing concerning Antifa Tuesday, slammed Democrats for not condemning the far-left group.
"Seven Democrats spoke and ... questioned the witnesses. Not a single one dared to ... criticize Antifa in any way, because they're making a cynical decision that they want to encourage these radical leftists who are assaulting and threatening American citizens," Cruz said. "It's really unfortunate."
The hearing was marked by antagonism between Cruz and Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, who left before the hearing was adjourned.
Cruz told host Sean Hannity that the Democratic Party has "really unleashed the crazies."
"Most of the party is really held captive to the extreme angry voices, whether it's Antifa, whether ... it is AOC or Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren," Cruz said. "And you see them denying reality. You'll also see them using rhetoric, I mean, calling federal police officers 'storm troopers' like Nancy Pelosi did, or 'Gestapo,' as Clyburn did ... Cops are not Nazis, and it is grotesque. It is offensive."
Fox News' Marisa Schultz contributed t othis report.

Democrat Run Cities Cartoons

Cruz, ahead of Antifa hearing, describes riots in US cities as ‘organized terror attacks’

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is aiming to highlight the role Antifa and like-minded groups are playing in riots across the country, convening a Senate hearing Tuesday on the issue while alleging that radical left-wing groups are engaging in "organized terror attacks" designed to tear down government institutions.
“Across the country, we’re seeing horrific violence, we’re seeing our country torn apart. Violent anarchists and Marxists are exploiting protests to transform them into riots and direct assaults on the lives and safety of their fellow Americans,” Cruz told Fox News in an interview.
On Tuesday, Cruz will chair a hearing of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution to investigate groups such as Antifa, which, while active for years, have recently escalated their presence in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody. The hearing is called "The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble: Protecting Speech by Stopping Anarchist Violence.”
Speakers will include Acting Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, journalist Andy Ngo and law professor Jonathan Turley. It comes after two months of protests and violent riots hit downtown Portland, where rioters have attacked the Hatfield Courthouse and clashed with federal law enforcement protecting it.
As part of his opening statement, Cruz will play a video to the committee that shows peaceful protests led by civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., and contrasts them with the violence committed by Antifa and similar groups.
"These violent riots are not spontaneous, nor are they mere coincidences. Instead, the evidence suggests they are organized terror attacks designed to instill fear and tear down the fundamental institutions of government. This hearing is designed to understand who is driving the violence, who is driving the assaults, who is driving the murders, and what their objective is,” Cruz said.
Law enforcement in Portland were blinded by lasers, assaulted and doxed online. But local and state officials backed the protesters and accused the Trump administration of having escalated the situation with their presence, as well as "kidnapping" protesters. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and DHS came to an agreement late last month on a phased withdrawal for law enforcement, conditional on the courthouse being protected.
But Portland is one of a number of cities that have been hit by unrest amid broader protests, some of them peaceful, since the death of George Floyd in May. Cruz asserts that the violence is not a natural offshoot of peaceful protests against police brutality -- and he wants to get to the bottom of who is responsible.
"The hearing will assess who is driving the violence, who is driving the assaults, who is driving the fires, who is driving the explosions, who is driving the murders, why are they doing so, how are they doing so and what do they hope to achieve through violent acts of terror?" he told Fox News.
As well as Antifa, Cruz also wants the hearing to look at Black Lives Matter. He makes a distinction between the statement “black lives matter,” which he calls “unquestionably true,” and the organization Black Lives Matter -- which has called for people to “disrupt” the "Western-prescribed nuclear family structure" and defund police departments.
“The actual organization denominated Black Lives Matter was created by avowed Marxists pursuing a radical agenda including defunding police departments across the country and that agenda, if implemented, would have the consequence of a great many more Black lives being lost,” Cruz said.
The hearing comes after Cruz last month introduced the RECLAIM Act which would hold state and local officials liable for private property damage caused by rioters if those officials had given a stand-down order to police or had allowed rioters to establish an “autonomous zone” as happened recently in Seattle
Cruz says he hopes there is common ground with the Democratic minority in the Senate: “All of us should be able to come together and say ‘don't assault other Americans, don't burn their homes or businesses to the ground, don’t murder police officers.’”
However, he notes that a number of Democrats, both locally and nationally, have criticized the actions of law enforcement in places like Portland. Oregon’s Democratic congressional delegation demanded investigations into federal activity while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called officers “stormtroopers” -- a remark that outraged Cruz and others.
“When Nancy Pelosi calls federal law enforcement officers stormtroopers and that is a term that hearkens back to Nazi Germany, when she wrongfully alleges that they are kidnapping Americans, that is a grotesque lie, and a slander and it endangers the lives of law enforcement,” he said.
“It reflects the very unfortunate political determination that a lot of Democrats have made -- that given the choice between standing with innocent Americans or violent terrorists seeking to hurt their fellow citizens, to date too many of them have stood with terrorists,” he said.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw says Obama just wants to spread radical agenda

Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, took to Twitter late Monday to try and dispel the lingering belief that Barack Obama, the former president, represents the moderate side of the Democrat Party.
Crenshaw pointed to a list of endorsements that Obama tweeted out earlier in the day and pointed to how Obama is  “meddling” in races all across Texas.  The Lone Star State is a target for Democrats in 2020.
Crenshaw, a rising star in the Republican Party, said that Obama’s only goal is to help his party “spread the most radical agenda in a century.”
“He’s no moderate,” Crenshaw wrote. “Neither are his candidates.”
Republicans have been trying to tie Joe Biden to the left-wing of the Democrat Party. Their theory is the Biden will be elected as a moderate, but, once in office, will relent his power to the extremes of the party.
Obama stayed largely out of public eye during the Democrat Primaries but has recently been more vocal about his opinion on the direction of the country.
“We may no longer have to guess the number of jellybeans in a jar in order to cast a ballot, but even as we sit here, there are those in power, who are doing their darndest to discourage people from voting by closing polling locations and targeting minorities and students with restrictive ID laws and attacking our voting rights with surgical precision -- even undermining the postal service in the run-up to an election that's going to be dependent on mail-in ballots so people don't get sick,” he said.
His criticism was seen as a direct shot at President Trump.
Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News last week his theory on why the state may now be up for grabs. He said that middle-class and suburban women are moving away from Trump, pointing to Georgia and Texas specifically as locations with high concentrations of that demographic.
"If you look at what is happening nationally, there are two broad demographic trends going on nationally, blue-collar workers, union members are moving right, and that is moving midwestern states more Republican, states like Ohio and Michigan and Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, every one of which went for Donald Trump in 2016 -- at the same time we are seeing suburban voters, in particular suburban women who are moving left," said Cruz.

Woman stabbed at Portland’s anti-cop protest site

A confrontation in downtown Portland on Monday evening resulted in one woman stabbing another at the site of nightly racial justice demonstrations, according to authorities.
Portland Police said the victim is being treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The suspect left the scene before returning and is now being interviewed by authorities.
The female suspect had entered Lownsdale Square Park around 6:20 p.m., which is located across from Portland’s Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse. Police said that after taking photos or videos she got into an argument with other people in the park before stabbing another woman in the chest.

Black Lives Matter protesters march through Portland after rallying at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse on Sunday. (AP)

Video posted to Twitter purports to show the victim covered in blood while others were seen trying to approach the suspect. A woman recording the video was heard yelling: “Call the police!”
“I told you not to f--- with us,” a man was also heard saying as he and the victim confronted the alleged stabber.
Another video that was taken by an activist named Crystal Kalashnikov allegedly showed the suspect being taken into custody outside police headquarters, The Oregonian reported. Police have yet to confirm if the suspect had been arrested.
Kalashnikov said the encounter began when the woman approached a group of protesters and tried to agitate people at the scene, according to the paper. She said the suspect tried to leave before returning and stabbing the victim.
Police said when they were securing the crime scene, someone picked the up the knife and "ran off with it." Officers would later leave the scene after encountering a “hostile crowd” while trying to investigate the crime, authorities said.
"Officers were unable to safely conduct an investigation due to the hostile crowd, and supervisors made the decision to disengage," police said.
Authorities added that anyone with information about the location of the knife should call police non-emergency at 503-823-3333.

MSNBC producer resigns from network with scathing letter: They block 'diversity of thought' and 'amplify fringe voices'

A former MSNBC producer wrote a scathing open letter explaining why she recently left the cable news network.
"July 24th was my last day at MSNBC. I don’t know what I’m going to do next exactly but I simply couldn’t stay there anymore," Ariana Pekary wrote on her personal website. "My colleagues are very smart people with good intentions. The problem is the job itself. It forces skilled journalists to make bad decisions on a daily basis."
Pekary provided a number of examples of why she wanted to leave the cable news network.
"It’s possible that I’m more sensitive to the editorial process due to my background in public radio, where no decision I ever witnessed was predicated on how a topic or guest would 'rate.' The longer I was at MSNBC, the more I saw such choices — it’s practically baked in to the editorial process – and those decisions affect news content every day," Pekary said. "Likewise, it’s taboo to discuss how the ratings scheme distorts content, or it’s simply taken for granted, because everyone in the commercial broadcast news industry is doing the exact same thing. But behind closed doors, industry leaders will admit the damage that’s being done."
She then quoted someone she described a "successful and insightful TV veteran" who said: "We are a cancer and there is no cure... But if you could find a cure, it would change the world.”

Pekary, who described herself as an "integral member" of the MSNBC primetime show "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell," used the "cancer" analogy to describe MSNBC's coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and the racial unrest in recent months, writing: "The model blocks diversity of thought and content because the networks have incentive to amplify fringe voices and events, at the expense of others… all because it pumps up the ratings."
"This cancer risks human lives, even in the middle of a pandemic. The primary focus quickly became what Donald Trump was doing (poorly) to address the crisis, rather than the science itself. As new details have become available about antibodies, a vaccine, or how COVID actually spreads, producers still want to focus on the politics. Important facts or studies get buried," Pekary explained.  "This cancer risks our democracy, even in the middle of a presidential election. Any discussion about the election usually focuses on Donald Trump, not Joe Biden, a repeat offense from 2016 (Trump smothers out all other coverage). Also important is to ensure citizens can vote by mail this year, but I’ve watched that topic get ignored or 'killed' numerous times."
Pekary claimed that network producers would "occasionally" choose topics or stories regardless of how they would rate, "but that is the exception, not the rule" and that the industry's structure and "the desire to charge more money for commercials" in addition to "ratings bonuses that top-tier decision-makers earn" prevent the network from pursuing stories she believes the audiences should be informed about.
"I’ve even heard producers deny their role as journalists. A very capable senior producer once said: 'Our viewers don’t really consider us the news. They come to us for comfort,'" Pekary wrote. "Now maybe we can’t really change the inherently broken structure of broadcast news, but I know for certain that it won’t change unless we actually face it, in public, and at least try to change it."
She concluded her letter by telling her readers to reach out to her, writing "More than ever, I’m craving a full and civil discourse."
Bari Weiss, the former New York Times op-ed staff editor who recently resigned from the newspaper with her own letter, praised Pekary's "integrity" on social media.
MSNBC did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.
According to her personal site, Pekary joined MSNBC in 2013 as part of launching Alec Baldwin's short-lived show. She previously worked for NPR.

Minneapolis’ Frey accuses Walz of dragging feet during early unrest

Mayor Jacob Frey, the Minneapolis Democrat who faced sharp criticism over his handling of the George Floyd riots in June, on Monday seemed to place much of the blame on Gov. Tim Walz, another Democrat, for failing to act quickly on early requests from the city for state intervention, a report said.
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune published a detailed report that shed light on the interaction between the mayor's office and Walz in the early days of the protest. The governor's office made it clear that National Guard Troops were ready within 24 hours of the mayor's informal request, but Frey seems to be unconvinced that the governor's office took the unfolding crisis as serious as the moment demanded.
The report also shows clear fissures in Frey’s relationship with Walz. Frey told the paper that he remembered a press conference that the governor held outside the smoldering Third Precinct when he called the city’s response to the unrest the night before an “abject failure.”
Frey said watching the press conference was “definitely a hit in the gut.”
“Not just for me, but for so many in our city that were doing everything they could…Everyone was pouring themselves into stemming the violence,” he said.
Frey told the paper that the city was clear that the situation on the ground was dire and unfolding quickly. He told the paper that on May 27, he called the governor and told him to send in the National Guard. Frey recalled Walz saying that he would consider it.
The paper reported that the city released documents last week that seem to back up Frey’s claim. The paper pointed to a text message that Frey’s spokesman sent to fellow employees at the mayor’s office that read, “Mayor just came out and said the chief wants him to call in the national guard to help at Third Precinct. Mayor appears intent on doing.”
The situation in Minneapolis at the time of these messages was deteriorating quickly and even got the attention of President Trump who took to Twitter on May 29 to say that he “can’t stand back & watch this happen."
He continued, “A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right.
Stores were vandalized and burned but one of the most widely reported topics was Frey's order to abandon the Third Precinct.
The symbolism of the building cannot outweigh the importance of life, our officers or the public,” he said at the time.
The Star-Tribune reported that it obtained emails and text messages that help paint a clearer picture of what happened during the protests from Wednesday, May 27 and the surrounding days. On May 28, the mayor’s office reportedly wrote once more to request additional support from the state and informed the governor’s office of “widespread looting and arson.”
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to an email from Fox News for comment. Teddy Tschann, a spokesman for Walz, told the paper that the governor is a 24-year veteran of the state’s National Guard and “knows how much planning goes into a successful mission." Tschann’s statement made it seem as though the mayor’s office was not specific with its reporting on the events occurring on the ground.
The paper pointed out that there is also a disagreement between city and state leaders over whether a verbal request for troops qualifies as a formal request.
John Harrington,  the public safety commissioner, told the Star-Tribune that the city was not “specific about what they wanted or any details on what the mission would be.”