YouTube issues strike two against Steven Crowder's channel



YouTube has once again suspended BlazeTV host Steven Crowder's channel, issuing a second "strike" against the comedian for reportedly violating the platform's harassment and cyber bullying policies with a video on the tragic shooting death of Ma'khia Bryant by a police officer.

Crowder's April 21 show was removed from YouTube. The episode covered how 16-year-old Bryant was attacking another person with a knife before a responding police officer fatally shot her. Crowder and his co-hosts argued that the shooting was justified, making jokes about the circumstances of the shooting. According to YouTube, Crowder's commentary crossed a line that violated its Community Guidelines.

"YouTube Creators share their opinions on a wide range of different topics," the company said in a statement to Crowder's team. "However, there's a line between passionate debate and malicious harassment. Content containing targeted harassment including, but not limited to, stalking, threats, bullying, and intimidation is not allowed on YouTube."

In an email to Crowder's attorney, Bill Richmond, YouTube accused Crowder of "reveling in or mocking" Bryant's death.

"In particular, this video violated the aspect of the policy that prohibits 'content reveling in or mocking the death or serious injury of an identifiable individual.' Accordingly, the video has been removed and a strike has been applied to the Steven Crowder channel. This constitutes the second active strike on the Steven Crowder channel and, as a result, uploads are now suspended for two weeks," the company said.

Crowder's team reported that YouTube also suspended the CrowderBits channel with a hard strike.

YouTube has a three-strike policy when it comes to violations of its Community Guidelines. After an initial warning, the first strike is applied to a channel that violates YouTube's standards and results in account suspension for a minimum of one week. Account privileges will be restored at the end of the week, but the first strike will remain on a user's channel for a 90-day period.

If a channel violates YouTube's guidelines again during those 90 days, it will receive a second strike and be suspended for two weeks. Each strike will not expire until 90 days from the time it was issued.

Three strikes and you're out. If a third strike is applied to a channel within the same 90-day period, that channel will be permanently removed from YouTube.

In response, Crowder accused YouTube of having a double standard on harassment and cyber bullying.

"Why no live show today, you ask? Ah. Well YouTube hit our channel with a second hard strike, saying we violated their harassment guidelines," Crowder tweeted Wednesday. "Which is interesting when you consider all the harassment YouTube allows if it comes from the left ..."

Why no live show today, you ask? Ah. Well YouTube hit our channel with a second hard strike, saying we violated the… https://t.co/dmMsJRJp57

— Steven Crowder (@scrowder) 1620830256.0

TheBlaze reached out to YouTube for clarification on what specific comments in Crowder's video violated the rules. This story will be updated if YouTube responds.

Officer who went viral for mocking LeBron James is suspended following complaints — but a GoFundMe to benefit him has drawn in nearly $200,000



The Idaho police officer who went viral after mocking NBA star LeBron James has reportedly been suspended following complaints.

James came under fire for posting a photo of the officer involved in the police shooting of Ohio teen Ma'Khia Bryant, captioning it, "YOU'RE NEXT. #ACCOUNTABILITY."

What's a brief history here?

Earlier this month, Officer Nate Silvester of the Bellevue Marshal's Office in Idaho turned heads with his impersonation of an officer phoning James for direction on how to handle a police call.

Silvester's satire naturally went viral and racked up millions of views across the internet.

As previously reported by Blaze Media:

In the video, Silvester can be seen arriving at a fictional scene and calling dispatch for advice.

"Dispatch, I've arrived at that disturbance," he says. "Will you have LeBron call my cellphone right away, please? Thank you."
While awaiting the call from "LeBron," Silvester can be heard telling an off-screen person to "put down that knife."

"Stop stabbing him," Silvester commands.

"LeBron" returns Silvester's call, and the officer says, "LeBron, hey, yeah, it's me again. Listen, I'm out here at this disturbance call, and there's a guy trying to stab another guy with a knife. What do you think I should do?"

After a pause in the fake conversation, Silvester asks, "Why does that matter?"

"OK, well, they're both black," he continues. "One guy is trying to stab another guy with a knife. Deadly force is completely justified."

After another pause, he adds, "So, you don't care if a black person kills another black person — but you do care if a white cop kills a black person, even if he's doing it to save the life of another black person? I mean, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but then again, you're really good at basketball, so I guess I'll take your word for it."

He concludes the conversation, "Michael Jordan's the GOAT [greatest of all time]. I gotta go."

Silvester then turns to the fictional suspects and says, "Sorry, guys, you're on your own. Good luck."

A policeman calls LeBron for advice in hilarious viral video https://t.co/iQmLOKFXHr

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) 1619375540.0

What are the details?

Silvester recently appeared in a YouTube video, where he revealed that he was suspended following the original video.

The Bellevue Marshal's Office also issued a statement in response to the video.

"The Bellevue Marshal's Office is aware of the extreme controversy regarding Deputy Marshal Silvester's viral TikTok," the statement read. "The statements made do NOT represent the Bellevue Marshal's Office. The Bellevue Marshal's Office always demands that our Deputies engage with our citizens in a friendly and professional manner. This is NOT how we expect our Deputies to act on duty or use city time. This is a personnel issue that is being dealt with internally."

In his video, Silvester said that he was on break when he filmed the video and did not use city time to mock the NBA star.

Following his suspension, Silvester's best friend launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for any related loss of income that may have stemmed from the suspension.

At the time of this reporting, the page has received more than $193,000 in donations.

In the video, Silvester said that he plans to use the money to push back against the anti-police narrative in much of the media. He did not specify how he would make such an effort.

Please Help Officer Silvester & Other Families video updatewww.youtube.com

Black talk show host defends police shooting of Ma’Khia Bryant and faces vicious backlash



A co-host on an influential black radio talk show dissented from the narrative calling the lethal police shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant racially motivated, and he faced vicious backlash from many in their audience.

DJ Envy, whose real name is RaaShaun Casey, commented about the controversial shooting on the syndicated radio show The Breakfast Club on Monday.

"This situation, my only thing is this, and you're talking to somebody whose father is a retired cop, alright?" Casey said. "Now, when that cop pulled up, he doesn't know friend or foe. He doesn't know who called the police."

Reports from the shooting in Columbus, Ohio, initially claimed that Bryant called the police and was shot and killed when they responded. Later video showed that she was rushing to stab another girl when a white police officer arrived and fired at her four times.

Casey previously debated the issue on Friday with his co-hosts, who painted the incident purely as a racist incident.

"Every case is different, and in this case, if I pull up to a scene and see a girl chasing another girl about to stab a girl, my job as a police officer is to make sure that girl doesn't get killed," Casey said on Friday.

Charlamagne Tha God and DJ Envy debate the Ma'Khia Bryant killing, with Envy claiming it was justified.… https://t.co/EsTfOiN21N
— Aaron (@Aaron)1619204690.0

"And the law allows me to stop that killing or that stabbing by any means necessary. That's what the law allows me to do," he added.

Many of the show's listeners were furious that Casey refused to follow the racial narrative about the incident.

"DJ envy annoying tf outta me for the past few days. You CANNOT justify that officer killing that girl. Wtf," said one critic.

Every time a police shooting happens dj envy corny ass always gotta remind everybody that his dad was a cop
— 🙃 Blah 🙅🏾‍♂️ (@🙃 Blah 🙅🏾‍♂️)1619440760.0

"Every time a police shooting happens dj envy corny ass always gotta remind everybody that his dad was a cop," said another.

"Let's make sure dj envy keeps this same energy when one of his children gets targeted by the cops," said another critic.

"DJ Envy is the clown I always imagine him to be. F**k that mf," said another user.

One of Casey's interlocutors later said on the show that he was absolutely and completely against interracial marriage because he says it is a danger to the black family.

Here's the debate on the Bryant shooting:

Charlamagne And Envy Debate Over Lawfulness Of Ma'Khia Bryant Shooting By Policewww.youtube.com

LAPD officer blasts LeBron James for 'irresponsible and disturbing' tweet — then extends an invitation



A Los Angeles Police Department officer generated significant attention online after he wrote an open letter to NBA superstar LeBron James.

What is the background?

James ignited controversy last week after posting the picture of a Columbus police officer involved in the incident that resulted in 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant's death.

Sharing the image with his nearly 50 million Twitter followers, James said, "YOUR'E NEXT #accountability."

Although James later deleted the tweet, he was immediately denounced for suggesting police officers were wrong to protect the other girl who was involved in an altercation with Bryant. Had police not acted, multiple video angles showed the girl likely would have been stabbed. When police shot Bryant, she was armed with a knife and was preparing to use it to assault the other girl.

What did the officer say?

LAPD officer Dan Joseph, who has been on the force for 24 years, posted on open letter on Facebook in which he invited James to learn about "the reality of the profession of policing."

But first — although Joseph emphasized that his comments do not come "from a place of hatred" and that James' family life and charitable endeavors should be celebrated — Joseph blasted James for his "irresponsible and disturbing" tweet.

"Your current stance on policing is so off base and extreme," Joseph said.

He continued:

[The tweet] showed a complete lack of understanding of the challenge of our job in the heat of a moment. You basically put a target on the back of a human being who had to make a split second decision to save a life from a deadly attack. A decision I know he and many others wish they never had to make. Especially when it involves someone so young. Instead of apologizing, you deflected. You said you took your tweet down because you did not want it to be used for hate, when the tweet itself was the embodiment of hatred, rooted in a lack of understanding of the danger of the situation.

Joseph said if James would accept his invitation, he would learn police officers are "not the monsters you have come to believe we are."

"You are tired of Black folks dying? So am I. You hate racism and police brutality? So do I," Joseph wrote. "But you cannot paint 800,000 men and women who are of all races, faiths, sexual orientations and are also mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, preachers, coaches, community members and just human with such a broad and destructive brush."

Anything else?

While Joseph took a relational approach to James' controversial comments, other officers have garnered attention for being more brash.

A police officer from Bellevue, Idaho, for example, went viral after creating a TikTok video that mocked James.

Officer mocks LeBron James in viral video: 'So, you don't care if a black person kills another black person — but you do care if a white cop kills a black person?'



One police officer went viral after roundly mocking NBA superstar LeBron James for sharing a photo of the police officer at the center of a shooting of a knife-wielding 16-year-old girl.

The young shooting victim, Ma'Khia Bryant, was reportedly trying to stab others during an incident in Ohio last week, which the teen's foster mother said stemmed from a dispute surrounding housework.

What are the details?

According to Newsweek, the video amassed more than 2.5 million views on video-sharing platform TikTok alone as of Sunday.

In the video, Officer Nate Silvester of the Marshal's Office in Bellevue, Idaho, was seen mocking the basketball player while pretending to respond to calls from dispatch by saying that he needs to conference with James before he acts on calls.

The Post Millennial also shared the video on Twitter, where it has received 158,000 views at the time of this reporting, captioning it, "A policeman calls LeBron for advice in hilarious viral video[.]"

In the video, Silvester can be seen arriving at a fictional scene and calling dispatch for advice.

"Dispatch, I've arrived at that disturbance," he says. "Will you have LeBron call my cellphone right away, please? Thank you."

While awaiting the call from "LeBron," Silvester can be heard telling an off-screen person to "put down that knife."

"Stop stabbing him," Silvester commands.

"LeBron" returns Silvester's call, and the officer says, "LeBron, hey, yeah, it's me again. Listen, I'm out here at this disturbance call, and there's a guy trying to stab another guy with a knife. What do you think I should do?"

After a pause in the fake conversation, Silvester asks, "Why does that matter?"

"OK, well, they're both black," he continues. "One guy is trying to stab another guy with a knife. Deadly force is completely justified."

After another pause, he adds, "So, you don't care if a black person kills another black person — but you do care if a white cop kills a black person, even if he's doing it to save the life of another black person? I mean, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but then again, you're really good at basketball, so I guess I'll take your word for it."

He concludes the conversation, "Michael Jordan's the GOAT [greatest of all time]. I gotta go."

Silvester then turns to the fictional suspects and says, "Sorry, guys, you're on your own. Good luck."

A policeman calls LeBron for advice in hilarious viral video https://t.co/iQmLOKFXHr
— The Post Millennial (@The Post Millennial)1619375540.0

Fox Sports host goes scorched earth on LeBron James over deleted tweet: 'Dog, you can't do this'



Fox Sports commentator Marcellus Wiley tore into NBA superstar LeBron James this week over his social media posts related to the police shooting death of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant, which ignited new controversy this week over how media report officer-involved shooting deaths.

What is the background?

James incited a tsunami of backlash on Wednesday when he tweeted, and then deleted, a photo of a Columbus police officer involved in the Bryant incident, with a caption that said, "YOUR'E NEXT #accountability."

James was immediately blasted for suggesting police were wrong to defend the other girl in the Bryant incident who likely would have become a stabbing victim had police not acted.

Multiple video angles of the incident have since surfaced, contradicting the narrative that spread in the initial hours after Bryant's death. The video showed Bryant with a knife attempting to stab another person when an officer opened fire on Bryant, stopping the attack and killing her. "We know, based on this footage, the officer took action to protect another young girl in our community," Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther said.

What did Wiley say?

Speaking on FS1's "Speak For Yourself," Wiley, himself a former NFL player, blasted James for being "irresponsible."

"Dog, you can't do this," Wiley said. "You can't be that irresponsible if you're LeBron James because you have that much power, and we all know when you get that type of power that responsibility comes with it."

Wiley said James demonstrated he wanted "to be first — not right," explaining James should have "passed in this moment."

"Emotions can't trump logic, and that's what's happening," Wiley said. "Your agenda can't go before your acumen. You can't pander before your principles."

Wiley praised James for his charitable contributions and for having a "big heart," but added, "I don't care how smart you are if you don't stop and think... LeBron James — he failed in that moment."

Wiley went on to criticize James for tweets alleging America is a "broken system." Wiley said, "The same system that is so broken, it allows you to become a billionaire and never get arrested in it — but the system is broken?" According to Wiley, James should be telling the story of "somebody who has made it ... I would love to hear that story of how you became LeBron James against all odds instead of always professing the odds are against all people."

"You gotta look before you leap — LeBron just leaped in this one because he knew his followers would catch him," Wiley continued.

Wiley went on to say, "LeBron James says 'I'm so damn tired of seeing black people killed by police.' With that platform. How about this sentence instead of that, 'I'm so damn tired of seeing black killed?' A little difference. How about this sentence, even more idealistic. 'I'm so damn tired of just seeing people killed?'"

Wiley said that, ultimately, "irresponsibility that shows in the micro makes me say be responsible about the macro."

"Like, dog, 250 black people [are] killed by police every year, that's 250 too many people. But in the macro-sense, there are 7,500 homicides to black people every year as well. I'm not saying LeBron you got that put the focus on that, fully, but let's be responsible," Wiley said. "There's 7,500 in totality that never get the discussion because the people with the platform are not highlighting that."

.@MarcellusWiley responds to LeBron's controversial tweet. https://t.co/VbEov9rW1B
— Speak For Yourself (@Speak For Yourself)1619147096.0

Rutgers gender and Africana studies professor suggests Ma'Khia Bryant was shot because she was having a 'bad day' and 'not being perfect'



A Rutgers professor appeared on MSNBC's "ReidOut" talk show Thursday night, where she came to the overwhelming defense of Ma'Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old who was shot by a police officer as she was lunging with a knife at another girl.

A panel discussion about the Columbus, Ohio, shooting on "ReidOut" featured the Rev. Al Sharpton, psychologist Phillip Atiba Goff, and Brittney Cooper, who is a Rutgers University associate professor of gender and Africana studies.

"The argument for our movements has never been that black people have to be perfect in order for them to deserve dignity, for us to have good policing, for us to be viewed with humanity, for cops to take a breath before they literally get out of the car guns blazing," Cooper told host Joy Reid.

Cooper claimed that the prosecution of Derek Chauvin had to be "impeccable" to get a conviction against the former police officer, who was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.

"And if that is the standard, then no black person is really, truly going to be safe if we cannot be having a bad day, if we cannot defend ourselves when we think we are going to get jumped, if we call the cops and they can't show up and tell who the victim is and who the perpetrators are and they can't use their training to adjudicate regular, old, everyday community conflict," Cooper said.

Coincidentally, Cooper lashed out last month at a police spokesperson who relayed a message from the Atlanta spa shooter who said in his own words that he was having a "bad day." Cooper attributed the "bad day" quote to the police spokesperson, but he was paraphrasing the murderer, as Reason reported.

"'Yesterday was a bad day for him.' There is no end to the capacity of law enforcement to empathize with murderous white terrorists," Cooper wrote on Twitter. "WTF!"

Cooper then argued that girls like Bryant are misunderstood, and she was "adultified."

"What are we going to do about the way that we don't understand black girls as girls. Ma'Khia Bryant was a child like Tamir Rice was a child," Cooper said. "And the way that she has been talked about as this, you know, because she was a big girl, right, and so people just see her as the aggressor.

"They don't see her humanity. They have adultified her," Cooper claimed. "We turn black girls into grown women, before they even are able to vote and then, you know, and are unable to see them as children until I have watched folks across the political spectrum really defend this and say – and empathize with the officer, say that he didn't have any other set of choices.

"If you can't figure out how to de-escalate a 16-year-old even with a kitchen knife when you have a gun and you're a grown man, you shouldn't be a cop," Cooper ranted on the cable talk show.

WHAT?! MSNBC's Joy Reid, guest blame the Columbus police officer for having somehow triggered #MaKhiaBryant into wa… https://t.co/tt1Bo3rkBn
— Curtis Houck (@Curtis Houck)1619133263.0

Cooper has received notoriety for making controversial, and at times outrageous remarks. Last April, Cooper proclaimed that Trump supporters are to blame for COVID-19 deaths. In 2019, Cooper claimed that former President Donald Trump's policies and racism are responsible for overweight black women. In 2015, Cooper asserted that Jesus Christ was "potentially queer."

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

Juan Williams suggests Columbus officer should have fired 'warning' shot 'in the air' instead of killing Ma’Khia Bryant



Fox News host Juan Williams faced a flood of online criticism after opining that the Columbus, Ohio, police officer who shot and killed 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant should have fired a "warning" shot instead of taking her life.

Williams made his comments Thursday while talking about the controversial shooting on Fox News' "The Five."

He was challenged by co-host Jesse Watters to explain what the police officer could have done to diffuse the situation without using lethal force.

"I guess I would shoot the gun, not necessarily at somebody, but maybe shoot the gun and maybe, you know, run at the person and try to disarm them, I don't know," Williams said.

"So wait wait, you would shoot the gun in the air like a warning shot?" asked Watters.

"Well, hopefully to distract her and try to stall or something so I could get — or my partner could get the knife away," Williams said. "I don't know, taking someone's life is pretty strong."

"I don't know if that would work," Watters replied.

"I don't either, I don't either, Jesse!" Williams admitted.

"I think that that woman with a knife is a danger to society, and certainly a danger to the other person, and we want her to stop and be disarmed," Williams explained. "I just also think that killing a human is pretty radical. I don't think that's a good thing."

Many viewers took to Twitter to criticize Williams for his unrealistic solution.

"Idk who needs to know this, but warning shots are not safe in condensed neighborhoods.. Bullets don't just disappear when fired," replied one viewer.

"These dim bulbs failed physics, gun safety and Research101 into weapons discharge by any LEO," replied talk show host David Webb.

"It appears that Juan's been watching too many Bonanza, Big Valley, and Gunsmoke reruns on MeTV," joked another critic.

Williams went on to say that people are using the "messy" case in Ohio in order to change the subject from the guilty verdict handed down in the Derek Chauvin murder trial.

The death of Bryant was immediately taken up by protesters and activists after her family claimed that she had called the police and was killed when the first officer arrived. The controversial case took a turn when police released footage from the officer's bodycam that appeared to show Bryant charging to stab another girl when she was shot.

Here's the video of Williams' comments:

LUNACY: Juan Williams claims that the Columbus police officer should have fired his gun into the air or a bullet of… https://t.co/Pv4IS0jaaj
— Curtis Houck (@Curtis Houck)1619125607.0