FACT CHECK: Phoenix ABC Runs Cover for Charged Antifa Gangsters Arrested in Armed Riot
Richard Moorhead
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A new feature report from Phoenix’s ABC 15 paints a group of Antifa extremists charged as criminal gangsters in Maricopa County as victims of political prosecution- all without mentioning that they’re facing charges of aggravated assault for carrying at least one weapon as they vandalized public property, rioted, and deployed smoke devices during an October protest.
Dave Biscobing’s report highlights the personal hobbies and backgrounds of the charged Antifa gang members. The report, which broadcast Thursday, fails to mentions the armed nature of the October riot and the allegations of criminal conduct.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDPrRqVLG70
Photography of the riot appears to show repeat Antifa extremist Sumayyah Dawud carrying a long gun. The mob of black-clad rioters chanted anti-police slogans before the arrest, which occurred after officers identified Dawud carrying a weapon.
Dawud, a self-identifying Antifa, has a long history of riot arrests, offenses and violent threats in Arizona. The transgender Muslim is known to carry weapons to left-wing street protests in a full niqab, and was previously kicked out of a Tempe mosque for declining to recognize Islamic teaching on gender and insisting on praying with a women’s group.
A letter from the Arizona Department of Public Safety revoking the longtime Antifa activist’s concealed carry permit indicates that she’s charged with aggravated assault against an officer, a felony charge that could land the leftist militant a prison sentence of up to a decade.
Arizona permits open carry of weapons without a license, and law enforcement tends to act strictly when those carrying weapons commit crimes.
Bisbobing’s puff piece for the charged Antifas wasn’t the first time that a mainstream media organization has attempted to run PR for the extremists. Leftist Riley Behrens was interviewed by CNN just weeks after his arrest for the armed riot, with Arizona Senator Mark Kelly touting the charged extremist on his Twitter feed.
Riley Behrens appeared on CNN last week. He's been charged with assisting a criminal gang, aggravated assault w. deadly weapon, riot, obstruction of a highway and unlawful assembly in connection with an October ANTIFA riot in Phoenix pic.twitter.com/gs6iPQAHGV
— Richard (@Wildman_AZ) December 7, 2020
Maricopa County Attorney Adel Allister has declined to bow to left-wing demands that the charged Antifas be provided with a free pass, instead proceeding with prosecution even as left-wing groups stage protests outside of the prosecutor’s office. The coordination of the Antifa group in facts exceeds the standard for gang conduct applied to other groups of criminal offenders, more than justifying the gang designation Allister has filed.
The charged Antifa rioters include Summayah Dawud (Britney Austin), Riley Behrens, Kalixta Villasaez(pictured) Jacquelyn Alcaraz, Ryder Collins, Suvarna Ratnam, Brenda Diaz, Jessica Gibson, Nathan Aderholdt, Dominic Bonelli, and Amy Kaper.
Big League Politics has requested comment from ABC15’s Dave Biscobing, seeking clarity as to why the armed nature of the Antifa riot was excluded from his report.
Follow me on Gab @WildmanAZ, Twitter @Wildman_AZ, and on Parler @Moorhead.
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