A$AP Rocky has angered a number of people by asking ‘How come black lives only matter when a police officer takes it?’ The rapper also criticized the Black Lives Matter movement as a “bandwagon”. Burton was sentenced to five days in jail, but she has been released on a stay while an appeal is underway.
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Youngstown, Ohio news station WKBN reports that Judge Robert Milich of the Youngstown Municipal Court said that his own politics had nothing to do with his finding that attorney Andrea Burton was in violation of the law.
However, she feels there has been some injustice and feels the button is a legitimate expression of her free speech.
When contacted Friday, Burton and her attorney refused to comment on the case.
It states that “black lives matter as much as white, Asian, Hispanic and any other do” and voices support for lawful protest, but adds, “We strongly object to a public banner sponsored by the city that impliedly paints police officers as the killers of innocent citizens of color”.
Burton is removed from the court after repeatedly declining Milich’s order to take off the pin..
The program has instead featured people like prominent Black Lives Matter critic David Clarke, a Wisconsin sheriff who drew a massive ovation by declaring “Blue Lives Matter”.
Fellow attorney and community activist Kim Akins is concerned about the event and the precedent it sets.
However, when his interviewer suggests that just because Rocky is not able to articulate his views well it does not mean he does not care, Rocky responds: “I feel like I do know how to articulate”. Judges are generally granted wide latitude in what they allow in their courtrooms.
“I’m so flabbergasted”, she said. “For me as the chief it’s to say, ‘Hey, listen, let’s talk this out, let’s work together”.
Burton, who is black, was handcuffed by a bailiff and taken to the city jail for transportation to the Mahoning County jail. In the eyes of the law, they said he’s innocent.
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“We will do all that the NAACP Youngstown can do to ensure that Attorney Burton’s Constitutional rights are not being violated”, he said.
