Perhaps you recall the Occupy Dance? That’s what happened whenever an occupier was arrested for anything, there would be an immediate claim that the protester “has nothing to do with us”, “wasn’t a real protester”, etc.
Well Ferguson, which is Occupy 2.0, is in same panic as multiple activists upon hearing the arrest of Jeffrey Williams, 20. The stampede to try to claim “not one of us” is underway.
Fwiw: as someone who has spent a lot of hours at Ferguson protests, I've never seen that guy. But, I've been out of town for awhile
— Wesley Lowery (@WesleyLowery) March 15, 2015
This man is not a protester. Don't let them feed you this crap. None of us have ever seen him before. pic.twitter.com/jt6BUzXBG8 #Ferguson
— #BlackExperience (@kidnoble) March 15, 2015
According to the LA Times:
Some of Ferguson’s prominent activists said they didn’t recall Williams.
“I don’t know him at all,” Tony Rice, who witnessed the shooting, told the Los Angeles Times. “I have more hours on the ground than anyone. This guy is a lone wolf.”
DeRay Mckesson, another prominent activist who witnessed the shooting, tweeted: “No, I cannot recall ever seeing the suspected shooter, Jeffrey Williams, at any protests, including the night in question.”
Even Leftist media got in on the dance:
Williams charged with "firing from a vehicle" – how then was he a "protester?" And why call him that when he was not *with* the protesters?
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) March 15, 2015
Except then:
Notice? Not a “regular protester”. Translation, yes, he was but not someone we’re willing to own.
As we noted in our earlier report, Williams made comments on the riots/protests, there was even a Facebook post in which he said he was going to go loot.
