(No caption)
A video that suggests Detroit Democratic state Rep. Cynthia Johnson threatened Trump supporters was edited to remove context, but still led to her being stripped of committee assignments by House Republican leaders in Lansing.
Rep. Cynthia Johnson (Photo: House Democrats)
Michigan Advance reports the edited version of her original, three-minute video was posted to Parler and other conservative social-media networks, first by a resident of Washington state, with the subtitle: "A message from a domestic terrorist."
Johnson wound up in the national spotlight after participating in last week's House Oversight Committee hearing on the November election. Her frequent attempts to speak during the widely criticized session -- which were gaveled down by committee chairman Matt Hall -- sparked threats of racist violence directed to her, which she shared on social media over the weekend.
Then, on Tuesday night, she said this on Facebook Live:
“When I say supporting our efforts, I am talking about doing things right and in order,” she said in the beginning of the video. “There’s a good way to do it and a fu–ed up way to do it. Always provide proof. Nobody cares what your mouth is saying. Provide proof. Don’t get upset with folks and start cussing them out. Don’t. It never works.
"I wish I could be talkin’ to y’all in a private room. Because …I just wish I could. … But we’re public. Be smart. You don’t have to yell. You don’t have to curse anybody out. You don’t have to call anybody names. Hit their asses in the pocketbook. Hit them in the pocketbook. For instance, one of our bright citizens of our country, in Illinois who happened to voicemail me, unknown, but guess what? FBI, state police, they found her.
“So this is just a warning to you Trumpers. Be careful. Walk lightly. We ain’t playing with you. Enough of the shenanigans. Enough is enough. And for those of you who are soldiers, you know how to do it — do it right. Be in order. Make them pay. I love you all. Bye-bye.”
Only the last portion was posted on Parler and elsewhere. Michigan Advance contributor Todd Heywood found one of the biggest amplifiers of the original post, a man who lives in Honduras. That man, Antonio Chavez, remixed it with shots of Johnson during the session and posted it to YouTube. Heywood explains:
In an exchange of emails he defended his use of the clip.
“I included a clip of her own words without splicing anything in it,” he wrote. “Of course, it was accurate.”
He claims it was not "misleadingly edited" to remove the earlier remarks, which suggest Johnson was calling for economic consequences, not violence. It did not mention that Johnson had been threatened in voicemail and other messages. (It should also be said that Johnson appears to sip from a glass of wine during her remarks.)
But it was only when the edited version of the video began circulating that the consequences arrived, with the Free Press reporting:
Republican leaders of the Michigan House of Representatives have removed Rep. Cynthia Johnson, D-Detroit, from her committee assignments in response to comments she made in a video she posted Tuesday on Facebook.
House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, and Speaker-elect Jason Wentworth, R-Clare, issued a joint news release Wednesday stating Johnson made threats in the video.
Johnson's original video has since been removed.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Thursday House Republican leaders went "too far" by taking away Johnson's committee assignments.
During a press conference Thursday, Whitmer said she reached out to ask "incoming House leadership" to "reconsider," The Detroit News reports.
