THE RIOT THAT
NEVER WAS
by DENNIS MYERS ILLUSTRATION/ MARGARET LARKIN
At the Nevada Democratic Convention,
reality was up for grabs “CHAIRS FLY IN NEVADA,”
read the subhead on the front page of the New York Times, describing events at the Nevada Democratic Convention on May 14. They couldn’t print it if it wasn’t true, or so the folklore goes. But the article by Yamiche Alcindor under that subhead does not substantiate the claim. Nor do reports in other news or polemic outlets like Breitbart News, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Rachel Maddow, ABC News, CBS News, U.S. News & World Report, Business Insider, Reason Magazine, and the Hill, all of which reported the claim as fact. The normal practice in journalism is to attribute such a sighting—“Delegate Mary Doe saw another delegate throw a chair,” something like that. But so far we have not been able to find a single attribution in any publication or broadcast report. The closest thing we found was one Associated Press photo caption that included the term “organizers said.” It did not identify them or say whether they were Clinton or Sanders or convention organizers. A couple of publications used more cautious language. The Atlantic Monthly posted a piece reading, “The threats came after Bernie Sanders supporters reportedly threw chairs and booed Senator Barbara Boxer as she tried to speak.” (Emphasis in all cases is added.) A Real Clear Politics piece read, “They claim that Sanders supporters were throwing chairs.” The Associated Press backed off the claim, slightly. A May 16 AP report by This is a longer version of a piece posted on our Newsview blog last week. OPINION
|
NEWS
|
GREEN
|
FEATURE STORY
|
Michelle Rindels and Nicholas Riccardi read, “The gathering closed with some Sanders supporters throwing chairs; later, some made death threats against state party chairwoman Roberta Lange.” On May 17, the two no longer reported it as fact, but still reported it without attribution: “Supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders were accused of throwing chairs and making death threats against Nevada Democratic Party chairwoman Roberta Lange.” Nevertheless, AP’s Erica Werner was still reporting on May 17, “It followed chaos at the Nevada Democratic Party convention Saturday night, where Sanders’ supporters threw chairs, shouted down speakers and later harassed the state party chair with death threats.” The AP’s reporting is particularly important because its reports run in so many publications across the nation and around the world. The dubious nature of its information could be seen at the Lorain [Ohio] Morning Journal, where the AP story text said the chair-throwing was only an accusation, but the accompanying photo caption said it was fact. When the original May 20 blog version of this article was posted, the party was keeping its distance from the chair claim. No one in the Democratic Party hierarchy had made the thrown chairs, at least so far as we had been able to find. It all originated with journalists. However, after our article was posted, a prepared statement by Nevada Democratic Party executive director Zach Zaragoza was sent to the RN&R: “I saw chairs thrown, as did other members of my staff—end of story. One of my staffers had to grab a chair from someone who was preparing to throw it at
myself and Chairwoman Lange on the stage. I was on that stage during much of Saturday, and it was a terrifying situation. Security had to shut down the event after 10 p.m. because they couldn’t guarantee the safety of the room. The Sanders campaign’s decision to downplay the chaos and violence they incited at our state convention is a blatant attempt to distract from their decision to add fuel to the fire instead of simply offering an apology and condemnation of what happened.” But that statement was not released to the press until May 21. Journalists could hardly make use of it before that. The state party makes much of reporting by journalists who were not present. But this story is being covered around the world, from the London Daily Mail (which quoted Zaragoza on May 17, but did not yet have his chair statement) to the India Times. The aftermath of the 1968 Chicago convention riots was covered by many reporters who were not there. Moreover, in a hall where security was present and police were called in, no one was detained or arrested for what would plainly have been a criminal act. Nor were there any injuries reported from thrown chairs, and it is hard to conceive of injuries being avoided in a packed hall from such an act. According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department public information officer Larry Hadfield, “We are not aware of any incidents. No arrests, no citations.” The department was not able to determine immediately if Zaragoza or anyone else later filed police reports of such incidents. Adryenn Ashley was in the hall. As a filmmaker, she is a professional observer with additional experience as a courtwatcher.
Chairs were thrown
but no one was injured?
She kept an eye out for good visuals. She was the one who obtained the only known footage of a chair being raised. When asked if she would have seen a chair being thrown, she said, “Hell, yes. I saw the chair being lifted, and I shot it. Actually thrown, I would have seen it.” She also said the density of the crowd would have made injuries unavoidable. “Had a chair been thrown there is absolutely no way you would not have had an ambulance,” she said. “It was packed.” She also said she believes, from the equipment she saw in the hall, that the party has its
“THE RIOT THAT NEVER WAS” continued on page 14
ARTS&CULTURE
|
ART OF THE STATE
|
FOODFINDS
|
FILM
|
MUSICBEAT
|
NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS
|
THIS WEEK
|
MISCELLANY
|
MAY 26, 2016
|
RN&R
|
13
