CNN Picks Up Snowball Fight, Blames "Protesters"
CNN.com featured yesterday's snowball brouhaha on its home page, linking to ABC 7’s coverage of the incident. As if the negative coverage doesn’t threaten to be embarrassing enough for the District, the story -- headlined "Snowball Fight Takes a Turn for the Worse" -- paints a misguided picture of the day to say the least. According to WJLA and thus CNN, there was a “snowball fight-turned-unruly protest’ with “anti-war protesters dressed in anarchist garb” crashing the fight in their all black clothes, masks, and anti-war signs.”
The group targeted by CNN and ABC7 was a small group of anarchists, or at least people sporting the look. They did seem central to the event. They were behind the Web site that promoted "DC Snowpocalypse Guerilla Snowball Fight 2009" and promised that it “may be complete anarchy.” One hoisted a symbolic black flag; a few others wore loud hats. You don't bring anarchy-painted riot shields to a snowball fight -- unless you're satirizing confrontation in D.C.
A "No War but Snowball War" sign would be the extent of any “anti-war protest” at the event. That was hardly a march on the Capitol, any sort of political statement, or germane at all to the confrontation with police, which CNN/ABC7 would portray as black-clad, mask-wearing, World Bank–protesting no-goodniks hijacking a family-friendly snowball fight. The headline mentioned "a turn for the worse." That would be the whole Hummer/gun incident, not an imagined, unruly anti-war protest.
The snowball fight and Hummer incident portrayed by unedited video at the event reveals a stark contrast to what MPD Assistant Chief Pete Newsham had to say shortly after the incident. Newsham, who oversees internal affairs and investigative services for MPD, told the Washington Post that the detective in question, Elmer Baylor, was “armed but never pulls his weapon. I think what probably happens is somebody probably saw his [holstered] gun and called the police."
Newsham was simply speculating. By this point, of course, everyone has seen the pictures of Baylor holding a weapon and video footage showing Baylor admitting to pulling out his gun because he got hit by snowballs.
Yet ABC 7 -- and now CNN -- says that the incident caused controversy after they themselves caught it on tape and edited the story. Again, the whole controversy ought to center on multiple police officers addressing a snowball fight with drawn arms. Not the inaccuracies fed to CNN. But thanks!