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U.S. NEWS Thursday 3 december 2020

Police guide that calls BLM a terrorist group draws outrage

By RYAN J. FOLEY size and influence earlier
Associated Press this year after the death
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A of George Floyd in Minne-
prominent law enforce- apolis police custody. Pro-
ment training group is pro- tests across the nation were
moting a lengthy research largely peaceful but occa-
document riddled with sionally marked by clashes
falsehoods and conspira- with police or the destruc-
cies that urges local police tion of property. Since
to treat Black Lives Matter then, many activists have
activists as terrorists plotting been working to reduce
a violent revolution. the scope and cost of local
The document distributed police departments and
by the International Law overhaul police training.
Enforcement Educators The law enforcement as-
and Trainers Association sociation, known by its
contains misinformation nickname ILEETA, says in
and inflammatory rhetoric a mission statement that
that could incite officers it’s “committed to the re-
against protesters and duction of law enforce-
people of color, critics said. ment risk” and saving lives
It alleges Black Lives Mat- through high-quality train-
ter and antifa, an umbrella ing. The association pro-
term for leftist militants, are In this July 11, 2020 file photo, Alycia Pascual-Pena, left, and Marley Ralph kneel while holding a motes its annual confer-
“revolutionary movements Black Lives Matter banner during a protest in memory of Breonna Taylor, in Los Angeles. ence, set for St. Louis this
Associated Press
whose aims are to over- coming March, as the
throw the U.S. government” necessarily.” defended the document, ing issues but so long as the “largest gathering of law
and claims they are plan- The association in October which he called one mem- disagreements remain pro- enforcement trainers in the
ning “extreme violence.” sent a link to the 176-page ber’s opinion and open fessional and not personal world.”
Phillip Atiba Goff, a Yale paper, “Understanding for critique and debate. we do not censor these It publishes a research jour-
University professor who is Antifa and Urban Guerrilla He said the association ideas,” he said. “I am will- nal, provides other educa-
an expert on racial bias in Warfare,” in an email news supports the exchange of ing to allow the trainer to tional and training materi-
policing, called the docu- update to its thousands of ideas and strategies to im- evaluate the information als and operates a Face-
ment dangerous, noting members. prove criminal justice train- themselves.” book page for members to
that the association is an The document, labeled ing but does not endorse He added, “Just like law en- network and share ideas.
important source of train- “restricted to law enforce- specific approaches. forcement, I am afraid BLM An official with Color of
ing materials for many small ment only,” is one of the Hedden argued that fact- has earned some of these Change, a nationwide ra-
and midsize departments few publicly available ma- checking the paper or criticisms and others might cial justice organization,
across the country. terials on its website. The restricting its distribution be overgeneralizations.” called on police depart-
“It’s stunning. It’s distress- Associated Press learned of would amount to censor- The Black Lives Matter ments Wednesday to cut
ing in many ways. It’s un- the document from one of ship and that its publication movement emerged in training ties with the associ-
tethered to reality,” said the policing organization’s would allow for peer review 2013 after the acquittal of ation, saying it encourages
Goff, CEO of the Center for members. by other trainers. the Florida man who fatally a warrior-style mindset that
Policing Equity. “I worry that The group’s executive di- “There will always be differ- shot 17-year-old Trayvon creates more conflict in
it leads to people dying un- rector, Harvey Hedden, ences of opinion on train- Martin, and exploded in communities.q

Trump threatens defense veto over social media protections

WASHINGTON (AP) — “a serious threat to our Na- nications Commission and
President Donald Trump is tional Security & Election the Federal Trade Commis-
threatening to veto a de- Integrity,” adding, “There- sion, to study whether they
fense policy bill unless it fore, if the very dangerous can place new regulations
ends protections for inter- & unfair Section 230 is not on the companies.
net companies that shield completely terminated as Since losing the presiden-
them from being held liable part of the National De- tial election, Trump has
for material posted by their fense Authorization Act flooded social media with
users. (NDAA), I will be forced to unsubstantiated claims
On Twitter Tuesday night, unequivocally VETO the of voter fraud. Twitter has
Trump took aim at Section Bill.” tagged many such Trump
230 of the 1996 Commu- Trump has been waging tweets with the advisory,
nications Decency Act, war against social media “This claim about election
which protects compa- companies for months, fraud is disputed.”
nies that can host trillions claiming they are biased Tuesday’s veto threat is an- A ribbon hangs on the White House for World AIDS Day 2020,
of messages from being against conservative voic- other potential roadblock Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, in Washington.
sued into oblivion by any- es. for the passage of the an- Associated Press
one who feels wronged by In October he signed an nual defense policy mea-
something someone else executive order directing sure, which is already be- The measure, which has about troop levels, new
has posted — whether their executive branch agencies ing held up in Congress by passed for 59 years in a weapons systems and mili-
complaint is legitimate or to ask independent rule- a spat over military bases row on a bipartisan basis, tary readiness, military per-
not. making agencies, includ- named for Confederate of- guides Pentagon policy sonnel policy and other
Trump called Section 230 ing the Federal Commu- ficers. and cements decisions military goals.q