Today, I am calling in all favors.
What I am about to share with you took a lot of courage from a lot of people and they need our support right away. A young man's future hangs in the balance.
10,000 words. Dozens of sources, affidavits, videos, records, and evidence.
Soul Snatchers :: Part 3 :: Countering the State-Sponsored Conspiracy to Destroy Pedro Hernandez
1. Read it here. By read it, I'm asking you to actually read it. It's important. Look the evidence, watch the videos. Soak it in.
2. Contact the Bronx DA's Office @: 718–590–2000 to report this injustice directly to DA Darcel Clark and to the Public Integrity Division @: 718–838–7528. Demand that they dismiss this case against Pedro Hernandez and immediately investigate ADA David Slott and the officers involved.
3. Copy and paste the following tweet on Twitter or write your own:
Dear @NYCMayor & @NYGovCuomo & @AGSchneiderman & @NYPDONeill
What do you have to say about this? https://medium.com/@ShaunKing/soul-snatchers-countering-the-state-sponsored-conspiracy-to-destroy-pedro-hernandez-part-3-1b6307828eb6
4.Retweet this and share this on Facebook. We need this to go viral.
5. Text and email this story to every single person you know.
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Listen - this story is ad free. This isn't about clicks or money - this is about justice. I'm asking - person to person - for your best support.
Be Courageous,
Shaun
------ Previous emails are below.
One day I am going to tell you how hard it was to publish what I am about to share with you. The obstacles were as fierce as anything I've encountered as a journalist.
I have started a new five part series exposing corruption and brutality within the NYPD, and the people who perpetrate those thins and protect the practices.
Today we begin naming names. Our actions regarding this series begin in 10 days.
Now, I just need you to be informed. What you are about to see is the single most important piece I've written in my entire life.
Read Part Two Here.
Share it on Twitter Here. Please retweet this and write tweets of your own about it.
Share it on Facebook Here. Click an emotion. Make a comment. Share it with your network.
Forward this email to everybody you know. In 10 days we will take the information from this series and do something about it.
Love and appreciate you all,
Shaun
-----See our previous emails and actions below
My Friends,
What I'm about to tell you is the most painful, traumatic, outrageous, outlandish, over-the-top story of government sanctioned police brutality, wrongful imprisonment, wrongful convictions, forced testimony, widespread corruption, money, lots of money, and deep, deep, deep soul-snatching psychological abuse in modern American history. I would not have believed it had I not seen it all for myself. The rabbit hole I am about to take you down is deep and twisted. It should lead to the termination of a whole host of officials. Many should be arrested and a comprehensive independent investigation should begin immediately.
I don't write for fun, I write for change. But here's what I know - we make the change together.
Up until Charlottesville, I spent three straight weeks taking a deep dive behind the scenes into the NYPD after I learned of horrible corruption within the department. What I learned has rocked me to my core. Today I am beginning a new 5 part series to expose this corruption. Today I am setting the foundation. To be honest, I wrote this with you in mind.
1. Please read it here.
2. Please share it here on Twitter.
3. Please share it here on Facebook. I receive hundreds of personal emails about injustice in America every single day. In mid-July, dozens of those emails were about a Bronx teenager named Pedro Hernandez. People all over the country had seen reports from Sarah Wallace of NBC New York or James Ford of Pix 11 on how Hernandez, who was jailed at Rikers Island, was running out of time to be released in time to start college. Hernandez had won awards at Rikers for his leadership and academic performance, and had also been granted a scholarship from the Posse Foundation to enter college this fall. Offered a plea deal from the Bronx DA's Office to be released for time served, Hernandez did what few people in his position would do — he turned down the deal. Accused of shooting Shaun Nardoni, a neighborhood teenager, in the leg on September 1st, 2015, Hernandez was offered a ticket out of Rikers in exchange for admitting he shot Nardoni. The District Attorney even sweetened the pot and pledged to expunge his record in five years if he met all of the terms of his probation. Hernandez still refused to take the deal — continuing to pledge that he was completely innocent and would rather take his chances with a jury before admitting to something he didn't do. For nearly a week, people emailed me about Pedro's case before I finally clicked on the link to see what it was all about. Tory Russell, an activist and organizer from St. Louis, who I'd come to know from Ferguson, sent me a direct message on Twitter asking me if I could read the story and support Pedro somehow. I was on vacation with my family and it still took me another three days to finally read the story. I was hooked, but I had questions. As I Googled Pedro's name and case, I saw several local reports that stated he had been wrongfully arrested and harassed by the NYPD for years. A guard at another facility was actually arrested and charged with criminal assault, endangering the welfare of a child, criminal obstruction of breathing and blood circulation, and harassment after being caught on film brutally beating and choking Pedro. Eight different eyewitnesses had all come forward to state that Pedro was not the shooter. Many even went so far as to identify the actual shooter. Why then, did Pedro remain behind bars? Why did it seem like the NYPD had it out for him? And how could the Bronx DA simultaneously believe that Pedro was safe enough to set free if he took the plea, but so dangerous, that if he didn't, his bail would be set at an outrageous $250,000 with a stipulation that he not pay the typical 10%, but pay all $250,000 — effectively ensuring that he'd never get out on bail. That Pedro Hernandez, with the entire deck stacked against him, still refused to take a plea, hooked me. As I reached out to Pedro's family, I was immediately struck by something peculiar. I've written nearly 1,000 stories about police brutality and misconduct and have interviewed hundreds of families suffering through the consequences of those things. Almost every single one of those families, particularly when they are still in a stage of grief or conflict, without fail, want to speak exclusively about their very specific case. Pedro's family was different. They immediately wanted me to know that Pedro was not alone, but that he was just one of hundreds of victims whose lives had been turned upside down by officers from the 42nd precinct in the Bronx who were working in close concert with the Bronx District Attorney's Office. The accusations were so sweeping and broad that I wasn't sure how to process them. They went something like this: "Stop and frisk has been banned, but police in the 42nd precinct are actually doing something far worse. They are setting quotas and goals for the number of people each officer must arrest. If you don't meet or exceed the quotas, you feel the wrath of your supervisors. Instead of rejecting the quotas, some officers are embracing them and rounding up people, particularly teenage children, for crimes they know good and well they didn't commit — locking them away sometimes for days, weeks, months, or even years at a time — then simply dismissing the charges. This isn't just a few rogue cops, but an entire precinct is doing this and they are partnering with the Bronx District Attorney's Office to make it happen. With threats, and even brute force, kids are being coerced to identify and testify against people they don't even know. Officers are terrorizing families, snatching kids out of their beds, not a few times, but dozens of times per child, sometimes arresting them on false charges, sending them to Rikers, then releasing them months later. Cops think they can do anything they want and it appears they can. Pedro is being framed. They tried to frame him over and over again before this case. And other kids are being framed too. And the kids and families who've been victimized by this scandal are hollow shells of their former selves. The Police Commissioner, the Comptroller, and the Mayor all know about this and are doing nothing." In mid-July, I wasn't quite sure how much of all of that I believed. Now, I believe all of it –every single bit. How I got here wasn't easy, but over the next five days I'm going to try to break it all down for you. Saying it all in one piece would be sensory overload. Trust me. The evidence is meticulous, overwhelming and undeniable. I'll have to start from the beginning and give you the foundation for how any what I'm going to be sharing is even possible. Today is the foundation, the next four parts of this series will not only expose the injustice, but will detail each case, the primary perpetrators, and who in the New York City government was aware that such corruption and brutality took place and did nothing to stop it.
----- Our previous emails are below.
We have found one of the men who viciously assaulted Deandre Harris in Charlottesville.
The Cobb County Police in Marietta, Georgia said they are willing to arrest him right now, but Charlottesville Police, the Virginia State Police, and the FBI have not issued arrest warrants. A local reporter tracked him down and even interviewed him and his family. He has admitted to the assault on video and in writing.
Yet police still refuse to move. It makes no sense. With each day that passes, they are literally teaching the nation that Nazi's and white supremacists can violently assault a man without consequence. You and I both know that if the roles were reversed, and black men were mauling a white man like this, heads would roll.
We need you to contact the powers that be. Forward them this email. Give them the evidence. Ask them why they have not moved on this case yet. Here's who you can contact:
a. Contact the Charlottesville Police Department by phone @: (434) 970-3280 & Call City Hall @ (434) 970-3333
b. Contact the Charlottesville Mayor, Mike Signer, by email @: msigner@charlottesville.org
c. Contact the Vice Mayor, Wes Bellamy by email @: wbellamy@charlottesville.org
d. Contact the Virginia State Police by phone @: (804) 674-2000
Scroll down for more contact info in previous emails.
Here is the video. The evidence is overwhelming. Share it.
Here, I spell out the criminal assault committed by Ramos to make it plain for you and anyone you contact.
This is Deandre Harris being mauled by a group of white supremacists. Among them, in the red "Make America Great Again" hat, is Michael Alex Ramos of Marietta, Georgia.
This is Michael Alex Ramos.
This is him throwing down punches on Deandre.
This is him wrapping the brass knuckles in his hand.
Your Friend & Brother,
Shaun
Woke Folks
-------Yesterday's Email is Below
Yesterday, police in North Carolina arrested Takiyah Thompson, a young Black woman, on multiple charges, for her role in taking down a Confederate statue in Durham, North Carolina. What's wild is that even those Confederate monuments somehow have white privilege.
Because right up the road in Charlottesville, Virginia, now four days after Deandre Harris was nearly beaten to death, not a single one of the five white supremacists who criminally assaulted him with deadly weapons has been arrested yet – even though we have properly identified at least two of them and have clear facial identification for the others. In America, it is clear that even a statue has more value than Black lives. Of course, police are simply following the lead of their president, Donald Trump, who openly embraced white supremacy and Neo-Nazism yesterday.
We must not let up. Deandre and his family, unlike the men who did this to him, are from Charlottesville and call it home. Because of the hate they've continued to experience, they have been forced to flee the city for safety and peace of mind.
Yes, this is 2017. We are living in a time where victims of criminal bigotry flee American cities for their safety.
Today, we are going to double down on our demands that these violent white supremacists be held accountable. At the bottom of this email are action items from the past two days. Feel free to do those if you have not done so already.
THREE ACTION ITEMS
(For details on the assault, scroll down to see yesterday's email. This may help you with your phone calls and contacts.)
In short, ask them why they have not arrested and charged Dan Borden and Michael Ramos for this hate crime and when they will identify and arrest the others. Full details are below. DO YOUR THING!!!
1. Contact the Attorney General of Virginia, Mark Herring.
Demand that he prosecute the five white supremacists who brutally attacked Deandre Harris.
PHONE: (804) 786-2071
Email: mailoag@oag.state.va.us & mkelly@oag.state.va.us (Michael Kelly, Director of Communications)
2. Contact the Governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe
Except for this, we want you to use social media AND the other methods, ok?
A. Cut and paste this tweet or your own unique version of it:
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Dear @TerryMcAuliffe,
Why has Virginia not prosecuted the five white supremacists who brutally attacked Deandre Harris in Charlottesville?
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B. Retweet this one.
C: Leave messages on his Facebook page. Send him a message there. Post comments.
D. Call him @: 804-786-2211 & Email him here.
3. Contact the hate crimes division of the Justice Department. A huge percentage of Obama's staffers are still there and are still working on these cases. This is the Civil Rights Division. Ask to speak to a person. Ask for an email address. Tell them you want to report a federal hate crime. Information on what you can report is below.
Call this # (202) 514-4609
We need all hands on DECK!!
Your Friend & Brother,
Shaun
Founder, Woke Folks
------Yesterday's Email Is Below
Friends,
We need your help.
This weekend, 20 year old Deandre Harris was brutally assaulted by a group of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia – leaving him with critical injuries from the assault.
At least five men participated in this assault – which was a felony. Many of them used deadly weapons. Others were overheard using racial slurs – making it a federal hate crime. What these men did was not just wrong - it was a crime.
The police there expressed very little concern about any of it – frequently seeing violence and crimes and literally looking away. In fact, Deandre was assaulted in the parking lot of the local police precinct. The white supremacists had already learned that they could pretty much do whatever they want and get away with it.
We are going to identify the men who did this to Deandre. In fact, over the past 24 hours, we've already positively identified two of the men involved – Daniel "Dan" Borden and Michael Alex Ramos.
Now, we have two action items for you.
1. We need you to contact law enforcement to inform them that two of the men who assaulted Deandre have been located.
a. Contact the Charlottesville Police Department by phone @: (434) 970-3280 & Call City Hall @ (434) 970-3333
b. Email the City Manager @: cityman@charlottesville.org to inform them that Dan Borden and Michael Ramos have been identified but not arrested. Feel free to forward them this email.
c. Dan Borden is from Mason, Ohio. Contact the police department there now @ (513) 229-8560. Email them @: police@masonoh.org.
d. Contact their City Council @: council@masonoh.org
2. We need help identifying the three additional men who assaulted Deandre.
a. I have 20 additional photos of the men here. Look at them and share them. These include photos of the additional men.
b. Consider sharing this video of the assault here and here.
c. If you are on Twitter, share these photos or any other photos from my timeline.
d. If you don't use social media, I have embedded the photos below. Forward the email to everybody you know.
This man was very vicious and caused serious injuries to Deandre.
This man caused critical injuries to Deandre as well.
I appreciate you all. Together, we are strong. Let's keep pushing.
Your Friend and Brother,
Shaun
-------- Below is our email from yesterday.
Dear Friends,
I intended to write you this week under very different circumstances to inform you of several different actions and initiatives that we are preparing to launch in the weeks ahead, but, as you no doubt have seen for yourself, America is falling apart at the seams.
Like thousands of you, I was following Charlottesville very closely. In almost real-time I saw the white supremacist deliberately drive his car, using it as a brutal weapon, directly into a diverse crowd of men and women who were literally just crossing the street. Soon we learned that one amazing woman, Heather Heyer, was killed in this attack.
Literally just minutes after I wrote this tweet about her, I learned that Heather was "one of us" far more than I ever understood. Heather Heyer was actually a part of the Injustice Boycott and participated in our direct actions against police brutality and mass incarceration here in New York. The world is already small, but the world of activists and people willing to use their time and privilege to fight back against oppression is even smaller. Learning that Heather was a part of our tribe, and fought against injustice alongside us, made her loss all the more real for me.
I see Heather as a martyr in this modern day movement against injustice and oppression. I've said it many times, but if you ever wondered what it would be like to be alive in the Civil Rights Movement, you are living in that time right now! And if you ever wondered who you would be or what you would do in those circumstances, the best indication is what you did this weekend. If you watched and said nothing, if you normally watch and say nothing, if you only share an occasional Facebook post here and there, and that is the extent of your activism, then that is an indicator of who you'd be if you were alive in the 1960s. Because we are LIVING IN THAT TIME right here, right now.
2017 is on pace to be the deadliest year ever measured for people killed by police in America. Bigotry of every kind is on the rise from coast to coast. We have a President who flat out refuses to call out white supremacists and Neo-Nazis because they are in his cabinet and helped fuel his election.
We live in the time were Heather Heyer was run over and killed in the street by a Neo-Nazi. Earlier this year, two brave men were stabbed to death by a bigot in Portland after they stood up for two young women of color on the train. White supremacists have murdered people all over the country this year – including right here on the streets of New York and in a bar in Kansas City.
We cannot allow Heather's death to be in vain. She was a brave, generous, courageous soul and we would do well to mimic her life. I am convinced that this nation is far more unstable and problematic than most of us are willing to admit, but it appears things may grow worse before they get better. But I want you to hear this from me – they will get better because we will fight for them to get better. And we will win. I believe that with all of my heart.
Later this month, we are formally launching Woke Folks nationally. It will be the parent organization of at least five separate initiatives we are already building – including the Injustice Boycott. If you have not already done so, please follow our page at Facebook.com/WokeFolks. We will be breaking down our mission and vision and goals and plans there later this month.
Tomorrow, we are going to begin very practical direct actions for us to start taking. The nation simply can't wait. We aren't a charity so we aren't bound by what we can or cannot say or do. We are simply hundreds of thousands of people gathered together to stand up for what is right. Each of you helped play an essential role in Raise The Age here in New York. Each of you helped play an essential role in New York announcing it is going to shut down Rikers Island. Each of you played an important role in Seattle announcing it would divest from Wells Fargo. Together, we have raised millions and millions of dollars for causes and families and victims to give them all the support they need. All of that work must continue and we must never be out-organized another day in our life.
I love and appreciate each of you.
Your Friend and Brother,
Shaun
PS: We are trying to identify this white supremacist who brutally and illegally attacked a 20 year old man with a deadly weapon - permanently injuring him in Charlottesville. Please share his images all over social media here and here.
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