21st Century Wire says…
The mainstream media called it ‘case closed’ after the FBI released its aerial footage of the ambush and shooting of LaVoy Finicum. Now, new evidence reveals that there was likely foul play and a misrepresentation by Federal and State authorities involved in the recent killing of rancher and protester LaVoy Finicum.
As 21WIRE reported at the time (although ignored by the Oregonian and other mainstream media outlets) that without any audio track to synch with the FBI’s aerial footage, it was impossible to really tell when shots were fired and if the official story was actually true. At the time, FBI Special Agent in Charge, Greg Bretzing, insisted that their footage provided an “honest and unfiltered view” of what happened. However, new evidence tells different story, and appears to demonstrate exactly how the official story was intentionally distorted by authorities – in order to cover-up what really happened that day.
At yesterday’s Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office press conference, officials claimed that the state trooper tactical team members were ‘justified’ in killing Finicum because the officers “feared for their lives.” However, authorities are now saying that the FBI agents involved are now being investigated for firing shots… and never reporting them.
Mike Arnold, an attorney representing the Bundys explained on Tuesday, “The public deserved to have the video, with audio and sound, released immediately after the shooting.”
“Now we know why it wasn’t released: the public would have heard the shots that the government didn’t want it to hear.”
The following presentation revealed at yesterday’s press conference shows previously released FBI aerial footage synched together with a newly released cellphone video from passenger Shauna Cox recorded while inside Finicum’s truck. Among other things, this new video proves that police fired first on the vehicle before anyone had even exited the vehicle. Watch:
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DOJ Opens Investigation Into Agents Foul Play
Most importantly, this new evidence reveals what happened immediately after that crash, and this could very well lead to criminal charges against the FBI agents and members of the Oregon State Police tactical units. According to today’s Washington Post:
“Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson said two bullets believed to be fired by FBI agents did not strike Finicum, who was hit by three rounds fired by state troopers. But Nelson announced at a news conference Tuesday that because the FBI agents “did not disclose their shots to investigators, nor did they disclose specific actions they took after the shooting,” his office and the Justice Department would both investigate.”
The new video, combined with a brand new disclosure by a team of local investigators points towards a conspiracy by agents and members of an “elite national unit” who appear to have lied about events at the police ambush and LaVoy Finicum’s death – has now prompted a new investigation by the U.S. Justice Department, led by Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
Finicum Shot in the Back
Among other details, newly released findings show that two state troopers shot Finicum three times in the back during the police ambush Jan. 26, 2016. An autopsy revealed that one of the bullets pierced Finicum’s heart.
Another shocking point of this investigation shows the complete incompetence and negligence on the part of officers positioned in front and behind LaVoy Finicum – creating a dangerous “cross-fire” situation, something which professional officers are taught to avoid, for obvious reasons.
Mainstream Yellow Journalism
The mainstream media are still standing by their slanted terminology by describing the incident as a “traffic stop”, presumably to downplay the premeditated operation by Federal and State authorities to intercept the two vehicles (both the Oregonian, the Washington Post and many other mainstream media outlets all used this skewed language at the time).
Clearly, by any sober estimation of the incident, this was an elaborate, staged ambush involving dozens of vehicles and special tactical teams, and yet every mainstream media news outlet covered the incident with a pro-government bias where the victim was assumed guilty while the government was assumed innocent. Not surprisingly, this coverage quickly turned public opinion against Finicum and anyone else protesting similar issues. One example of the public hate that was generated against Finicum can be found in the comment section of many articles on the website Gawker where Gawker readers celebrated Finicum’s death:
Tens of thousands of similar hate comments can be found throughout many mainstream media articles and on social media. This fact proves how pivotal the mainstream media’s skewed coverage was in turning sections of the population against the protesters in Oregon – despite the fact that Finicum’s killing was an obvious ambush and a clear escalation of violence on the part of the government.
Stay tuned for more updates at 21WIRE.
SEE MORE OREGON STANDOFF NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Oregon Standoff Files
