Category Archives: Wisconsin

‘Nothing but pain’: Jacob Blake speaks for first time since he was shot by police

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  • Father of six was shot in back by police officer last month
  • Shooting sparked wave of protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin

Jacob Blake has spoken publicly for the first time since a police officer shot him seven times in the back. The 29-year-old says he is in constant pain from the shooting, which doctors fear will leave him paralyzed from the waist down.

In a video posted on Saturday evening on Twitter by his family’s lawyer, Ben Crump, Blake said from his hospital bed that “every 24 hours it’s pain, nothing but pain. It hurts to breathe, it hurts to sleep, it hurts to move from side-to-side, it hurts to eat.”

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Biden warns Trump ‘legitimizes dark side of human nature’ in Kenosha visit

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Joe Biden said he sought common ground while Trump, he said, stoked division and was actively obstructing racial progress

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Thursday warned that Donald Trump’s behavior “legitimizes the dark side of human nature”. He made the remarks during a visit to Wisconsin, where he spoke by phone to Jacob Blake, a Black man whose shooting by a white police officer renewed nationwide protests against systemic racism.

Related: Joe Biden meets privately with Jacob Blake's family amid protests over shooting

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Joe Biden to meet with Jacob Blake’s family in Kenosha – live

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The Guardian’s Kenya Evelyn reports:

Joe Biden will meet Jacob Blake’s father, Jacob Blake Sr, later today as well as other members of the family of the 29-year-old who is gravely wounded and still fighting for his health in a local hospital in Kenosha after being shot in the back by a white police officer on August 23.

Trump and his advisers are trying to walk back his comments encouraging North Carolinians to vote twice in the November elections.

The president said yesterday, “Let them send it in and let them go vote. And if the system is as good as they say it is then obviously they won’t be able to vote” in person.

Trump yesterday: “If you get the unsolicited ballots ... send it in early, and then go and vote.”

Trump in May:
“If you told a Republican to vote twice, they'd get sick at even the thought of it."pic.twitter.com/bjWMotfXrP

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‘It’s called choking’: Donald Trump blames racist policing on ‘bad apples’ – video

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The US president praised police forces while touring the Wisconsin city that became the centre of protests after an police shot Jacob Blake, blaming recent racist incidents on 'bad apples' and officers 'choking' under pressure.

Donald Trump said a silent majority of Kenosha residents were most concerned about 'law and order', insisting people should focus on 'anarchists, looters and rioters' and not peaceful protesters

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Trump compares police shootings to golfing and defends teenager who shot protesters

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Before his visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, Donald Trump defended a teenager who shot two anti-racism protesters dead in the city last week. The president also compared the actions of a white Kenosha police officer who fired seven shots at a black man, hitting him four times in the back to a golfer choking on a putt.

Related: Jacob Blake: father refuses to ‘play politics with my son’s life’ amid furor over Trump visit

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Donald Trump appears to defend Kenosha gunman – video

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Donald Trump appeared to defend the teenage gunman charged with killing two people and injuring another with an AR-15-style rifle during protests against the police shooting of an African American man in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

At a White House press briefing Trump said Kyle Rittenhouse, 17,  'probably would have been killed but it’s under investigation'.

Trump also defended his supporters in Portland who fired paintball guns and pepper spray on Saturday

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Trump fails to denounce an accused killer – which comes as little surprise

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Analysis: For the president, loyalty is paramount – those on his team will not be chastened, even for alleged murder

Donald Trump has the blind devotion of a rabid sports fan. His team can do no wrong. The opposition are liars and cheats.

So maybe no one was surprised on Monday when he appeared to defend an accused murderer.

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‘It’s a coin toss here’: will swing voters in this Wisconsin county stick by Trump?

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In Forest county, Wisconsin – which backed Obama before Trump – voters voice doubts about both major candidates

Joe Biden has blown his chance to win over Kristen, to be found selling home-baked cakes and pies at a farmer’s market in Forest county, northern Wisconsin.

The 46-year-old was once a fan of Barack Obama, voting for him twice before switching her allegiance to Donald Trump four years ago. Kristen, who doesn’t want her last name used, was minded to back Trump again in November but was holding off to see who Biden chose as his vice-presidential running mate.

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Kenosha marches on as protesters describe ‘kidnap’ by federal agents

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  • Residents take to streets to patch up damage
  • Activists report being held for hours without charge

For many Kenosha residents, Saturday morning was starting like the five mornings before them since Jacob Blake’s shooting by the police last Sunday, after a night of large, peaceful protests demanding justice and equality.

Hundreds took to the streets, some working to patch damage and doll up the blistered city, 40 miles south of Milwaukee in Wisconsin, on the shore of Lake Michigan, by painting rainbows and hearts on boarded-up businesses.

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Michelle Obama: ‘I’m just devastated by the shootings in Kenosha’

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The former first lady condemned the shooting of Jacob Blake by police as well as killings of Wisconsin protesters

Michelle Obama said she was “devastated” by the shootings in Kenosha, Wisconsin, this week and is “exhausted and frustrated” at the trauma of Black and brown people in the US.

In a lengthy statement released on Friday, the former first lady condemned the shooting of Jacob Blake, a Wisconsin man shot seven times in the back by police in front of his children, as well as the shooting of three protesters by an alleged 17-year-old rightwing militant in the protests that followed.

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Jacob Blake shackled to hospital bed despite being paralyzed, father says

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Jacob Blake Sr said in TV interview he did not know why his son was under restraint after being shot by police in Kenosha

Jacob Blake, the 29-year-old who was shot seven times by a Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer on Sunday, has spent the week shackled to his hospital bed despite being unable to walk and being heavily medicated, his father revealed on Friday.

“There was the cold steel on his ankle. He is shackled to the bed, but he cannot get up, he could not get up, he is paralyzed,” Jacob Blake Sr, father of Jacob Blake Jr, told CNN, describing a hospital visit with his son two days ago.

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Donald Trump portrays Biden as threat to America in RNC speech packed with falsehoods – live

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That’s it from us tonight. Here are the key takeaways of the final night of the Republican convention:

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly plans to resign due to his health.

The Japanese outlet NHK reports:

Abe Shinzo is scheduled to hold a news conference later in the day to explain his decision.

Abe has visited a hospital twice over the past two weeks, fuelling speculation that his health has deteriorated.

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Trump attacks Biden as eager to ‘tear down’ America in RNC speech

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President accepts Republican presidential nomination in event staged at White House, raising ethical concerns

Against a backdrop of a global pandemic, heightened racial tensions, and widespread unemployment, Donald Trump framed his Democratic rival Joe Biden as the real danger to the country’s safety and economic welfare in his address to the Republican convention on Thursday.

Accepting the party’s presidential nomination ahead of November’s elections, Trump argued for more than an hour that his administration had accomplished everything it had set out to do and warned that a Biden presidency could be ruinous.

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‘We’ve all had enough’: Kenosha in anguish over Jacob Blake shooting

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Communities have been left to come to terms with the setback for race relations, a frayed relationship with police and the damage that has upended daily life

Antwainnetta Edwards is a new mom. Just weeks ago she had a baby girl and worked hard preparing herself to raise a child during a coronavirus pandemic and the related economic crisis.

Now, as she stood on the porch of her home in Kenosha, rocking her newborn back and forth, she reflected on the last four days and nights that have shaken the small Wisconsin city since, once again in America, a white police officer shot a Black man during an interaction that went out of control, severely wounding Jacob Blake on Sunday.

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Kenosha police officer who shot Jacob Blake named as Rusten Sheskey

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Officer was caught on video firing seven times into Blake’s back at almost point-blank range

Police in Kenosha, the Wisconsin city rocked by protests and deadly violence since the shooting of Jacob Blake, have named the officer who fired multiple bullets into Blake’s back.

Rusten Sheskey, who has been employed by the Kenosha police department for seven years, was named as the officer caught on video firing seven times into Blake’s back at almost point-blank range as he held him by his shirt.

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Chaotic scenes as gunfire rings out during unrest after Jacob Blake shooting – video

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Footage taken from the third night of unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, appears to show an armed civilian fire at a person before running towards police officers. The protests began after the police shooting of Jacob Blake three days ago. Video posted on social media showed chaotic scenes as gunfire rang out, scattering people in the street. Two people have been killed, and another injured

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Two dead in Kenosha after at least one gunman opens fire on BLM protesters

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Three shot as Wisconsin city rocked by further violence on streets following shooting of Jacob Blake

Two people were shot dead and another injured when at least one gunman opened fire on protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, amid demonstrations against the police shooting of Jacob Blake three days ago.

David Beth, the county sheriff, said one person was shot in the head and another in the chest shortly before midnight on Tuesday. Another person was shot in the arm. The victims have not been identified.

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‘I don’t want pity, I want change’: Jacob Blake’s sister gives powerful testimony – video

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Letetra Widman, the sister of Jacob Blake, who was shot in the back by police on Sunday, gives an impassioned plea saying that above all the other labels given to her brother, he is human.

Letetra said she had been inundated with messages of support but that all she really wanted was change.

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Family of Jacob Blake say he is paralysed after police shooting – video

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The family of Jacob Blake, the black man shot by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, has revealed the 29-year-old has been paralysed. Speaking alongside attorney Benjamin Crump, Blake's father, Jacob Blake Sr said, 'They shot my son seven times. Seven times. Like he didn't matter. But my son matters.' Blake's mother, Julia Jackson, called for unity after damage to the city from protests following the shooting

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Wisconsin governor promises police reforms after Jacob Blake shooting

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  • Tony Evers calls special session of state legislature
  • Lawmakers had delayed ordering body cameras for years

In the wake of protests over the shooting of a Black man by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the state governor, Tony Evers, has promised to move forward with reforms to curb law enforcement misconduct.

Evers has demanded state legislators meet on 31 August in a special session to consider a set of nine police reform bills which were floated more than two months ago. The proposals – which followed the 25 May killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police – include banning chokeholds and limiting other use-of-force methods.

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