Bongino Nails BLM Leader on Live TV - Activist Ends Interview After Question on Political Violence
A Black Lives Matter leader, who said efforts to upgrade police activity in New York City would be met with violence, cut short his interview with Fox News host Dan Bongino after being pressed on his position that rioting was an appropriate response to stepped-up law enforcement.
On Wednesday, after a meeting with New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams did not go as Hawk Newsome wanted, he said that if Adams re-creates an undercover police unit the NYPD disbanded amid protests from activists, “There will be riots. There will be fire, and there will be bloodshed,” according to Fox News.
Bongino spent time on his Saturday edition of “Unfiltered” to pin down Newsome, who took refuge by quoting the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“As Dr. King said, riots are the voice of the unheard,” Newsome said. “It’s a natural occurrence that if people continue to be traumatized and oppressed, they will lash out. That’s it.”
After Newsome tried to paint Black Lives Matter violence as being in the spirit of American resistance to the British prior to the Revolutionary War, Bongino tried to return to the here and now.
BLM Greater New York Chapter co-founder Hawk Newsome REFUSES to answer @dbongino‘s question: “You don’t want riots, correct? And violence?” pic.twitter.com/DPKvQERqyS
— Unfiltered with Dan Bongino (@UnfilteredOnFox) November 14, 2021
“Do you condemn riots and burning down buildings after a police use-of-force incident you don’t like?” Bongino asked.
“No,” Newsome responded. “What I’ll say is, I understand when a police officer unjustifiably kills someone, why people lash out. I understand that completely. I’m not going to condemn, nor am I going to condone it,” he added.
Bongino wasn’t satisfied with the answer, and the two began talking over each other.
“Isn’t that cowardly?” Bongino asked. “‘I’m not going to condemn it, but I’m not going to condone it — so I don’t want to take a stand’? … You seem to talk a lot of junk, and then when I put you on the spot, you won’t answer a damn question. Do you condone violence or you condemn violence? You’re all over the place. Just condemn violence and burning of buildings down. How hard is this?”
Newsome was off on his own analogy.
“OK, so when Osama bin Laden attacked the World Trade Center, did you say America should deal with it peacefully?” Newsome asked.
“You’re not answering the question, man,” Bongino said. “That has nothing to do with people burning down businesses in New York City. You’re not gonna answer the question, Hawk …”
“OK, I’ll give you this,” Newsome answered. “I don’t condone it, I don’t promote it, but I will not condemn it.”
“Man, that’s just cowardly, man. That’s just cowardly,” Bongino said.
“You’re a coward. You know what? You’re trying to bait me,” Newsome responded.
“God bless you, man. I’m out of here,” Newsome said as he removed his mic to end the segment.
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