Predictably, a number of left wing blogs picked up the story and ran with it.
And the right wing said it wasn’t about race (on their side), didn’t they? Neo-Nazis have never been affiliated with the left; they’ve always been on the fringe anarchist/chaos/gov’t overthrow wing of the GOP, because there’s no way these white supremacists would vote Dem. After all, that party is polluted with black, brown…you know, the Mud People….
I thought the police department was there to protect all of Sanford’s citizens (when it’s not torpedoing its own bad police work/f’ing up cases involving black folks as victims), but as there’s nothing like having this paramilitary crowd with strong views on race stepping in to do the job. You know, like the KKK, it’s not intimidating at all.
The New York Daily News reported:
The Trayvon Martin case is getting even more heated as armed neo-Nazis are reportedly patrolling the streets of Sanford, Fla.-where the black, unarmed teen was shot and killed.
A representative for the Detroit-based National Socialist movement told the Miami New Times that his group of roughly 10 to 20 volunteers aren’t there to start trouble, but are prepared to protect the “white citizens in the area” in the event of race riots.
The Huffington Post and the Daily Beast also covered the story.
An article at The Blaze says neo-nazis are patrolling the streets as members of the New Black Panther Party were in town to lead a “Self Defense and Survival Training” session.
Gawker added:
We’ve been so busy talking about the Trayvon Martin case that we’ve ignored the “real victims” — innocent white people living in Sanford, Florida. Rest assured, these honest folks are now being taken care of by a patrol of armed Neo-Nazis preparing for a “race riot.”
Apparently, no one bothered to check with the Sanford Police Department to verify the story.
Jim Hoft of the Gateway Pundit asked Saturday: “Is there any evidence that this is actually happening in Sanford?”
William A Jacobsen of the blog Legal Insurrection, however, did the job the so-called mainstream media refused to do.
“Did anyone bother to contact the Sanford Police? I did, and the Sanford Police deny any indication of Neo-Nazi groups patrolling in Sanford,” Jacobson wrote.
He added:
My initial e-mail (which included an embedded link to the Memeorandum thread):
“There are a number of reports in the media that Neo-Nazis are conducting armed patrols in Sanford. Can you confirm or deny whether this is true, and provide any information you have on the subject? If someone is able to get back to me as soon as possible (and before Monday) that would be appreciated, since such rumors are spreading.”
Response from Sanford Joint Information Center:
“At this time the City of Sanford has not confirmed the presence of Neo-Nazis groups.”
My follow up:
“You say “not confirmed.” Is there any indication of such patrols that the Department is aware of?”
Further Response from Sanford Joint Information Center:
“We have no indication of any such patrols at this point in Sanford. The only large gathering was the children and their parents at the Easter egg hunt.”
We attempted to verify this with the Sanford Police Department, but have not heard back, perhaps due to the holiday weekend.
Mediaite – who initally reported the story as true - reported Jacobson’s exchange and added:
Jacobson is the only one to have statement from the police, and given the holiday weekend, chances are no new information will surface until Monday. In any case, the Miami New Times seem to have some explaining to do about their reporting if, indeed, the Sanford Police has no indication that their report.
But the Miami New Times is not the only outlet that needs to do some explaining.
Jacobson concluded:
I can’t say this is the worst example of rumor mongering and irresponsible conduct by bloggers and the mainstream media I have ever seen, but it’s a contender.
For The Daily Beast, Huffington Post, Mediaite, and The Daily News to spread such thinly-sourced claims without verification at a time when racial tensions already are high is irresponsible in the extreme.
At least three reports have surfaced at Examiner here, here and here, citing the initial Miami report. It appears, however, those unverified reports may be premature.
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