Black Lives Matter rioters assaulted a CNN staffer and chased the news team out of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota Wednesday evening, and the network did not mention it on-air, despite discussing the riots multiple times.
A video posted by Washington Examiner reporter Nic Rowan shows a crowd of people surrounding a CNN crew member and throwing a water bottle at him, hitting him in the head. The crew member falls to the ground, while some in the crowd call for a medic and others laugh.
A second video shows rioters chasing the crew out of Brooklyn Center and yelling “get the fuck out of here!”
“We’re leaving,” one of the crew members says as they get into a car. “We don’t want any trouble.” Rioters throw objects, including what appears to be raw eggs, at the car as they drive away.
Protesters just chased the entire CNN crew away from the police precinct. pic.twitter.com/r6TGmnBxIH
— Nic Rowan (@NicXTempore) April 15, 2021
“My team and I are fine and I appreciate your concern,” CNN reporter Miguel Marquez said Wednesday night on Twitter. “I hope for equal justice under the law and will continue to report on this vital story as it unfolds.”
The videos showing the CNN team being assaulted and chased out were first posted around 9:00 PM ET, when CNN host Chris Cuomo’s show began. There was no mention of CNN’s team being chased out, but Cuomo did discuss the riot and provide live updates throughout his show. (RELATED: Civil Unrest Continues In Minneapolis: Mass Detainments, Unlawful Assembly Declared)
Cuomo said that “riots are not protests” but said that “people are outraged about the truth.” He also compared the Brooklyn Center riots to January 6 and said that it was downplayed by “a lot of white people” and “an entire TV network.”
Don Lemon also did not mention his colleagues being chased out or assaulted, despite showing live coverage of the riot throughout the majority of his show. During CNN’s morning show, New Day, the riots were mentioned briefly but there was still no mention of the crew. By the beginning of the Derek Chauvin trial, which CNN broadcasts live, CNN had still not made any comments about their crew members who were assaulted and chased out.
Wednesday was the fourth straight night of unrest in Brooklyn Center following the deadly shooting of 20-year-old Daunte Wright. Bodycam footage from the Sunday night shooting showed Wright fleeing arrest and former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter yelling “taser!” multiple times before firing a shot. The police chief said he believed that Potter mixed up her taser and her service weapon.
Potter resigned from her position Tuesday and has been charged with second-degree manslaughter.
CNN did not respond to a request for comment.