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Holtzclaw, liberal narratives, & social justice mob's muzzle

Conservative Review

Last February, SB Nation (a popular online sports outlet owned and operated by Vox Media) fired a freelance writer and an editorĀ over an article aboutĀ Daniel Holtzclaw, the former Oklahoma policer officer convicted last year of sexually assaulting multiple black women. The 12,000-word piece on the popular online sports outlet appeared mildly sympathetic to Holtzclaw, a former football player at Eastern Michigan University.

Holtzclaw’s case has now resurfaced with the launch of CRTV’s new show, ā€œMichelle Malkin Investigates.ā€ In the first two episodes, Conservative Review Senior Editor Michelle Malkin takes a fresh look at the case in which Holtzclaw, who had no prior criminal history, was convicted of multiple counts of sexual assault — including four counts of rape — and received a 263-year sentence. The case wasĀ heavily influencedĀ by the local media and the Black Lives Matter mob.

Malkin has facedĀ harsh criticismĀ and evenĀ efforts to silenceĀ her findings, which cast doubt on the accusers’ credibility and allegations against Holtzclaw, the evidence used to convict him, and the final ā€œguiltyā€ verdict. But, as illustrated by SB Nation’s actions, one message has become plainly clear: Anyone who dares question the case’s outcome — as with any cause of the social-justice mob — will pay a heavy price.

The controversial SB Nation article (published approximately two months after Holtzclaw’s conviction) wasĀ taken downĀ within hours. That same day, SB Nation’s editorial director, Spencer Hall,Ā issued an apologyĀ for the piece:

ā€œIt was tone-deaf, insensitive to the victims of sexual assault and rape, and wrongheaded in approach and execution. There is no qualification: it was a complete failure.ā€

Hall referred to the piece as a ā€œcomplete breakdown of a part of the editorial process.ā€ In light of the ā€œfailure,ā€ the Vox-owned website fired reporter Jeff Arnold and editor Glenn Stout.

Following the decision, ArnoldĀ penned a reflectionĀ several days after in February:

In writing this piece – which was reviewed and signed off on by at least four editors prior to its publication – I hoped to present a more fully-rounded portrait of Mr. Holtzclaw than had appeared in the press. I hoped to explore the question of what had happened to this once-promising young man. I and my editor at SB Nation hoped to find possible answers as to what could have led to him to become a convicted rapist and sexual predator.

Arnold acknowledged that he made a ā€œgrave mistakeā€ by not ā€œreaching out to victims or their families,ā€ and expressed ā€œremorseā€ for any ā€œdamageā€ the story may have caused.

But it didn’t end there. In May, SB Nation released a statement detailing the findings of a peer review conducted in the wake of the Holtzclaw article scandal. The statement lists factors that contributed to the ā€œeditorial breakdownā€ that led to the article being published the first time. One of such factors was the ā€œlack of overall diversityā€ on staff: ā€œIf there is one key, unmistakable takeaway from the Holtzclaw story, it is that an organization cannot afford to wait to be diverse, particularly if that organization is one that wants to tell stories.ā€

It’s hard to tell what ā€œdiversityā€ had to do with the story (or the entire Holtzclaw case, for that matter), other than the fact that racial identity social justice groups were the most vocal supporters of Holtzclaw’s alleged victims, who were all black women. Further, it seems a little extreme to fire two employees over a piece that simply sought to fill in the gaps of the prevailing anti-Holtzclaw narrative.

But if there is one ā€œkey, unmistakable takeawayā€ from the SB Nation case, it is that the liberal mainstream media will stop at nothing in their quest to silence opposition. This truth became apparent in November, when a CRTV billboard advertising ā€œMichelle Malkin Investigatesā€ wasĀ taken downĀ in Oklahoma City due to public pressure, most notably from a group called OKC Artists for Justice. The social and racial justice group played an active role in the Holtzclaw trial, regularly staging massive protests outside of the courthouse.

The OKC Artists for Justice succeeded in bullying Tyler Media to remove the CRTV billboard, which featured Daniel Holtzclaw in his prison jumpsuit and the question, ā€œWhat if he didn’t do it?ā€ Tyler Media notified the OKC Artists and announced the ad’s removal on itsĀ FacebookĀ page before notifying CRTV.

Michelle Malkin had some thoughts on that:

Even prior to the billboard fiasco, as the launch ofĀ CRTVĀ drew near , the opposition only grew stronger. When CRTV tried to tried to book a venue to host a preliminary screening of ā€œMichelle Malkin Investigatesā€ in Daniel Holtzclaw’s hometown of Enid, Okla., Northern Oklahoma College rejected the request.

Speaking with Conservative Review, Edwin Vineyard, vice president of NOC’s Enid campus, said the request was denied because the school didn’t have the security personnel needed for such an event.

ā€œWe have one security guard on duty, and that’s just not something we can physically handle,ā€ Vineyard said.

CRTV Vice President Gaston Mooney, who made the initial call to arrange the event, says that’s a load of crock.

"I told them we would provide our own security, but they said the event was too controversial," Mooney said. "We did in fact provide our own security at the Central National Bank Center, where the event was ultimately held."

The most disheartening challenge Michelle Malkin has had to face for her work on the Holtzclaw case has been the hostile opposition from fellow ā€œjournalistsā€ who seek to vilify and silence her. Take the recent example of liberal reporter Soledad O’Brien, who tried to dismiss the entirety of Malkin’s extensive investigation with a single smug tweet. ThatĀ didn’t work out too wellĀ for O’Brien, however.

CR reached out to both the former SB Nation freelancer Jeff Arnold and editor Glenn Stout to see if either had thoughts on the series and investigation’s findings, which, if successful, could vindicate the journalists. Both responded, ā€œNo comment.ā€ Given the heat Malkin and CRTV have received on the subject, we don’t blame them.

Malkin offered her take on the efforts of ā€œvested interestsā€ to silence any dissenting thought or questions on the Holtzclaw case.

ā€œThere will continue to be an unwritten code of silence about Daniel Holtzclaw among journalists at the local, state, and national levels,ā€ she told CR. ā€œMany reporters don't like to admit they're wrong — just like the police detectives and prosecutors in this case. What we have here is the perfect storm of political correctness run amok, chilling intimidation by the social justice mob, and too many vested interests clinging to false narratives.ā€

ā€œNo fear in pursuit of the only narrative that matters: the truth,ā€ is the operational model at ā€œMichelle Malkin Investigates.ā€ And you can believe they’re not backing down anytime soon.

You can follow Michelle Malkin and coverage of the Daniel Holtzclaw case onĀ CRTV.

Editor’s note: This article has been amended since initial publication to indicate all accusers were black women, to ensure clarity in the timeline of events, and to ensure clarity about the positions held at SB Nation by Jeff Arnold and Glenn Stout.

Carly Hoilman is a Correspondent for Conservative Review. You can follow her on TwitterĀ @CarlyHoilman.

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