Excusing the Rioters: How the Media Have Shifted the Blame in Baltimore

The Baltimore riots surrounding the death of Freddie Gray became a moment for liberal reporters and commentators to take the blame off those who destroyed cars, looted businesses, burned a church senior center and hurled objects at police officers.

Liberal journalists claimed the real culprits were police “terrorism,” right-to-work states (for robbing Baltimore of jobs) and even local sports teams like the Ravens and Orioles.

Chris Matthews blamed the riots, in part, on “right-to-work states” in the South stealing jobs from labor union friendly Baltimore. CNN’s Marc Lamont Hill claimed it was wrong to call the violent acts a riot but rather “uprisings” against “police terrorism.” MSNBC political analyst Dr. Michael Eric Dyson contrasted the “forces of oppression that have besieged that urban terrain” with the unfairness of how the “Baltimore Ravens and the Baltimore Orioles with their tax-exempt status [were] being given tremendous goodies to stay into the city.”

The following are the worst examples (so far) of media blame-shifting in coverage of the Baltimore riots:

1. CNN’s Marc Lamont Hill: “This Is Not a Riot” But “Uprisings” Against “Police Terrorism”

2. Maddow: Baltimore Police “A Little Out of Control” During Riots

3. Chris Matthews Blames “Right-to-Work States” In Part for Baltimore Rioting

4. CNN’s Brooke Baldwin Blames Veterans Becoming Police Officers for Violence

5. MSNBC Political Analyst: Ravens, Orioles to Blame for Baltimore Urban Blight

6. Matthews: Critics “Trying to Hang” Baltimore Mayor for “Destroy” Comments

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