Occupy DC Slams Brick in Cop's Face; AP Spins as 'Nonviolent'

On February 5, 2012, the Associated Press (AP) reported that an Occupy DC protester slammed a brick into the face of a law enforcement officer. Yahoo! News then reposted and promoted the piece.

Nonviolent brickbats? (Source: comicvine.com)

The article and its reposting by another prominent left-of-center news site does not indicate that the mainstream media is willing to cover Occupy’s violence. Rather, further examination reveals another example of the media’s efforts to cover up and spin Occupy’s violence as nonviolent protest.

The obvious strategy, as was the case in the media’s response to the ACORN scandal, is to bury the key details, reporting the news but lacing it with false disclaimers in order to frame the issue to the left’s advantage.

In this example, though the AP/Yahoo News story does acknowledge the Occupy violence, it makes clear and concise efforts to frame the issue falsely as one of a lone wolf/isolated incident in a “mostly peaceful” and “nonviolent” Occupy movement.

The article reads as follows (my emphasis):

Police: 11 arrested at Occupy DC site
AP – Sun, Feb 5, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) — Authorities say 11 people have been arrested in Washington’s McPherson Square since Park Police began clearing away tents from one of the nation’s last remaining Occupy sites.

David Schlosser, who is a spokesman for the U.S. Park Police, said Sunday that one of those arrested was charged with felony assault on a police officer and assault with a deadly weapon. That person is accused of hitting an officer in the face with a brick Saturday evening. The officer was treated at a hospital.

Three others were charged with assault on a police officer.

Schlosser says officials are continuing to clear the park of unsanitary conditions, though so far Sunday things had remained mostly peaceful.

On Saturday night, the protesters vowed to continue their movement and urged followers to remain nonviolent.


Pay special attention to those last two sentences. A brick in a police officer’s face–hardly the first violent Occupy incident–and yet the Occupy DC protests are “mostly peaceful” and “nonviolent.”

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