Chicago City Wire

Chicago police continue to battle the media’s guilt by association fixation over the attendance of a handful of “white nationalists” at the FOP’s April 1 demonstration against Cook County prosecutor Kim Foxx.

“We are appalled by the decision by certain media outlets to tie the FOP and its protest to any white nationalist group,” FOP spokesman Martin Preib told Chicago City Wire.

On April 27, the Chicago Sun-Times ran a story identifying individuals at the rally designated by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center as “white nationalists.” The story had its origins in a tweet from a reporter who claimed to have spotted the individuals the day of the rally. Follow-up tweets included this April 2 one from Chicago Reader reporter Maya Dukmasova: “Yep, the leadership of the Chicago police union proudly embraces white supremacists.”

Martin Preib, Chicago FOP

The FOP has repeatedly said it had nothing to do with the attendance of the individuals at the rally. The untold story, the police union says, is the lack of support they received from public officials over statements made by Congressman Bobby Rush and activist Ja’Mal Green at a pro-Foxx rally a week later. Green called the police the “Blue Klux Klan” and Rush said that the police were the “enemy of black people.”

“The constant calls for accountability by both these elected officials should be equally applied to all public servants, but it never is in Chicago,” Preib said. “It should also be applied in some measure to the local media.”

A lawyer representing the FOP sent letters to the Chicago Reader and to Rush calling their statements textbook examples of defamation. Preib said that the Chicago Reader reporter removed the Twitter remark, but the FOP has heard nothing from Rush. He said the union will discuss next steps at an upcoming board meeting.

Preib further said their concerns with Foxx have nothing do with race “and any suggestion that they do is false and offensive,” but with her handling of the Jussie Smollett case and other cases.

“Our complaints arise from her policies and decisions, which are indefensible and hurt the very minorities she claims to be helping without her agenda driven administration,” Preib said. “We look forward to a federal investigation [into the Smollett case].”