One of the journalists arrested at a McDonald’s earlier this week in Ferguson, Mo. mistook earplugs for rubber bullets, and tweeted an image of the noise guards from the riot torn town early Sunday.
Huffington Post reporter Ryan J. Reilly asked his Twitter followers — many of whom followed him after he gained notoriety for his Wednesday night arrest — to confirm his belief that the earplugs were really rubber bullets possibly fired at demonstrators. (RELATED: Getting Arrested Was The Best Thing That Ever Happened To These Reporters’ Twitter Accounts)
I believe these are rubber bullets, can anyone confirm? #Fergurson pic.twitter.com/iCsFi6qoIa
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 17, 2014
Several users corrected Reilly’s mistake and confirmed that they were, in fact, ear plugs.
@ryanjreilly looks more like ear plus. rubber bullets have steel under them
— Fatty McFatterson (@JustSikko) August 17, 2014
@ryanjreilly hate to say it but they look like ear plugs, + curvature at the base would make it hard for them to travel thru barrel of a gun
— Ashley Alman (@AshAlman) August 17, 2014
Those are earplugs bro. RT @ryanjreilly: I believe these are rubber bullets, can anyone confirm? #Fergurson pic.twitter.com/Y3ZSsczZuj
— Jimmy (@JimmyPrinceton) August 17, 2014
After realizing his mistake, Reilly issued a retraction of his earlier tweet:
I retract that suggestion, they are earplugs. Apologies.
— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) August 17, 2014
But that didn’t stop some from questioning his ability to cover a story like the Ferguson riots:
@JimmyPrinceton but seriously, @ryanjreilly should have a basic understanding firearms and ammunition before covering such volatile stories
— Jessica Seale (@JessaNaomi) August 17, 2014
Police in Ferguson did use rubber bullets to disperse protesters earlier this week.
Previously, Reilly had an emotional outpouring Thursday on HuffPo Live recounting his McDonald’s arrest. (RELATED: Crying Huffington Post Reporter Is A Disgrace To Journalism)