From USA Today:
“Fact check: Jacob Blake faces
charges in May assault case, but he has no gun convictions”
Claim: Jacob Blake had a warrant for sexual assault and prior convictions for gun use. When Kenosha, Wisconsin, police shot a Black man in the back seven times, it launched a now all-too-familiar avalanche of reaction. Protests. Property damage. And an online rush to judgment fueled by each poster’s preexisting position on social justice and the Black Lives Matter movement. Police shot Jacob Blake, 29, on Aug. 23 as he attempted to get into a small SUV with his three sons inside while officers aimed guns at him, according to officials and a bystander’s video of the incident that has been virally shared. Blake survived, but his family’s attorney said he is paralyzed from the waist down. There are more questions than answers about what happened before the video was taken. Some of that may not be known for months, until an outside review by the state Department of Justice is completed. But we can address Blake’s background, which many on social media have used to suggest as evidence that he is to blame for what happened. In truth, it is not yet clear if officers even knew anything about Blake’s background when they arrived. An Aug. 24, a Facebook post shared thousands of times asserts Blake “had an active warrant for domestic violence and sexual assault” and “has prior criminal convictions for illegal gun use.” Such allegations are a common and patently unfair response to tragic events that need to be corrected, said Daniel Medwed, professor of law and criminal justice at Northeastern University School of Law. Attacks on a victim’s actions and background can impact both the court of public opinion and the ensuing criminal court actions, he said. “You’re fighting in two different courts basically with a high-profile case, and victim-blaming can ‘help’ with both,” Medwed said. “The narrative seems to always be about the danger posed by the victim, to basically create a sentiment that police were in danger. … The implication from that is that because there’s something bad about their character they somehow deserved what they got, which is patently absurd and absolutely disgusting.” Here’s what we know about Blake’s past contact with law enforcement.
One open case had warrants The first part of this claim is largely
accurate. Blake was charged July 6 with felony third-degree sexual assault and
misdemeanor trespassing and disorderly conduct. All three offenses carried a
penalty enhancer because they were connected to domestic abuse. The charges —
which have not gone to trial — stem from a May 3 incident in Kenosha County. A
woman Blake knew told police he came into her house about 6 a.m., sexually
assaulted her and then took a debit card and car keys before fleeing in her
vehicle, according to a criminal complaint. Contrary to many social media
claims, the woman involved in this case was an adult. A warrant for Blake’s
arrest was filed the day after the criminal complaint, online court records
show. Police radio traffic explains officers were dispatched for "family
trouble," and a dispatcher named Blake as taking the caller’s keys and
refusing to give them back. A dispatcher used the police code 10-99 while
sending officers, alerting them to Blake's warrant.
Charges, but no conviction for
gun use The second element of the claim is wrong. Blake was charged with a
gun-related offense in 2015, but he was not convicted. The Facebook post
offered as proof a Sept. 22, 2015, article from the Racine County Eye website.
It described charges being filed, but did not reference a conviction. Our
review of court records shows a confrontation at a Racine County, Wisconsin,
bar led to a combative traffic stop and a total of five criminal charges in
September 2015, including resisting an officer, disorderly conduct and three
gun-related ones. But those charges were later dismissed on a motion
from prosecutors, said Racine County Clerk of Circuit Court Samuel Christensen.
The court file said it was dismissed in February 2018 “due to witness issues
and age of case.” After this fact-check published, the Facebook page
that posted the claim edited the post to note the error and correct the
reference to a conviction. Since more than two years has passed since
the case was dismissed, it is no longer visible via online court records, per a
Wisconsin Supreme Court rule.
^ Why isn't anyone standing up for the woman that he raped? Also, allowing 3 children to be around a rapist should be considered child endangerment. I guess you're "allowed" to overlook certain facts when it doesn't suit your message. I think it's Karma that he raped a woman and now he is paralyzed from the waist down. He won't be raping anyone else ever again. ^
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