How Criminal Cops Often Avoid Jail

New Jersey officers accused of violence, sexual misconduct and more have walked free in deals that dodge a tough sentencing law. Now lawmakers want to eliminate it. When New Jersey lawmakers sought advice about police accountability, one of the power players they turned to was Sean Lavin, a police union leader. Lavin testified before state senators at a July hearing, where he questioned whether civilians are qualified to serve on police oversight boards, and suggested that chokeholds might sometimes be warranted. He also argued against releasing the names of officers who have been disciplined. “It’s a public shaming to their families,” said Lavin, executive director of the New Jersey Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council. “I don’t see the value in that, and I don’t think there is one.” But Lavin’s own history illustrates something else. A state law enacted more than a decade ago to jail criminal officers and other public officials who abuse their authority hasn’t worked as intended. Lavin is one of dozens of New Jersey officers who have been criminally charged with official misconduct but avoided the jail time called for under the law, an investigation by the Asbury Park Press and ProPublica has found. Lavin was indicted in 2014 when he worked as a Mercer County sheriff’s officer. The indictment accused him of using pepper spray on a handcuffed woman, filing a false report about the encounter and encouraging other officers to fake their reports, too. The charges included three counts of second-degree official misconduct, which is reserved for public employees who are accused of criminally misusing their position. A conviction on each charge should come with mandatory jail time — up to five years with no parole, in this case — according to state law. But Lavin received no jail time, no probation, no criminal record. In exchange for his resignation from the force, in October 2015 he entered a “pretrial intervention” program ordinarily reserved for low-level crimes. It wiped the charges from his record.

via propublica: How Criminal Cops Often Avoid Jail

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#Islamophobes target #women 9 times out of 10

Muslim women made up 90.6% of victims of Islamophobia in Belgium in 2019, according to a report presented by the Collectif contre l’islamophobie en Belgique (CCIB) on Friday. The CCIB last year received 108 complaints of Islamophobia, of which 96 led to the opening of cases, the group noted in its report, presented at the launch of the Brussels Week of Action against Hate and Islamophobia, SBAHI. Eighty of the 96 investigations confirmed that the actions were in fact Islamophobic. For the 64 cases in which at least one of the victims was known, nine times out of 10 they were women. Men made up 9.4% of those targeted. In almost nine cases out of 10, the perpetrators’ actions were against the law: more than half (51.3%) were cases of discrimination, 16.3% constituted incitement to hatred, 15% were hate crimes and five percent were acts of harassment, mostly in the workplace. To fight against Islamophobia, the CCIB is seeking to raise awareness in the media and among political and opinion leaders.

via brusselstime: Islamophobes target women 9 times out of 10

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#AfD-Kandidat – #Streifenpolizist beschimpft die #Kanzlerin – #schauhin #hetzer #polizeiproblem

Polizeipräsidentin lässt rechtliche Maßnahmen gegen ihn prüfen. Dietmar Gedig kandidiert für die AfD für den NRW-Landtag. Für helle Aufregung in Polizeikreisen sorgten Äußerungen des AfD-Mitglieds und Solinger Streifenpolizisten Dietmar Gedig über Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) und NRW Innenminister Ralf Jäger (SPD). Gedig bezeichnete auf der Delegiertenversammlung der AfD zur Aufstellung einer Landtagswahlliste in Euskirchen Merkel als „wahnsinnig“ und „kriminell“. Dies sorgte am Montag dafür, dass die zuständige Verwaltung des Polizeipräsidiums Wuppertal prüfte, ob disziplinarrechtlich Schritte gegen den Kommissar eingeleitet werden müssen. Zudem griff der AfD-Kandidat für den Landtag seinen Dienstherrn, Ralf Jäger an. Gedig wirft ihm vor, „völlig versagt“ zu haben. (…) [Verwaltung] Diese solle prüfen, ob es eine Handhabe aufgrund des Disziplinarrechts gegen Gedig gebe. Die könnte sich etwa aus dem Beamtenstatusgesetz ergeben. Darin heißt es unter anderem zu den „Grundpflichten“ eines Beamten gehöre, er müsse sich „zu der freiheitlichen demokratischen Grundordnung“ bekennen und „für deren Erhaltung eintreten.“ An einen Polizisten, der sich derart politisch geäußert hätte, kann sich Arnold Plickert, stellvertretender Bundesvorsitzender der Gewerkschaft der Polizei (GdP), nicht erinnern. Er plädiert dafür, auch strafrechtliche Schritte zu prüfen. Was Gedig gesagt habe, sei eine „Bemerkung über den Durst hinaus“, erklärte NRW-GdP-Pressesprecher Stephan Hegger. Man sei heute froh, dass Gedig schon länger nicht mehr GdP-Mitglied sei. Auch bei der Deutschen Polizei-Gewerkschaft bezeichnet man das Verhalten von Gedig als „verwerflich“.

via solinger tageblatt: AfD-Kandidat – Streifenpolizist beschimpft die Kanzlerin

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https://twitter.com/azwuppertal/status/1310179117539700739
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Who’s behind Lancaster Patriot? An alt-right podcaster from Texas, investigation shows

A man believed to be Norman “Trey” Garrison crouches near a table set up at Art Park in downtown Lancaster during a nighttime protest following the police shooting of Ricardo Munoz. The video was streamed live on Facebook. Norman Asa Garrison III once joked about the Holocaust, saying “nothing is better than throwing some Hebrews on the fire.” He scoffed at films starring Black actors in lead roles, describing the actors as “ridiculous coal-skinned, bootlips blue gums.” And he encouraged his supporters in the alt-right, a loosely connected group of white nationalists, to commit violence against women and smash journalists in the face with bricks. Now the long-time Texas resident, described by experts who study hate groups as a notorious white nationalist with a history of instigating harassment campaigns, has set up shop in Lancaster County. The 51-year-old former journalist, who does not reveal his name on his social media accounts or on his website, claims to be launching a conservative, weekly print newspaper called The Lancaster Patriot. Identifying himself only as “Trey,” Garrison has used his social media accounts and website to claim without evidence that members of antifa — far-left-leaning militant groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists — infiltrated the recent rallies against police violence in Lancaster. His posts focus disproportionately on civil unrest in Lancaster city and cast the Black Lives Matter movement in a negative light, playing on fears of racial violence among the primarily white and Republican population living in the suburbs and rural parts of the county. Reads one Lancaster Patriot headline: “BLM/Antifa Rioters Clash with Police in Lancaster After Police Shoot a Violent Knife-Wielding Felon.” Garrison’s web presence alarms local racial justice advocates, media experts and political analysts. Michael Hayden, who has reported on Garrison for the Southern Poverty Law Center and who also reports on the rise of extremism in America since 2016, said the partisan nature of Garrison’s writing stands out because it’s based in Pennsylvania, a top battleground state for the 2020 election. “It is certainly disappointing to see a Dallas-area conman, who for years lied and pretended to be a wealthy psychiatrist while living a double life, descend on a city like Lancaster and raise hell in it,” Hayden said. “Garrison is a white nationalist, a misogynist, a bully and a grifter.” While evidence does not show that partisan sites like this one actually sway votes, it has the potential to exploit confusion around the election or deepen tensions in the community, said Stephen Medvic, a government professor at Franklin & Marshall College.

via lancaster online: Who’s behind Lancaster Patriot? An alt-right podcaster from Texas, investigation shows

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Trump convoy participant yells ‘Heil Hitler’ and gives Nazi salute in Hillsborough

A man participating in a Trump convoy repeatedly yelled “Heil Hitler” and gave a straight-arm Nazi salute in response to Black Lives Matter protesters in Hillsborough today. Organized through the Orange County Republican Party, the parade was billed as a “Trump Train” caravan and passed through the county seat Hillsborough at about 2:30 p.m. before heading south to Chapel Hill. The man who yelled “Heil Hitler” and made the Nazi salute was in a vehicle that did not display any flags or other campaign messaging, but it was directly behind at least four vehicles flying Trump flags and a fifth with an American flag. The incident comes only seven days after men from two separate vehicles yelled “white power” from a Trump convoy organized by the founder of the neo-Confederate group ACTBAC.

via tria-city-beat: Trump convoy participant yells ‘Heil Hitler’ and gives Nazi salute in Hillsborough

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Jury gets case of white supremacist accused of rape threat to Missouri man

A federal jury began deliberating Friday in the case of a self-proclaimed white nationalist accused of threatening to rape the wife of a Missouri man who was part of a racist group he felt was harassing him. Christopher Cantwell, a New Hampshire resident and radio host who became known after participating in a deadly 2017 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was arrested in January on federal charges of extortion, making threats and cyberstalking. After deliberating for nearly two hours, the jury went home for the weekend without announcing a verdict and planned to reconvene Monday. Authorities say he used the Telegram messaging app to convey a threat last year to a Missouri man that he would rape the man’s wife if he didn’t give up information on the leader of a white supremacist group of which the man was a member, authorities said Cantwell also is accused of threatening to expose the man’s identity if he didn’t provide personal details on the leader. Authorities say he threatened to report the Missouri man, who has several children, to the state’s child division for drug use and racist views. He did call the agency, but it did not feel the complaint justified further investigation. Rather than trash talk or the constant stream of insults common on the internet, prosecutors said in closing remarks, Cantwell’s threat “crossed a line” and was aimed at scaring the Missouri man into giving up personal details. “This was a serious threat that would cause a reasonable person apprehension,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Davis told the jury.

via fox4kc: Jury gets case of white supremacist accused of rape threat to Missouri man

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Im (Wett)Kampf für Heimat und Nation? “Identitäre” Verstrickungen in der österreichischen Kampfsport-Szene. Teil 1: Annika Stahn

Am Samstag dem 26.9. soll in der Guggenberger Sporthalle in Korneuburg die „19. Nights of Glory“ ausgetragen werden. Beworben wird das Kampfsport-Event, das ursprünglich bereits Mitte April dieses Jahres hätte stattfinden sollen, mit dem “WKF1 Damen Europa Pro-AM”-Titelkampf zwischen der deutschen Stefanie Reuter und der in Wien lebenden Annika Stahn – Kampfname: „Piroschka“. Letztere gilt, insbesondere mit Blick auf die Jahre 2017/2018 unter ihren Pseudonymen „Berit Franziska“, „Annika Franziska“ bzw. “Elisabeth Franziska” als eine der prominentesten Aktivistinnen der neofaschistischen „Identitären Bewegung“ (IB) im deutschsprachigen Raum. Seit 2019 kämpft sie im österreichischen Kickbox-Nationalteam der WKF und soll Österreich bei der nächsten WM vertreten.2 Stahns politische Karriere lässt sich zumindest ins Jahr 2016 zurückverfolgen. In ihrer damaligen Heimat Tübingen versuchte sie in der gemischtgeschlechtlichen Student*innenverbindung „AV Hibernia Tubingensis“ Fuß zu fassen. Nach Angaben der “Hibernia Tubingensis” konnte ihre demokratiefeindliche Entwicklung von der Verbindung nicht weiter mitgetragen werden, sodass ihre Probezeit vorzeitig beendet wurde. Kein Problem sondern vielmehr Voraussetzung war eine solche Geisteshaltung für die neofaschistische „Identitären Bewegung Schwaben“, in der Stahn ihre politische Heimat fand und 2016 aktiv wurde.3 2017 wurde sie zudem im Zusammenhang des AfD-Wahlkampfes gesichtet4 und knüpfte Kontakte zur IB-Österreich, an deren geschichtsrevisionistischem Fackelzug am Wiener Kahlenberg sie teilnahm. Im Folgejahr betreute sie Infotische der neofaschistischen Gruppe (z.B. am 18.4.2018 in Wien sowie am 24.11.2018 in Graz) oder beteiligte sich an Kundgebungen wie jener gegen den UN-Migrationspakt am 4.11.2018 in Wien.
Größere Bekanntheit erlangte die Aktivistin jedoch als Repräsentantin des Antifeminismus der IB. Da dieser ideologiekritisch an verschiedenen Stellen bereits pointiert analysiert wurde5 möchten wir uns hier auf die Rolle und Aktivitäten von Stahn konzentrieren: 2017 initiierte6 Stahn den explizit antifeministischen Blog „radikal feminin“, der sich mit Hashtags wie „#supportyourlocalpatriarchy” offen für das Patriarchat aussprach und den Feminismus als die Wurzel des Übels zu begreifen glaubte. Wenngleich „radikal feminin“ sich oberflächlich als unabhängiges Projekt darstellte, zeigte sich eine enge Verwobenheit mit der IB: Der Blog wurde von Jonathan Rudolf (ehem. Ortsgruppenleiter der IB Tübingen) in sozialen Medien als „neue[s] identitäre[s] Projekt“7 angepriesen und auf der Website der IB-Deutschland offen beworben.8 Auch Martin Sellner versuchte dem Projekt Starthilfe zu geben und führte ein Interiview mit Stahn über „Genderwahn“ und Antifeminismus.9 Publizistische Unterstützung erfuhr das Projekt zudem von einschlägig rechtsextremen Magazine wie das Linzer InfoDirekt10 das in der Ausgabe 18-2017 das Projekt portraitierte. Das deutsche „Arcardi Magazin“, das polemisch als „Nazi-Bravo für Identitäre“11 bezeichnet werden kann, machte in der zweiten Ausgabe „Radikal Feminin“ sogar zur Coverstory und Stahn zum Covermodel.

via recherche graz: Im (Wett)Kampf für Heimat und Nation? “Identitäre” Verstrickungen in der österreichischen Kampfsport-Szene. Teil 1: Annika Stahn

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