The city of Sanford, Florida, already has a secret law-enforcement plan to deal with potential riots and unrest in the wake of a possible acquittal of George Zimmerman. Miami has efforts to keep the peace underway as well.
Across America, pundits and analysts have been warning that a “not guilty” verdict in the controversial case could set off an explosive wave of deadly violence rivaling the mass riots that ensued following the 1992 Rodney King trial. If mayhem does strike, analysts say the establishment media, President Obama, and assorted race-profiteers would bear much of the blame.
Well before the verdict is announced, agitators and provocateurs are already using social-media services to broadcast their intentions to unleash chaos and death. One Facebook page being investigated by authorities, for example, was entitled “RIOT for Trayvon.” In its description, the page read: “They don’t think we will tear this mutha —– [expletive deleted] up! LIKE IF YOU READY TO RIDE! LETS FLEX OUR MUSCLE! WHAT, YOU SCARED?” Other pages brazenly call for murder.
On Twitter, meanwhile, violent messages from self-styled Trayvon Martin supporters have also been calling for violence, mayhem, and killing if the jury refuses to convict Zimmerman of second-degree murder — a prospect that appears increasingly likely as the prosecution’s case implodes. Twichy, a site that compiles tweets related to major news stories, collected a sample of some of the messages, more than a few of which include racist remarks aimed at Zimmerman, whites, and Hispanics.
“If #Zimmerman get off ima shoot the first #hispanic/white i see,” reads one such message. “Trayvon Martin need justice! Gimme me tha pistol ill kill Zimmerman myself!” says another. “If Zimmerman win, I’m gonna go kill a white a kid by mistake,” reads a third. “If #zimmerman get off ima kill him myself since no one wanna take care of his Mexican burrito eatin a** [expletive deleted],” another user tweeted. Countless similar death threats continue to be made.
In Sanford, where Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin last year in what he maintains was self-defense, city officials have been preparing for months. Top local officials interviewed by CNN recently offered some insight into the preparations, showing teams of police officers fanning out across the city to knock on doors and talk to residents prior to the verdict being announced. Local pastors are also being recruited by authorities to help keep the peace.
“Our worst fear is that we will have people from outside of the community coming in and stirring up … violence in the community,” said Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith, refusing to offer more details about law-enforcement plans. City Manager Norton Bonaparte said Rodney King-type riots were “certainly a possibility.” Mayor Jeff Triplett had similar concerns, telling CNN that a single person could provoke a firestorm and that Sanford was a “tinderbox” last year.
In Miami, where a 1980 riot following a jury verdict resulted in 18 deaths and $100 million in property damages, authorities are already working feverishly to keep order, too. Last year, before Zimmerman was charged with a crime, dozens of young people looted a business, supposedly as some sort of “Justice for Trayvon” protest. Martin lived in Miami but was in Sanford after being suspended from school.
Anticipating potential violence surrounding the Zimmerman trial, the so-called “Miami-Dade Community Relations Board” is now reaching out to influential figures throughout the area — pastors, sports figures, and others — in a bid to defuse tensions. Among other strategies, officials are working on a social-media campaign using the Twitter hash tag “#keepcalmfortrayvon.”
“We want people to respond in a positive way,” board member Dr. Walter Richardson told CBS Miami about the efforts to prevent widespread disorder after the verdict is announced. “If they have frustrations they want to vent, we want them to do that in an orderly and organized way. So the message is: Peace for Trayvon…. We want peace for Trayvon.”
Meanwhile, some analysts are predicting massive riots outside of Florida as well. Licensed private detective and former Chicago police officer Paul Huebl, for example, writing in Crime File News, pointed to the danger signs — violent Twitter posts, outrageous media “reporting,” Obama’s half-baked comments about the case, and more — to argue that major unrest was all but inevitable at this point.
“With today’s social media I fully expect organized race rioting to begin in every major city to dwarf the Rodney King and the Martin Luther King riots of past decades,” he wrote in the widely cited piece. “If you live in a large city be prepared to evacuate or put up a fight to win. You will need firearms, fire-suppression equipment along with lots of food and water. Police resources will be slow and outgunned everywhere.”
Huebl, whose comments went “viral” after being picked up in the alternative media, warned that the looming verdict could spark bigger problems than riots. “America is about to see some combat-related population control like we’ve not seen since the Civil War. Martial Law can’t be far behind complete with major efforts at gun grabbing,” he continued. “This may be a turning point in America. Freedom will either be retaken or lost for our lifetimes and our children’s.”
Whether or not Huebl’s predictions are overblown, as The New American reported last year, white and black racists have been preparing for a “race war” over the killing of Martin since as early as April 2012. The virulently racist “New Black Panther Party” (NBPP) and “National Socialist Movement” (NSM) — both believed to be heavily infiltrated by federal agencies — openly claimed all-out “race war” was coming as the press, Obama, and race profiteers seized on the Zimmerman-Martin case over manufactured “racial overtones,” conveniently ignoring the thousands of other blacks killed in the United States each year, mostly by other blacks.
Of course, the increasingly discredited establishment media bears most of the responsibility, according to analysts. With its attempts to make the trial about race — even to the point of outright, blatant deception, as in the case of NBC editing Zimmerman’s 911 call — the national press continues to use years-old photos of Martin as an innocent-looking child rather than more recent pictures. Countless analysts and pundits say the media’s pathetic and dishonest coverage of the case is helping to foment potential chaos. That might even be the plan.
“The media is totally invested in George Zimmerman being convicted as a racist ‘white Hispanic,’” noted conservative talk-radio titan Rush Limbaugh, referring to a recent ABC broadcast that appeared desperate for rioting. “They are totally invested, and it looks like the prosecution’s case is just imploding — and, as such, there’s panic now. So much so, ladies and gentlemen, so much so, that there is now talk and agitating for race riots…. They’re agitating for riots already.”
Race profiteers such as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, whose lucrative careers depend on continually fomenting racial division and hatred, have also played a key role in the escalating tensions. Even President Obama, who outrageously injected himself into the case by saying, “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon,” has also been blasted by analysts and commentators for stoking racial unrest.
If and when chaos erupts following the verdict — a distinct possibility even if Zimmerman were to be convicted, some analysts say — it would hardly be the first time in U.S. history that a coalition of race-mongers and the establishment media helped fan the flames. Perhaps the most spectacular example, the 1992 Los Angeles riots, bears remarkable similarities in terms of the deceptive reporting, the paid race agitators, and the explosive cocktail resulting mostly from the ignorance and behind-the-scenes organization. A verdict in the Zimmerman trial is expected in the coming days or weeks.
Photo of California Highway Patrol officer standing guarding during 1992 Los Angeles riots: AP Images
Alex Newman is a correspondent for The New American, covering economics, politics, and more. He can be reached at [email protected].
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