Media top headlines February 18
In media news today, The Washington Post issues a clarification after saying Clarence Thomas resembles the thinking of ‘White conservatives,’ Ex-New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof is declared ineligible to run for governor of Oregon, and liberal journalists lash out at Ilhan Omar.
An updated Las Vegas Sun editorial still assigns blame to "extremist Republicans" and the "talk coming from the right" for an alleged assassination attempt by Black Lives Matter activist Quintez Brown in Louisville, Ky.
The newspaper came under fire for an editorial Wednesday that tied the shooting attempt targeting Louisville mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg to "a rise in threats against politicians fueled by increasingly violent rhetoric coming from extremist Republicans."
It admitted Brown didn't appear to have ties to right-wing organizations but initially omitted his liberal activism and affiliation with Black Lives Matter, the left-wing group which helped post his $100,000 bail.
Following a flurry of criticism, the Sun updated the editorial to say he was "involved in the Black Lives Matter and gun-safety movements," but the piece otherwise maintained its criticism of Republicans for the incident.
(Louisville Department of Corrections)
"Given that the GOP has largely fueled this problem, it holds the lion’s share of the responsibility for addressing it. Republicans must condemn, in the strongest terms, any member of their party who promotes or suggests political violence," the board wrote.
QUINTEZ BROWN: BLM LOUISVILLE DEFENDS POSTING BAIL FOR ALLEGED WOULD-BE MAYORAL ASSASSIN
Brown had intentions of running to represent District 5 for Louisville’s Metro Council in 2022, according to a campaign video he shared to his Twitter account in December. Independent journalist Andy Ngo uncovered that the activist had also been recognized by the Obama foundation for his youth violence prevention efforts.
Brown, 21, was charged with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment after he entered Greenberg’s campaign headquarters in Butchertown and fired multiple shots using a 9mm Glock handgun, police said. Nobody was hurt, but Greenberg’s shirt was grazed by a bullet, police said.
Greenberg is a White, Jewish Democrat. Police have not provided details about the possible motive for the shooting but said they are looking at all angles.
Brown previously worked for the Louisville Courier-Journal as an intern and an editorial columnist, according to the newspaper. In 2018, he advocated for gun control; at one point, he appeared on MSNBC alongside anchor Joy Reid during coverage of the March For Our Lives movement. He shared a short campaign video on Twitter in December announcing that he was running to represent District 5 for Louisville’s Metro Council in 2022.
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Brown made headlines last summer after he went missing for about two weeks. His family was critical of the Louisville Metro Police Department during the investigation and said police were "ill-equipped" in helping to locate Brown. His parents told local media at the time that their son could possibly be going through a mental health crisis and pleaded with the public to help find him. Brown was later found safe in New York.
Fox News' Angelica Stabile, Houston Keene and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
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