Connect with us

Politics and Current

A Texas man who posted four racist death threats on Rep. Maxine Waters’ voicemail now faces prison time, but says he doesn’t remember how he did it

Published

on

A Texas resident who called Rep. Maxine Waters several times in 2022 to threaten to kill her will spend almost three years behind bars.

On Monday, a judge sentenced 61-year-old Brian Michael Gaherty to 33 months in prison.

Gaherty pleaded guilty to at least one count of threatening a United States official in January after admitting that between August and November 2022, he threatened Waters with assault and murder four times between August and November 2022.

Rep. Maxine Waters. (Photo: Gage Skidmore/Flickr)

Prosecutors said Gaherty called Waters’ Los Angeles County district office and left four voicemails, all containing racist and misogynistic language.

According to indictmentGaherty called Waters a “black bitch” and threatened to “stomper” her and “put a hat” between her eyes. In one voicemail, Gaherty said he would “cut your throat.”

Authorities contacted Gaherty in October 2022 and warned him to stop calling Waters after he left the primary two voicemails. Despite these warnings, he called her two more times, saying she was “done (expletive”) by reporting his threats to police. He also stated: “It just isn’t a threat. It’s a promise.”

“Tell Congresswoman Maxine Waters when I see her on the street that I will blow her upside down,” Gaherty said. in line with the criminal criticism.

In August 2023, Gaherty was arrested and charged with eight menacing charges – four for making threats on interstate communications and four for threatening a U.S. official.

During sentencing, the judge added a hate crime enhancement to the sentence after ruling that Gaherty targeted Waters due to her race. Gaherty was also fined $10,000.

Gaherty’s attorney, Joseph Vinas, he told The Independentthat Gaherty offered Waters a “sincere and heartfelt apology.”

“Due to his mental health condition, which includes post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), he had no memory of making such comments to her,” Vinas said. “But now he realizes he did it and he is incredibly remorseful.”

As a congresswoman, Waters received death threats.

In 2018, Anthony Lloyd Scott pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a call he made to her office in 2017 and a death threat he left on her voicemail.

This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Politics and Current

“Mostly expert. “Still Doubted” Black Women React with Shock, Resignation and Anger to Donald Trump’s Presidential Victory – Essence

Published

on

By

Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Donald Trump, bogged down by baggage that might have sunk some other candidate, nonetheless sailed to victory and became the forty seventh president of the United States. As of this writing, he has won 277 electoral votes and 4 of the seven battleground states (North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin).

Trump, who had never served in a cupboard position before being elected president in 2016, oversaw the administration filled with chaoswas impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, refused to concede he lost the 2020 election, was impeached a second time for inciting the January 6 revolt, was charged with 86 felonies in 4 criminal cases and convicted of 34 of them.

During his campaign, he sought to improve the economy with few significant policies beyond tariffs and tax cuts. He threatened to press charges for his political opponents, demonized immigrants and promised mass deportations of undocumented people, and throughout the campaign used increasingly misogynistic and racist rhetoric – even going thus far as to query Kamala Harris’ race and ethnicity calling her lazy.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who has served in every branch of the federal government, launched a full-fledged campaign in only over 100 days and assembled a broad coalition of supporters that included everyone from Beyonce to Lebron James and rugged Republican Liz Cheney.

Vice President Harris presented specific proposals on how to lift the center class, including $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, addressed specific concerns of Black men AND Latin menincluding providing $20,000 in forgivable loans to Black and Latino entrepreneurs to start businesses, and she pledged to function an advocate for reproductive rights. Notably, she also promised to be the president of all Americans, even those that didn’t vote for her, and to bring joy and optimism back to politics.

But Trump won anyway.

This was the bitter reality that seemed to confirm the saying that a black man has to be twice pretty much as good as a white man to get half as far. When it became clear that Vice President Harris was losing the presidential race, Black women took to social media to express their disappointment.

Some expressed concern about what this might mean for his or her reproductive rights.

Some have expressed resignation to the indisputable fact that a rustic built on racism continues to be racist.

Others expressed anger over the protest votes, which they believed determined Trump’s election victory.

Some placed Harris’ loss within the broader context of the country’s overall move to the fitting or a failure to understand the gravity of their very own vote.

Still others urged black women to prioritize themselves.

Over the subsequent few days and weeks, Black women will proceed to post about this staggering loss and once more prepare for the approaching onslaught. However, as a substitute of fighting, rallying or protesting for the rights of all, some black women are urging one another to simply – deal with one another.


This article was originally published on : www.essence.com
Continue Reading

Politics and Current

White women who supported Donald Trump by more than 50 percent are called “real enemies of progress,” and Joy Reid blames more

Published

on

By

MSNBC’s Joy Reid detailed why white women didn’t support Vice President Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s presidential election, particularly within the battleground state of North Carolina.

MSNBC's Joy Reid Says Donald Trump Will Use Black Journalism Convention Appearance to Show 'MAGA Fans' He's 'Anti-Black'
oy-Ann Reid attends the Los Angeles Red Carpet Premiere of Hulu’s “The 1619 Project” on the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on January 26, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Exit poll data from NBC shows that 52% of white women nationwide support Republican candidate Donald Trump in comparison with Harris’ 47%. The Washington Post estimated that 57% of white women in North Carolina support Trump, while only 42% support Harris.

As many Harris supporters grapple with the national election results, Reid offered an early morning evaluation of why white female voters in North Carolina could have turned to Trump this election cycle.

“Black voters supported Kamala Harris. “White women didn’t vote.” Reid said Tuesday night during an MSNBC panel covering the election results. “This is a state where women have lost their reproductive rights and where there has been a very strong push for women to focus on not… putting the person responsible for taking away those rights back in the White House. And their restoration. But that message apparently wasn’t enough to get enough white women to vote for Vice President Harris, a different woman.”

Reid prefaced her remarks by saying Harris would wish to exceed President Joe Biden’s 2020 vote total to win the 2024 election and couldn’t afford to underperform. Election night revealed that Biden received many supporters 4 years ago Latino and white women voters didn’t reach Harris.

“This will be a second chance that white women in this country will have to change the way they interact with patriarchy,” Reid said, noting Hillary Clinton’s loss to Trump in 2016.

Reid also suggested that race may have played a task in why white voters didn’t support Harris, a black woman of South Asian descent.

“If people vote more, you know, party line or more on race than on gender and on protecting their gender, there’s really not much more you can do other than tell people what the risks are and leave it up to them to do something about it,” Reid said. .

Viewers shared similar views to Reid. One of them posted under the clip of her segment on X: “They like Trump’s racism.” Another added: “It looked like white women didn’t care about their rights.”

Trump secured the numerous number of popular votes and electoral votes mandatory to return to the White House. After taking states akin to North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, he had 277 electoral votes as of Wednesday morning.



(*50*)This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com

Continue Reading

Politics and Current

Nick Brown makes history as the first black attorney general in Washington state

Published

on

By

Nick Brown was elected attorney general in Washington, D.C., and made history as the first black American to carry executive office. Brown easily defeated his Republican opponent, Pete Serrano.

Brown led his campaign on tackling issues like gun violence, substance abuse and crime by tackling their root causes, including expanding access to gainful employment, housing, education and mental health support. The attorney general position can be Brown’s first job in an elected office.

The 47-year-old Democrat served in the U.S. Army, worked as a federal prosecutor and was a top adviser to Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.

Brown said he hopes to “use” the power of the attorney general’s office to offer access to marginalized communities and serve as an “advisory forum” for them. He also focused his candidacy on issues such as defending abortion rights, protecting against climate change and protecting democracy. In a campaign ad, he vowed to defend the civil rights of each Washington resident.

Policy

“We are historically a very white city and state, and our politics have certainly been dominated by white people,” said Brown, who grew up in Seattle. “I like the idea of ​​making history. “Not only to be the first, but to bring a black man’s perspective to the office to try to improve the way we administer justice in this state.”

While the overwhelmingly blue state of Washington doesn’t have a big Black population (lower than 5%), the Democratic candidate noted that the state is very diverse when including its Latino, Asian, Indian and Native American communities. However, despite its diversity, Washington has historically handled the same issues that many other states experience regarding racial inequality and the criminal justice system.

“We have a long way to go … to fully include and fully include people’s voices and make sure that we are not ignoring people who have been ignored for generations,” Brown said.

Before starting his legal profession, Brown competed on the reality competition show “Survivor” greater than 20 years ago. Considered a physical threat on the series, Brown finished in the top seven.

The progressive lawyer said “Survivor” was his first exposure to a public figure.

Promotional portrait of contestants from the television series “Survivor: The Australian Outback” shortly after arriving in Australia, Australia, 2001. Front (L-R): Jeff Varner, Elisabeth Filarski, Debb Eaton, Alicia Calaway and Amber Brkich. Back (L-R): Kimmi Kappenberg, Rodger Bingham, Colby Donaldson, Kel Gleason, Mitchell Olson, Michael Skupin, Keith Famie, Maralyn Hershey, Jerri Manthey, Nick Brown and Tina Wesson. (Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)

“Luckily, when I was on the show, social media didn’t really exist, so I wasn’t too caught up in all the craziness that went with it,” he explained. “But I think it’s a bit of a testament to my personality that I like adventure… I’m not afraid to change course and make big decisions.”

Brown blamed former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential candidate, for the fury spreading across the country about race in America.

“I think former President Trump has further empowered people to be blatantly racist, to be driven by their own grievances or fears or hatred of other people,” he said. “But it’s not just him. This is the whole party that has changed in this direction in recent years.”

Brown argued that the country is commonly “distracted” or “too focused” on the presidency and what’s happening in Washington, D.C., but voters should actually listen to who holds public office down the ballot.

“The more we can turn to state and local efforts, the more successful we will be because most of the things that I think we care about as Black Americans or any American are really decided (there),” he said. he argued.

“We will not protect and amplify our history and our voice in America as Black Americans or any other racial minority if we are not willing to participate,” Brown said. “Unless we are willing to educate and demand that elected leaders actually listen to us. If we stay on the sidelines, decisions will be made for us.”

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
Continue Reading
Advertisement

OUR NEWSLETTER

Subscribe Us To Receive Our Latest News Directly In Your Inbox!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Trending