“It contradicts everything we think about the Texas prison system,” he said. Police declare riots as protests turn violent in cities nationwide; 1 demonstrator dead in Austin Police declared 'riots' in Oregon, Washington, California and Virginia. "A riot is the language of the unheard." Those arrested were charged with inciting a riot. When a prisoner wants to open a cell door, a carefully placed shoelace or a piece of metal or even cardboard is enough to jimmy the lock, according to prisoners at three different units who said they’d done it themselves. is a staff writer whose work has focused on prisons and prosecutors. — George P. Bush (@georgepbush) June 13, 2020 In late May, protesters in San Antonio spray-painted graffiti on the Alamo Cenotaph. The next day, Teal walked into the Travis County jail, with Carter by his side, to turn himself in. Trump takes no responsibility for riot, tours Texas border wall construction after days spent out of sight and banned from Twitter. Needless to say at this point, I hope, the reason SCOTUS shot down the Texas lawsuit isn’t because Roberts was afraid of riots or thinks Trump is a dirtbag. The agency accused the Black 25 year old of participating in a riot, according to the affidavit, and the Travis County jail said he turned himself into jail earlier this month. More than a month after that, Texas Department of Public Safety officers showed up at the home of Jordan Teal’s grandmother, guns drawn, and interrogated the 18 year old’s relatives, his attorney said. — cole conish (@askmorquestions) May 30, 2020. After DPS published screen grabs of the teen and offered up to $1,000 in cash reward, an anonymous tipster pegged Teal as the suspect, which was corroborated by department analysts, the affidavit said. May 31, 2020 4:23 PM ET. RELATED ARTICLES: This Is Why We Covered The Minneapolis Chaos Last Night: Armed Americans […] In the days after the riot, the agency sent out a team of top officials to complete a review; Deputy Inspector General Joseph Buttitta said investigators and prosecutors are working to bring charges against at least six of the prisoners involved. A Texas Guerrillas member who calls himself, "Apex," third from right, and others carry weapons at a Black Lives Matter rally in Austin, Texas, U.S., Aug. 1, 2020. Lt. Gov. Let’s be clear. The majority of the 14 people DPS says have been jailed as part of the investigation so far are suspected of only misdemeanor crimes, like pushing onto closed Capitol grounds or tossing water out of a bottle onto an officer, according to DPS press releases and arrest affidavits. Several told us they usually shove cardboard, dominoes, wadded up paper or the tiny green bars of state-issued soap into the door while it’s open to make sure the latch doesn’t fully engage. The prison was understaffed. The arrest — and the 13 other jailings the agency has since announced in press releases through this month — was a result of DPS special agents’ extensive review of social media and surveillance videos. Then the men started fighting with each other until officers gassed the whole wing and shipped 98 prisoners to higher-security lock-ups nearby. Rep. Dan Crenshaw: Black Lives Matter Riots in Texas Spreading the Coronavirus – NOT the Economic Reopening. Then, on June 25, DPS announced a new arrest — 23-year-old Godsey, who is white, was picked up on suspicion of a felony criminal mischief charge. The prison was understaffed. In George Floyd's hometown of Houston, family members joined a march on June 2, estimated to be 60,000 strong; a video appeared to show a female protester in Houston being trampled by a police officer on a horse. The prison system’s executive director, Bryan Collier, said the agency has been working on solutions, including trying out prototypes for new lock plate covers. The local temperature hit 102 degrees. Once the door is closed it will look fully shut, though it won’t be secured, employees confirmed. Bernstein said DPS also obtained a warrant to track and trace Godsey’s phone prior to the arrest, which she had never seen before. To Jennifer Erschabek, executive director of the Texas Inmate Families Association, the vulnerabilities in the locking systems and the agency’s failure to address them call into question the point of locking people up in the first place. Paul Quinzi, another Austin defense attorney, said the repeat arrests are unnecessary even if DPS has filed for new criminal charges, like Teal’s misdemeanor riot case added on top of his earlier felony assault of a public servant allegation. Do you value our journalism? Prisoners were increasingly upset about the coronavirus pandemic. Teal’s story is not unique. By Jim Hoft Published May 29, 2020 at 8:12pm Share on Facebook (958) Tweet Share Email Print. But one thing helped make the chaos possible: lame locks. Members of Indivisible 24, a local chapter of the political progressive nonprofit, stand outside a Trump supporter event at The Marq in Southlake, Texas on Saturday, October 24, 2020. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on members to help keep our stories free and our events open to the public. State Troopers stood guard on the state Capitol grounds during a May 31 protest against the death of George Floyd. Reaction to the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police Department. Protester and media recordings show people spray painted the building and monuments with anti-racist and anti-police remarks, dented and smashed windows of DPS SUVs, overturned a water fountain and roughly shoved at least one trooper to the ground. “Those who were arrested were not peaceful protestors; they were engaged in various types of crimes – some of them felonies – that jeopardized the safety of citizens and officers,” the statement said. A lot of them are plants by agencies. Officials say the July 18 unrest at Briscoe didn’t start until the evening, though one prisoner told his family that men had been popping out of their cells all day. The continuing arrests were foreshadowed at a press conference in early June when McCraw, the DPS director, spoke about the violence and disorder at anti-police brutality protests. Tear gas fired on protesters. Protesters streamed through the streets of Wolfe City, Texas on Monday night, chanting the name of Jonathan Price -- the black man who was killed by a police officer over the weekend. Eventually, the warden negotiated a truce, and the prisoners released their hostage, a little roughed up but not injured, officials said. But some are facing felony charges and years behind bars for allegedly kicking the door panel of a police SUV or hitting an officer with a tossed water bottle. Texas Sen. John Whitmire, the Houston Democrat who oversees the state’s Senate Criminal Justice Committee, said he was initially shocked to learn of the problem. Four Times CNN Excused Violent Left-wing Riots In 2020. But the arrestees’ lawyers are upset with what happened after the streets and Capitol grounds were cleared. News. Rep. Dan Crenshaw: Black Lives Matter riots in Texas spreading the coronavirus – NOT the economic reopening . He faces up to 20 years in prison on a potential second-degree felony charge of assault of a public servant. What are the odds that two different guys might be named “John Roberts”? The crowd threw bottles and rocks at police, businesses and vehicles. ALAMO, Texas — President Donald Trump on Tuesday took no responsibility for his part in fomenting a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week, despite his comments encouraging supporters to march on the Capitol and praise for them while they were still carrying out the assault. Teal was booked, had his fingerprints taken and bonded out within the hour without being questioned by DPS, Carter said. His grandmother was told if Teal didn’t show up or turn himself in soon, other agencies who see the warrant may come back at night with a no-knock warrant, which allows police to forcibly enter homes without warning, Carter said. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 … Though keeping prisoners locked up may seem like the most basic task for a corrections department, the inability to do so isn’t unique to Texas; last year in Arizona, the prison system director abruptly retired after an investigation into the agency’s failure to fix broken locks even when they were linked to assaults and deaths. Since then, DPS has arrested more than a dozen Texans as part of its highly publicized, resource-laden investigation into the Capitol protests. DPS obtained an arrest affidavit last month for one protester whose video footage was used to identify others accused of criminal activity, according to records. https://heavy.com/news/2020/05/viral-videos-protests-riots-george-floyd Greg Abbott has declared a state of disaster due to the violence in cities around the state protesting the death of George Floyd.. Abbott, a Republican, issued the measure in response to "threats and incidents of violence in several cities across Texas that have endangered public safety." The shootings intensified criticism of Austin police, and the rising community backlash eventually prompted the Austin City Council last week to cut its police budget, largely through plans to move some departments out from under law enforcement oversight. A large gathering of anti-police brutality protestors at the south gates of the capitol on May 31, days after George Floyd's death. Prisoners were increasingly upset about the coronavirus pandemic. ... who has a doctorate in marriage and family therapy and leads the graduate counseling program at Texas Wesleyan University. Date. Gov. Current and former officers recounted assaults on their coworkers by men who’d unlocked their doors, and one prisoner described carrying out such an assault himself. After she was unexpectedly taken from her Austin home during the second arrest, Nordstrom, who is white, said law enforcement officers in plain clothes interrogated her in a truck in her apartment’s parking lot and asked if she was involved in any socialist organizations before taking her to the jail. Members of Indivisible 24, a local chapter of the political progressive nonprofit, stand outside a Trump supporter event at The Marq in Southlake, Texas on Saturday, October 24, 2020. controversial intervention of federal agents. Chuck Norris forced to deny he was part of Capitol riots after lookalike's viral selfie. The information he is imparting is secondhand. A suspected Proud Boys member has been detained, as police declared the scuffle a riot. She assumed they were looking for evidence of a conspiracy to riot. They both have said the review often involves getting through an immense amount of video footage. But the affidavit, while describing the protester capturing footage of other criminal activity, didn’t portray him engaging in any illegal behavior, Escamilla said. Heavy snow expected in Texas; storm could spawn tornadoes. Disclosure: The University of Texas at Austin has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. The speaker in the video below is a member of Texas’s State Republican Executive Committee. “They’re looking for anyone who they can construe as an enemy of the state,” said the 26 year old, who specified every protest she’s been to has been peaceful on the part of the protesters. A Texas Guerrillas member who calls himself, "Apex," third from right, and others carry weapons at a Black Lives Matter rally in Austin, Texas, U.S., Aug. 1, 2020. Pointing back to the Boston Tea Party at America’s onset, the vice president for diversity and community engagement at the University of Texas at Austin said destructive behavior is sometimes the only way to get people to pay attention to aggrieved communities. One solution would be to replace the problem locks or retrofit them with metal plates that would prevent prisoners from inserting that final piece of metal or cardboard needed to open the door. Executive director Chas Moore said in a video announcing the cancellation that “white people ... have used Black pain and Black outrage to just completely become anarchists in this moment.” Moore did not respond to The Texas Tribune for this article. “The way DPS is doing it … is that they will arrest them again ... screw up their day and then get bonded out again” Quinzi said. District Attorney Margaret Moore, who prosecutes felonies, said all cases are being reviewed. “The issue of lock manipulation could not be taken more seriously,” he said. Travis County Attorney David Escamilla, who handles misdemeanor prosecutions in Texas’ capital city, said earlier this month that most of the cases presented by DPS are still being reviewed on an individual basis to determine whether to accept or reject them — and none have yet been accepted. These are all the cities where protests and riots have erupted over George Floyd’s death Updated Jun 02, 2020; Posted May 30, 2020 A protester yells at a … Carter said DPS had asked that Teal turn himself directly in to the agency, but the attorney declined. She is the organization's first formerly incarcerated reporter. * Editor's note: This story contains explicit language. Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. Second: DPS officers hold a protester to the ground while another sprays them with a red liquid during the protest. But sometimes they get violent, with guards or with each other. EL PASO, Texas -- Demonstrators gathering to protest the death of unarmed George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police believe they are being infiltrated by … The lieutenant governor said in a statement to the Tribune Thursday that he was enormously grateful for DPS state troopers’ work and “calm professionalism” during the May protests. Abbott Announces Proposals For Harsher Penalties To Those Involved In Riots September 24, 2020 at 2:30 pm Filed Under: Dallas , dallas police , DFW News , Gov. Texas Gov. [142] Godsey’s attorney, Jessica Bernstein, said she assumed DPS is trying to find evidence of a conspiracy to start a riot at the Capitol, but she said there was no such plan. He said the agency had a “long memory” and was investigating criminals, “violent extremists” and antifa groups — loosely-affiliated, far-left activists that have used violence to oppose fascism, white supremacy and far-right ideologies. At least one person was injured in a shooting amid clashes between right- and left-wing groups at Washington’s Capitol campus in Olympia. “This problem makes that all but impossible.”. The move by the progressive council further widened a long-running divide between Austin’s elected officials, who see a need for substantial changes to a criminal justice system whose officers disproportionately use force against people of color, and state leaders, who fear that pulling resources from law enforcement will endanger public safety. The Department of Public Safety said 11 officers suffered cuts and bruises from assaults during that weekend's protests. Martin Luther King Jr. By Tim Rogers Published in FrontBurner May 31, 2020 3:37 pm SMS. Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush warned rioters who might be planning to target the Alamo in a tweet saying, “Don’t mess with The Alamo.” The Texas General Land Office is responsible for the care and safety of the Texas shrine. At a press conference Tuesday, Gov. … This keeps everyone safe and allows your voice to continue to be heard. Natalie Argyle - January 9, 2021. The weekend after the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck long after he lost consciousness, protests across Texas and the nation erupted in a revived movement against police brutality and racial injustice. Aug. 21, 202012 PM. Another trooper tackled a fleeing teenager, prompting a scuffle between officers and protesters. Texas’ 2020-21 revenue is $1B in the hole due to COVID-19 pandemic by Russell Falcon / Jan 11, 2021 AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The state of Texas is projected to have $112.5 billion in revenue available for general-purpose spending during the 2022-23 period -- which may sound like a lot, but represents an overall 0.4% decrease of available funds from the two previous years. We Got GASSED At Dallas, Texas PROTEST / RIOTS! Jeremy Desel, a spokesman for the prison system, said that assertion “is not just false, it is completely offensive,” adding that incidents in which prisoners break out of their cells are always considered emergencies that are referred to the highest levels of the agency for review. Alexandria Martin, 20, of McKinney faces a riot participation charge. US attorney Erica MacDonald said on Friday that she had charged Ivan Harrison Hunter, a 26-year-old Texas resident, with traveling across state lines to participate in a riot. Angry Leftists are rioting tonight in several US cities. Teal wasn’t there, but his family was questioned and harassed, the lawyer said. Perhaps it goes without saying — but producing quality journalism isn't cheap. More than a dozen current and former corrections-department employees told The Marshall Project about prisoners opening up their locked cells from Amarillo to Texarkana. One such protest moved to the Texas Capitol in Austin on May 30. “The state is out there saying if you participate in these types of protests, we are going to come after you.”. But also blame it on the isolation of 2020. Caused by. Video sent from one prison this year showed men in an ostensibly locked-down unit meandering around after they’d slipped out of their cells to hold what a narrating voice described as a “gang meeting.” Days later, a different video shot in the same prison showed two men popping out to fight in the dayroom until one knocked the other nearly unconscious and dragged him back to his cell. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device. ELECTION 2020. Almost all are in their teens or early 20s, according to DPS releases and court records. Sometimes when they “pop out” of their cells, they just mill around and talk. “There’s no greater responsibility that the agency has than to keep the people in custody and the staff there safe,” said Michele Deitch, a senior lecturer on prisons at University of Texas at Austin. ... As riots and looting have broken out in cities across the country, this is the message the brother of New York governor Andrew Cuomo shares at the top of his show. The lawsuit focuses on the Texas anti-riot law, which was adopted in 1973 following a similar federal statute passed five years earlier. One former employee showed The Marshall Project a video of a coworker in South Texas demonstrating exactly how it’s done. “What I sometimes hear is people valuing property more than lives,” Moore said. The lawyer interpreted the statement as a threat based on the harshly criticized death of Breonna Taylor, who was killed by Louisville officers serving such a warrant. “Officer deaths and assaults are just not a priority for the agency.”. This map is updated regularly by a third party, and displays many events happening in the Country in relation to the protests and riots. Carter, Teal’s lawyer, said he thinks the wounded reputation of law enforcement after Floyd’s death and the budget cuts have spurred the intensity of DPS’s reaction. May 26, 2020 – present (3 months, 1 week and 4 days) Location. Nonprofit journalism about criminal justice, A nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system, This article was published in partnership with. said a former lieutenant at the maximum-security Telford Unit in East Texas. Texas Gov. “Anywhere you have electronic locking systems,” he added, “unfortunately you can have offenders that manipulate the lock.”. The Department of Public Safety has spent months trying to identify and find protestors, many of whom have been accused of participating in a riot. Some prisoners said that people are popping out more often now that the pandemic has heightened tensions and ushered in months-long lockdowns. The budget decision drew ire this week from the top three elected officials in a state government whose law enforcement arm continues arrests of people suspected of committing crimes at a protest nearly three months ago. The medium-security unit wasn’t supposed to hold high-risk prisoners, but it did. “What is the definition of security if inmates won’t even remain locked in their cells?” she said. Godsey is accused of spray painting “Fuck the Police” on the Capitol’s southern doors after agents studied another protester’s YouTube livestream video. 5:01 PM on Jun 30, 2020 CDT. As what usually happens at these communist riots… “He remembers 3 or 4 firearms pointed at him and one at the female driver of the car he was in,” Bernstein said in an email to the Tribune. Teal, an 18-year-old recent high school graduate, was counting down the weeks until college when he found out he was wanted on suspicion of a felony in July. According to three sources familiar with the situation, several of those involved were maximum security prisoners—though the unit was designated medium and minimum security. After dozens were arrested at the Capitol and in downtown Austin during the May protests, there was little publicly disclosed state police action regarding the events in the following month. Greg Abbott declared a State of Disaster Sunday and authorized federal agents to serve as Texas police officers. Representing arrested protesters for years, often from the Capitol, Quinzi added he has “never seen [DPS] act the way they’re doing now.”. Guards are also concerned. I … At Briscoe Unit and many other prisons across Texas, prisoners have defeated locks using tools such as a shoelace and a bar of soap. An internal document obtained by The Marshall Project showed that the agency allotted $8 million for lock replacements at two of its 104 prisons during the current two-year budget cycle. To Leonard Moore, the ongoing arrests and interrogations seems to be an overreaction to property damage and minor injuries. “It makes me feel unsafe,” said Tanisha Woods, a local union president and sergeant in Gatesville, Texas. The local temperature hit 102 degrees A Republican Elector from Texas named Matt Patrick told a very interesting story this week. Let’s be clear. More arrests are expected as warrants are fulfilled and the agency seeks more tips from the public on additional suspects. December 17, 2020. “It is only because of our DPS force ... that came to the aid and rescue of the brave officers at APD that Austin didn’t turn into a potential Seattle or Portland,” he said, mentioning cities that have experienced months of sometimes violent protests and controversial intervention of federal agents. As of June 2020, protests have been held in 41 towns and cities throughout Texas, with major protests in Dallas, Austin and Houston. Prominent racial justice advocates in Austin agreed that destruction led largely by white people had taken over protests early after Floyd’s death. Greg Abbott was in Dallas Thursday to announce legislative proposals that give harsher penalties to people involved in riots, which includes mandatory jail time. The speaker in the video below is a member of Texas’s State Republican Executive Committee. Protestors break windows and light a … DPS reported 11 officers were injured with cuts and bruises from assaults during Capitol protests that weekend, and tens of thousands of dollars worth of property damage was done. These “riots” are mostly white folks out here. The agency said descriptions of arrests and interrogations told by defense attorneys and protesters were “riddled with inaccuracies or completely false.” No further specifics were given by Friday afternoon when asked about falsehoods. How many people have died in the George Floyd riots? Since then, the Texas Department of Public Safety has spent the summer naming and arresting suspects, the majority of whom are accused of misdemeanors. Texas Gov. Texas is experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases, which Gov. Updated: June 10, 2020 As protests erupt across the US over the death of George Floyd, numerous law enforcement officers have been attacked or killed during the riots. “We do have special agents embedded trying to identify criminals that are leveraging these or using this as an opportunity — exploiting these demonstrations,” he said three days after the first Capitol protest while seated near the governor. The broader, national debate over law enforcement’s role in society that was sparked after protests over Floyd’s death is one that will likely be center stage in the 2021 Texas Legislature. “Law enforcement feels like they’re under attack, so I think this is maybe their way of standing up for themselves … but this is not the way to do it.”. The medium-security unit wasn’t supposed to hold high-risk prisoners, but it did. In Austin, Texas, probably the most liberal city in the great state of Texas, Black Lives Matter (sponsored by Major League Baseball, the NFL, NBA and Nascar) along with AntiFA terrorists were stirring up trouble in Downtown. “What is the purpose of the prison system?”. Keri Blakinger State police believe he threw a water bottle at an officer during the May protest. Two days of unruly protests at the Texas Capitol in May left graffiti on the historic building and cuts and bruises on state police officers. Statewide there’s even a slang term for it: keying the door. Dallas police said they made at least 74 arrests on Saturday night. A spokesman for Norris, 80, says he was on his Texas ranch at the time - … She previously covered criminal justice for Houston Chronicle, and her work has appeared in the Washington Post Magazine, VICE, the New York Daily News and NBC News. 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