January 1, Trump Campaign Staffers Test Positive for COVID as He Heads to Arizona

This Day in History | 1992 

Mafia boss John Gotti, nicknamed the “Teflon Don” because he avoided convictions in previous trials, gets a life sentence after being found guilty on 14 accounts of conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering.

Good morning Middle Middle Americans,

Today President Trump heads to Arizona, where he’ll get a look at a new section of the border wall in Yuma, and speak at a Students for Trump event in Phoenix. It’s almost like there’s no pandemic and racial unrest in the country. There is. And it’s really ugly. One thing that seems to be cropping up everywhere, the noose. That disgusting symbol of hate. NASCAR made a big show at Talladega last night. The drivers all rallied around Bubba Wallace, the circuit’s lone black driver. But no picture of the noose has been posted. At least, we couldn’t find one. But there are a couple of other incidents where nooses were used to make a point. 

Read all about it. 

-Fraser Dixon 

Two Trump Campaign Staffers who at Tulsa Rally Test Positive for Coronavirus

(CNBC) – Two members of a campaign advance team who attended President Donald Trump‘s rally in Oklahoma on Saturday have tested positive for the coronavirus, the campaign said Monday.

The new test results bring the tally of advance team members for the Tulsa event who have tested positive for Covid-19 up to eight.

Soldier Charged with Giving info About Troops to White Supremacists

(Atlanta Journal Constitution) –  U.S. soldier Ethan Melzer of Louisville, Kentucky, has been charged with giving classified information about U.S. troops to a European-based white supremacist group, the Department of Justice said in a news release.

U.S. soldier Ethan Melzer of Louisville, Kentucky, has been charged with giving classified information about U.S. troops to a European-based white supremacist group, the Department of Justice said in a news release.

Melzer, 22, allegedly planned an attack on his U.S. Army unit by sending sensitive details about the unit — including information about its location, movements and security — to members of an extremist organization called the Order of the Nine Angles, an occult-based neo-Nazi and white supremacist group, according to the news release.

Melzer was charged with conspiring and attempting to murder U.S. nationals, conspiring and attempting to murder military service members, providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists, and conspiring to murder and maim in a foreign country, the DOJ said in its release.

The FBI and the Army thwarted Melzer’s plot in late May, and the FBI arrested Melzer on June 10, the DOJ said in its release. 

Read more here

NASCAR Drivers Offer Bubba Wallace Show of Support After Noose Found in His Garage

(CNN) – NASCAR drivers, pit crew members and others walked alongside Bubba Wallace and escorted his Number 43 car in a show of support at the Talladega Superspeedway on Monday a day after a noose was found in his garage.

In a video tweeted by NASCAR Executive Vice President Steve O’Donnell, Wallace’s car is being followed and pushed down pit row by a large procession of people. Wallace, wearing an American flag face mask, was emotional while hugging drivers and supporters, including NASCAR legend Richard Petty.

“This is probably the most badass moment right here,” he said to FOX Sports. “This sport is changing. The deal that happened yesterday … I wanted to show whoever it was that you’re not going to take away my smile. I’m going to keep on going.

See the tribute here

Mock Lynching of Police Officer Wearing a Pig Mask Found Hanging Over Highway

(ABC News) – A mock lynching of a mannequin wearing a police officer’s uniform and a pig mask has been found hanging over a highway.

The scene was discovered early on the morning of June 20 when emergency responders were dispatched at approximately 6 a.m. to investigate a possible suicide on an overpass of I-95 in Jacksonville, Florida.

When authorities arrived, however, they discovered that the scene did not involve a suicide but instead was a deliberate mock lynching of a mannequin wearing a pig mask and a police officer’s uniform.

“The incident that occurred this morning depicting the mock lynching of a mannequin dressed in what appeared to be the uniform of a law enforcement officer is extremely disturbing,” Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams in a statement. “Both the tactics and props used were a deliberate attempt to exasperate an anti-police sentiment and drive a divide in our community.”

The Mayor of Jacksonville issued a statement calling the incident “appalling and disturbing.”

See the disturbing images here

Someone Hung the Photos of 6 Black victims of violence by Nooses from a Tree in Milwaukee

(WISN) – Members of the Original Black Panthers took down photos of six African American victims found hanging from a tree in Milwaukee’s Riverside Park.

The laminated photos were tied with nooses. They were removed Saturday evening. The photos included Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Botham Jean, Ahmaud Arbery, Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin.

Four of the six died at the hands of police. The Original Black Panthers called the photos racist. “Historically, African Americans have been hung and lynched,” activist King Rick said. “I don’t care what anybody says, they can justify it all they want to. It was disrespectful not only to the memories of these individuals — our beloved individuals — but also to the African American community, so I’m not hearing it.”

They said the act was intolerable and unacceptable. It’s not clear who hung the photos from the tree or why.

Police have not said whether they are investigating.

See the report here