Cop unceremoniously fired after he mocked LeBron James — but a GoFundMe page for him amasses jaw-dropping amount in donations



Officer Nate Silvester says that he has been fired after a video of him mocking Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James went viral.

What's a very brief history here?

Silvester made headlines in April after sharing video of himself in uniform pretending to phone James for guidance on how to properly assist a fictional stabbing encounter in a mocked-up police call.

Silvester made the video in response to James' posting a photo of the officer involved in the police shooting of Ohio teen Ma'Khia Bryant and captioning it, "YOU'RE NEXT. #ACCOUNTABILITY."

Silvester, who worked for the Bellevue Marshal's Office in Idaho, was suspended shortly after the video emerged on the internet.

#Fired. Former Officer Nate Silvester loses job — and rakes in more than a half-million in GoFundMe donations.… https://t.co/noCWYCack1

— Sarah Taylor (@thesarahdtaylor) 1622218746.0

What are the details?

In an interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Silvester said that he lost his job because of cancel culture.

"I am the latest target of cancel culture," he insisted. "That's all it is."

Silvester also told the Fox host that he was simply trying to "humanize the badge."

"None of my other videos that depicted me in my uniform or involving body camera footage, none of those mattered," he said. "They didn't care about those. It wasn't until my LeBron James TikTok struck a political nerve that they started to pay attention and complain about it and came up with forms of discipline."

Hannity, in response to Silvester's allegations, said that the former officer should "sue their asses off."

Silvester responded, "I am still trying to wrap my head around that. I was just fired this morning."

The former law enforcement official also said that he is considering continuing his career in law enforcement, and says that he's received offers "from different agencies and elected officials from across the country."

"It's not off the table," he insisted.

'Last chance agreement'

In a Facebook statement, Bellevue Mayor Ned Burns said that Silvester was fired on Thursday for "continued policy violations" after he was reportedly on a "last chance agreement" with superiors.

"The policy violations have nothing to do with the tone or tenor of his speech that he posts online," the post explained. "He was not terminated for the content of his speech; he was terminated for his failure to follow clearly laid out and well-established policy."

The post continued, "The decision was solely made by the command structure within the Bellevue Marshals [sic] office and was not influenced in any way by me or by the City Council."

'Gunning for Nate's termination'

At the time of this writing, a GoFundMe page to benefit the newly unemployed police officer has received more than $530,000 — a total that continues to climb as the days go by.

On Thursday, Gannon Ward, the page's organizer, shared an update on Silvester's firing and wrote, "Unofficially, as I stated originally, Bellevue mayor Ned Burns has been gunning for Nate's termination since his Lebron James TikTok went viral. We have heard through the grape vine this is coming down the pipes, it was only a matter of time, and they were just looking for a reason to terminate him."

Bar owner who banned NBA games after LeBron James' cop-threatening tweet says reaction has been 'overwhelmingly positive'



The owner of a Cincinnati bar who banned NBA games until superstar LeBron James is "expelled" from the league said reaction to his ban has been "overwhelmingly positive," the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

"The support for the position has been overwhelmingly positive and has far outweighed the negatives," Jay Linneman, who runs Linnie's Pub, told the paper.

The paper said a gas station a few miles from Linneman's establishment placed text on an outdoor sign that reads, "Hey LeBron, the West Side thanks you. Linnie's has never been busier."

Linneman added to the Enquirer that more customers have been coming in since his ban — but that he doesn't want the spotlight on him: "I hope people channel the support to law enforcement and not necessarily to Linnie's Pub."

What's the background?

James made headlines earlier this month after he tweeted, then deleted an image purportedly of a Columbus, Ohio, police officer who fatally shot a black teenage girl, along text reading "YOUR'E NEXT #accountability."

However, bodycam video shows Ma'Khia Bryant was swinging a knife at others before the trigger was pulled.

After Linneman's ban announcement, James responded the next day on Twitter: "Aww Damn. I was headed there to watch our game tonight and have a drink! Welp."

James received a ton of backlash over his tweet apart from Linneman's ban:

In a previous interview with the Enquirer, Linneman said he was tired of athletes who use their platforms to advocate for certain issues: "They just need to play the game and that's it. Their opinion doesn't really matter. They're using their position to push their opinions, and that's just not right."

Anything else?

The Enquirer added that the contact section on Linnie's website includes a link for those who feel the need to "use vile or threatening language" — and it directs to a website with five searches relating to hell, including "Will God forgive me."

In addition, the contact page shows a response box at the bottom that reads, "In order to reduce hateful, spiteful, racist comments please answer YES in the box below if you support and appreciate the efforts of our brave men and women of law enforcement."

The bar's website further requires people to type "yes" to the question if they support law enforcement in order to leave any comment.

Ex-football player and cop points out LeBron James’ hypocrisy: ‘Living on a high horse’ in a ‘multimillion dollar house’ around ‘nothing but white people’



Former football player and police officer Brandon Tatum blasted NBA star LeBron James over what he says is his hypocrisy of living in an isolated bubble but pointing the finger at a police officer doing his job.

James went viral on Wednesday night after tweeting a photo of the officer involved in the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant, who was reportedly trying to stab another female during a Tuesday altercation.

James tweeted — and later deleted — the photo with the caption, "YOU'RE NEXT. #ACCOUNTABILITY."

What are the details?

Speaking with Fox News' Laura Ingraham on Thursday night, Tatum — who runs a conservative YouTube channel — said that James would not hesitate to work with white police officers for the right reason.

"LeBron James is living on a high horse. He's in a multimillion-dollar house living around nothing but white people," Tatum railed. "He is not affected by none of this violence. He could care less. And at the drop of a dime, he will have white officers at his house doing investigations on false claims if there is some."

He also blasted the Black Lives Matter movement for similar hypocrisy.

"LeBron James and these wealthy people like the BLM co-founder living in million-dollar houses, they don't care," Tatum added. "They just want to push a virtue signal because they have nothing better to do. They are not educated enough to look at things from both sides and they continue to want to push a narrative that's just not true. I really wish they would be held accountable and at least ashamed of what they're doing to our country."

Following Ma'Khia Bryant's shooting death, Tatum — who, on Twitter, goes by handle @TheOfficerTatum — tweeted video of the child's mother saying that her daughter "promoted peace."

He captioned the video, "As [Bryant] was attempting to stab another girl. People need to stop getting on TV lying about their kids. I saw the body camera."

As she was attempting to stab another girl. People need to stop getting on TV lying about their kids. I saw the bod… https://t.co/rzsVaNNiAF
— Brandon Tatum (@Brandon Tatum)1619008764.0

Trump drops blistering statement blasting LeBron James for his 'RACIST rants'



Former President Donald Trump issued a fiery missive against the "RACIST rants" of NBA superstar LeBron James on Thursday.

"LeBron James should focus on basketball rather than presiding over the destruction of the NBA, which has just recorded the lowest television RATINGS, by far, in the long and distinguished history of the League," read the statement.

"His RACIST rants are divisive, nasty, insulting, and demeaning," Trump added. "He may be a great basketball player, but he is doing nothing to bring our Country together!"

Trump might have been referring to a controversial tweet that the Los Angeles Lakers star sent out to his millions of followers after the police shooting of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio.

Activists and protesters reacted angrily to reports from Bryant's family that she had called the police over a fight in front of her home and had been shot herself and killed.

James joined the movement by tweeting a screenshot of the police officer involved in the shooting and added the text, "YOU'RE NEXT."

The narrative was completely undermined by video released by the Columbus Police Department from the officer's bodycam that appeared to show Bryant lunging at another girl with a knife in her hand.

James deleted the tweet after a flood of criticism, but he offered no apology.

I’m so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because its being used to create m… https://t.co/aP2xoizYEk
— LeBron James (@LeBron James)1619047885.0

"I'm so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because its being used to create more hate -This isn't about one officer. it's about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more ACCOUNTABILITY," James said.

The anti-police narrative was further bolstered Thursday with a second video from a neighbor's surveillance camera that showed another angle of the lethal incident.

Here's more about the deleted LeBron James tweet:

'The Five' react to deleted LeBron James tweet about fatal police shootingwww.youtube.com

Meghan McCain tears into LeBron James on 'The View' for his tweet: 'Putting that police officer’s life in danger'



Meghan McCain, co-host on "The View," blasted NBA superstar LeBron James on Thursday after he shared a photo of the Columbus, Ohio, police officer who fatally shot 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant.

On Wednesday night, James tweeted the photo and captioned it, "YOU'RE NEXT. #ACCOUNTABILITY." He later removed it after tremendous backlash.

What are the details?

On Thursday morning, McCain blasted James for tweeting the officer's identity and warned that he was putting the officer's life in danger with his rhetoric.

James himself on Wednesday night said that he removed the photo because the tweet was "being used to create more hate."

At the time, he wrote, "I'm so damn tired of seeing black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because its [sic] being used to create more hate[.] This isn't about one officer. It's about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more ACCOUNTABILITY."

During the segment, McCain addressed the violence that led up to the officer's shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant.

Co-host Sunny Hostin said that the officer could have attempted to de-escalate the situation before firing on the 16-year-old.

"It goes from zero to execution very quickly with black and brown people," Hostin said.

McCain responded, "I don't know enough about police protocol, but I know that had she been able to successfully stab the girl, she possibly could have hit an artery, she possibly could have killed the girl herself."

"This is hard for me to talk about because ... the way I was raised is to respect authority, is to respect police officers, to respect law enforcement," she added. "No one without two brain cells in their head can't understand that police tend to treat African Americans and people of color a different way than they do white people. It's just a fact."

McCain added, "But when you have people like LeBron James posting pictures of this police officer before this has been adjudicated and litigated, you're also putting that police officer's life in danger, and I would like killing to stop in this country and violence to stop."

"She was about to stab another girl, and the police officer did what he thought he had to do," she concluded.

BODYCAM FOOTAGE OF MA’KHIA BRYANT SHOOTING RELEASED: Another police-related death was caught on bodycam in Columbus… https://t.co/lpIf8ceVtg
— The View (@The View)1619105881.0

Former NFL player turned Army Ranger blasts LeBron James’ incendiary tweet: The left has ‘taken over’ every sector of American life



Jake Bequette, a former New England Patriots player turned Army Ranger, told "Fox & Friends" Thursday that a tweet sent by NBA star LeBron James Wednesday is dangerous on several levels, warning that leftism has "taken over" almost every single sector of American life.

James came under heavy fire on Wednesday night for sharing a photo of the police officer involved in a Columbus, Ohio, shooting and wrote, "YOU'RE NEXT. #ACCOUNTABILITY." The officer in question was captured on video in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of knife-wielding 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant on Tuesday.

What are the details?

Bequette, who played for the Patriots from 2012 to 2015, said that the left is intent on taking over all factions of American society as we know it.

When asked why he believes tweets and public statements like that from James are becoming "increasingly prevalent," Bequette explained that sports and the U.S. military "represent the 'final frontier' of meritocracy, patriotism, and institutions of traditional American values, which the left is intent on subverting."

"They're not gonna stop until they've taken over everything," he warned.

He also said that politics in sports and the military is a "tragedy" and said that those on professional sports teams and those serving in the military need to focus on the greater message: winning.

"We have to train our military with that perspective and focus, not these woke leftist ideologies that have no place on the battlefield or on the playing field," he added.

James deleted the offending post following the backlash and later attempted to explain his thought process behind it.

"ANGER does any of us any good and that includes myself!" he wrote. "Gathering all the facts and educating does though! My anger still is here for what happened that lil girl. My sympathy for her family and may justice prevail!"

He added, "I'm so damn tired of seeing Black people killed by police. I took the tweet down because its being used to create more hate — This isn't about one officer. it's about the entire system and they always use our words to create more racism. I am so desperate for more ACCOUNTABILITY."