Morning Joe Blasts Trump for Amplifying Dark Conspiracies And Putting Senior Buffalo Protestor’s Life at Risk
Joe Scarborough and Willie Geist tag teamed on the “dark conspiracy theory” advanced by President Donald Trump on Tuesday that suggested that an elderly protestor was an “ANTIFA agitator” who faked his fall after seeking to jam police equipment.
Two Buffalo police officers were charged with felony assault for shoving 75-year-old activist Martin Gugino to the ground outside City Hall, resulting in Gugino hitting his head and bleeding from his ear. The man remains hospitalized, in “serious but stable” condition, according to his lawyer.
“Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75-year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment,” Trump wrote, tagging the network.
“I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?” Trump asked.
Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. @OANN I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2020
Scarborough claimed that Gugino’s “safety is at risk when he gets out of the hospital because you actually have members of Congress who were asking in Tweets not so long ago, since they’re a terrorist organization, whether Americans could hunt them down and kill them. So, that’s what the president did to that poor 75-year-old man who’s already been through so much already.”
The theory that Gugino is an agitator seeking to scramble police communications first emerged from an obscure right-wing blog. It was picked up by OAN, an aggressively pro-Trump network with a penchant for conspiracies. The OAN commentator who pushed the theory is reportedly also a Russian state media reporter.
Willie Geist followed Scarborough by saying “these are the kind of anonymous conspiracy theories that used to just stay put where they lived, in dark corners of the Internet. Now there’s a propaganda outlet that is willing to turn them into TV stories. And now the difference is, there’s a president of the United States who is willing to amplify them with the biggest megaphone, arguably, in the world, that of the president of the United States.”
Watch above via MSNBC.
Two Buffalo police officers were charged with felony assault for shoving 75-year-old activist Martin Gugino to the ground outside City Hall, resulting in Gugino hitting his head and bleeding from his ear. The man remains hospitalized, in “serious but stable” condition, according to his lawyer.
According to the Washington Post, Gugino “is a member of two nonprofits: PUSH Buffalo, which focuses on affordable housing, and Western New York Peace Center, a human rights organization. He is also part of the Catholic Worker Movement.” Gugino also reportedly posted anti-police commentary on a Twitter account.
