The New York Times’ and Los Angeles Times’ journos on Twitter lauded a UC Berkeley student whom police arrested in connection with vandalism containing phrases like “kill cops” and “f*** white people.”
The writers praised Antifa supporter Ismael Chamu on Twitter, following a glowing LA Times article Monday: “He attends elite UC Berkeley but lives in a trailer with no heat or sewer hookups. Soon, he’ll be scrambling to find new shelter,” Far Left Watch reported.
Berkeley police charged Chamu with felony vandalism and possession of materials to vandalize in July after the student activist and fellow Berkeley student Peter Estrada allegedly scrawled “f*** white people,” “f*** the police,” “kill cops,” “kill yuppies,” “class war,” and “eat the rich” with spray paint on fences and cars. Officers originally released Chamu without charges after a June 27 arrest but charged him after the publication of statements in which Chamu encouraged vandalism and arson.
The UC Berkeley student pleaded not guilty and has an April court date.
“Private property must be destroyed; bars and hipster shops need to be removed; Google satellite offices must be burned, and Google buses need to be slashed,” Chamu wrote in an April blog, which Far Left Watch archived before the student deleted.
The Berkeley student described Antifa’s role in shutting down a February 2017 Milo Yiannopoulos speech at the school as “direct engagement,” opining “it is not Liberal lobbying and Non-profit dialogue that will halt the disease of gentrifying techies; direct engagement will.” He also criticized Hillary supporters for saying “that they ‘care’ about undocumented people” but “twist and cry the moment someones praises Antifa.”
Chamu also posted “God Bless Antifa #F***Trump” on Facebook, according to posts Far Left Watch archived. “Time to Radicalize our Black and Brown youth,” he said in another post celebrating his receipt of a California teaching permit.
The LA Times’ Chamu piece chronicled the UC Berkeley student’s academic achievement despite housing difficulties. The Times updated its 45-paragraph article post-publication with three paragraphs dedicated to Chamu’s vandalism.
ALSO WATCH Ben Shapiro explain how police handled his speech:
“Ismael Chamu is a remarkable young man,” NYT correspondent Jose A. Del Real said, linking the LA Times piece. “Please take some time to read this profile of a young man trying to escape poverty.”
“The grit and determination of Ismael Chamu is jaw-dropping,” LA Times politics reporter Melanie Mason said. “Kudos to [the author, Teresa Watanabe] for telling his story and deftly capturing the affordable housing crisis for CA’s college students.”
LA Times spokeswoman Hillary Manning said the publication did not deliberately leave out Chamu’s arrest, in correspondence with The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“The Times did not learn of his arrest until after publication,” reads the note, which Manning says the LA Times published in Tuesday’s print newspaper.
Approximately 1,000 donors have raised more than $80,000 to help Chamu and his family purchase new housing.
Update: YouCaring spokeswoman Austin Kapur, who represents the site hosting Chamu’s fundraiser, said that the site will “take a step back” from sharing the fundraiser with media outlets after reading TheDCNF’s report on Chamu.
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