UPDATE, 8/16:
Buzzfeed News reports Tuesday morning that their reporters have also left Milwaukee after deciding the situation was too volatile.
According to Buzzfeed‘s own report, its journalists were surrounded during what was supposed to be a candlelight vigil Sunday night. The white reporters were then taunted, with members of the crowd shouting, “Fuck off,” “What the fuck’s that white guy doing here?.” They were told that protesters would “beat your white ass” and warned to “get the fuck out of here.”
Buzzfeed reporters also say they were pelted with “small rocks.” One reporter even said he was followed back to his hotel by three men in a Chevy Suburban who exited their SUV while he was stopped at a red light. He took off, but the SUV gave chase, giving up only when the reporter arrived back at his hotel, which was surrounded by armed guards.
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Reporter Tim Pool—who covered tumultuous and often violent Black Lives Matter protests in both Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore—says he won’t be covering Milwaukee any longer.
The situation, he says in a video blog posted to his YouTube page, has become dangerous for white reporters.
Pool, who says he is Korean but that people “think he is white,” says he and his team ran into the racial tension right away. Pool says that as he and his colleagues were attempting to cover a protest bystanders were screaming “Fuck white people!” and “White people suck.”
One protester, he said, attacked a fellow reporter—and then the attacker tried to get others to gang up on the small group of media. Pool also says he believes he saw police evacuate an 18-year-old who was shot during the protests after being rescued from a screaming crowd. He says Milwaukee residents, concerned for his safety, told him on social media, “You look white. You need to leave. It’s really too dangerous.”
While Pool stresses that most of the Milwaukee community remains peaceful, there are people who are encouraging violence, especially racial violence. “There’s enough people who are screaming things, it’s time to get out.”
“For those who are perceivably (sic) white, its just not safe to be here…It’s just not safe or smart to be down here.”
Pool is no stranger to demonstrations. In 2012, he won awards for his on-the-scene coverage of Occupy Wall Street, honing his “stream of consciousness” live reporting style, using an aerial drone, YouTube and livestreaming software to give people a front-line perspective on major events.
Milwaukee, meanwhile, is preparing for a possible third night of violence. Milwaukee police and the mayor’s office say they will enforce a 10 p.m. curfew for teenagers through the rest of the week, in an effort to keep some violent elements off the street. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett also said he has beefed up police patrols and has the National Guard on standby to move in if needed.
According to Milwaukee police, four officers have been injured since Saturday. One civilian, mentioned above, was shot in the neck but is expected to recover.
Overnight totals:
4 injured MPD officers
14 arrests
3 squads damaged
30 ShotSpotter activations
1 store with broken windows— Milwaukee Police (@MilwaukeePolice) August 15, 2016
