Marquise Asomani of Charlotte, North Carolina, stands accused by a South Carolina prosecutor of deliberately firing a gun at a crowd of President Trump’s supporters. And unless you live in the area, this is probably the first time you’re hearing about it.
Asomani, 23, was formally accused in court this week, and a judge in York County, South Carolina, ruled that his case will go before a grand jury, which then decides if it will go to trial. Asomani faces several charges, including “first-degree assault and battery, pointing and presenting a gun,” and “illegal carrying of a firearm,” according to the local Rock Hill Herald newspaper.
The alleged incident took place in Fort Mill, South Carolina, back in late August when Trump was speaking in Charlotte at the Republican National Convention. Asomani was allegedly driving on an interstate when he passed a crowd of people waving Trump flags. As he drove by, he allegedly shouted obscenities at the crowd and fired a gun in their direction at least four times. The whole thing was video recorded by a passenger in the vehicle with Asomani, though the recording has not been publicly released.
I only know all of this because of the Rock Hill Herald‘s reporting. I certainly didn’t see it on CNN or MSNBC or read about it in the New York Times. To its credit, the Washington Post did republish an Associated Press report after the initial incident in August, though it did none of its own reporting on the issue.
Asomani’s lawyer has denied that he ever intended to shoot anyone, but the video apparently shows otherwise, so far as the prosecution is concerned. Thankfully, no one was injured.
Asomani, by the way, is black. And I only mention that because, imagine for a second what the news coverage of this would be like if he had been white, and if instead of Trump supporters, they were Black Lives Matter protesters.
I suspect CNN might have said something about it. The Washington Post might have even run a second Associated Press blurb.
But no, violence against Trump supporters is never as interesting to the media. You might even say their lives matter a little less.
