Winston Smith, the man killed last week in Uptown, was apparently already “at war” with the police:
Smith’s violent resistance to arrest may have been motivated by his belief that he was engaged in a “war” on cops.
For years leading up to his death, Smith made statements across social media platforms vowing to shoot police officers if he were ever to be apprehended, encouraging his followers to bring guns and bombs to protests and outlining tactics he believed would be most effective to kill members of law enforcement. He also frequently suggested that he was meeting with like-minded people and taking tangible steps towards these aims.
“Get ready for war,” Smith told his followers via Instagram in mid-April.
“Motherfuckers are finna move on these ‘ops,” he continued, using a slang term that means people would attack police.
“All the shooters, suit up,” he ordered. “Lace your boots up, it’s war fucking time. Bring your gun to the protest, bring them fucking bombs and rocket launchers and all that shit.”
Even some of the local media – in this case, ,reliably left-of-center Fox9 – are taking their break from the Twin Cities media’s usual “write a hagiography first, ask questions later” procedure and noting that there just might be an elephant in this particular room.
UPDATE: It’s unclear from media or law enforcement reports whether Smith was involved in January 6, the only example of violence in American history.
Winston Smith conjures 1984.
Winston (O’) Boogie is a pseudonym for John Lennon.
Winston Boogie Smith did not live Big Brother.
It wouldn’t matter. The locals would riot and loot anyway. He was convicted 3 years ago of beating an ex-girlfriend bloody and robbing her. He was a convicted felon which means he wasn’t supposed to have a gun anyway.
Then there is this gem just totally skipped over by the Star Tribune .
/A judge issued a warrant for his arrest in December 2019 for violating the terms of his probation, stating that the court had probable cause to believe Smith had both failed to “remain law abiding” and was avoiding his probation officer./
So much for turning over a new leaf.
“new leaf” same as “two sides of the same coin”
I hear that he was an aspiring rapper & had recently made efforts to turn his life around.
Being dead is a way to turn your life around. Sometimes, the only way.
It would be really refreshing if those who wanted to riot would at least give it a few days for some facts to come out, and then decide “no, we’re not going to riot for someone who was actively trying to kill police officers.”
Since someone mentioned John Lennon, you can say I’m a dreamer. :^)
This is obviously where the lefty urbanites have a hypocrisy / myopia problem. The city has a violence problem, and this guy is literally an outlaw gunman troublemaker. And they can’t see it that the police should have operational space to apprehend outlaw gunmen troublemakers.
Local lefty Twitter will poo poo the idea that MPLS is a dystopian anarchy state. Well, it is at night. It’s a failed city.
Winston Boogie Smith was an artist, so therefore his words were art and not to be taken seriously, unlike the Jan. 6 people who were not artists therefore what they said was insurrection.
Just a warning, anyone out there on the right who is an artist, just remember, you are the wrong kind of artist, so you have to heavily edit what you say, unlike Winston Boogie Smith.
I have been trying to fathom why the U.S. Marshal service bans body and dash cams. It makes no sense when everyone is carrying a video camera in their pocket. Yes, the cameras may record something that doesn’t put the Service in a good light, but without any video corroboration, their version is going to be questioned and there’ll be a wide open field for inciting claims and speculation.
There was a police shooting last winter of another felon wanted for possession (and selling) of guns. Multiple police videos (with audio) showed that the suspect clearly fired first from inside his car. IIRC, a “community still roiling from the murder of George Floyd by police” didn’t erupt in more mob violence.
I have been trying to fathom why the U.S. Marshal service bans body and dash cams
Feds gonna fed.
What’s the country coming to when a man can’t be left in peace when he has an outstanding warrant for a felony firearms violation, and can’t shoot at the U.S. Marshals trying to arrest him, without getting shot himself?
Feds don’t mess around with anything. Even speeding tickets on Federal land are Serious Business.
This guy was wanted on weapons charges and had said he wanted to shoot at law enforcement. He was wanting to get into a confrontation, and it was with a law enforcement agency that does not mess around.
Smith would be in prison right now, serving out his sentence for the felonies he committed, had the judge not stayed the sentence.
This sounds cold, but at least some innocent bystander wasn’t the victim of a stayed sentence.
Boss; well, no innocent bystanders have died in the rioting yet, but ask the businessmen whose livelihoods are being pillaged whether they’re victims. Five will get you ten they say yes.
Cold? That sounds quite appropriate.
Personally, I think that in all the finger pointing and arguing about the police and racism and guns, judges and sentencing in the judicial system are getting off scott-free. Clearly, strict sentencing guidelines are needed to put away and keep away villains.
Anyone tracking the number of crimes committed by criminals released early from prison due to COVID?
The feds rely on the mystique of Matt Dillon and Efrem Zimbalist, Junior to make the public think federal agents are paragons of virtue who never lie, certainly not under oath. Therefore, there’s no need for body cameras, video depositions, even cassette tape recordings of witness statements. We’ll tell you what happened and you can believe everything we say.
That’s why the FBI still uses Form 302. The agent has a conversation with the witness but makes no contemporaneous recording or notes. Some time later, the agent fills in Form 302 with whatever the agent recalls the witness saying. If the witness’ testimony later differs from the form, the witness must be lying (because the agents never lie, never distort, never forget, no matter how long between the interview and the write-up).
A private practice lawyer who offered that evidence would face a giant uphill battle against a hearsay objection. The feds should, too.
Joe, as a possible juror, I’m going to remember this one. Wonder whether that objection should have kept Martha Stewart out of jail…I seem to remembe that most of the case was that 302 and two colors of ink on the sell order, as if it’s rare for a man to have more than one pen at his desk.