Former White House adviser and self-proclaimed terrorism expert Sebastian Gorka on Monday said that “black Africans” in Chicago were killing each other “by the bushel.”
In a round-table discussion on gun violence aired by WJLA — the Washington, D.C. ABC affiliate that was purchased in 2014 by the conservative Sinclair Broadcast Group — Gorka attempted to make a point about the legislative effort to ban so-called bump stocks. The gunman behind the shooting massacre in Las Vegas on Oct. 1 had several bump stocks, which mimic the firing speed of automatic weapons, in his hotel room.
“The biggest problem we have is not mass shootings, they are the anomaly,” he began. “You do not make legislation out of outliers.”
“Our big issue is black African gun crime against black Africans,” Gorka said. “It is a tragedy. Go to Chicago. Go to — the city’s run by Democrats for 40 years. Black young men are murdering each other by the bushel. This is a social issue. Allow the police to do their jobs and re-build those societies. Legislation will not save lives.
“I assume what he’s talking about is African-Americans,” one panelist said after Gorka finished.
“Yes,” the former White House official replied.
“Well, that’s not what you said,” the panelist responded. “I couldn’t figure out who these African— “
“African-Americans,” Gorka said.
On a Sinclair station, Gorka refers to “black African crime on black African crime” & says black men are killing each other “by the bushel” pic.twitter.com/Cbtqm39tTd
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) October 24, 2017
Chicago is a favorite political scapegoat of the Trump administration. The President has frequently threatened to send federal agents into the city, often seemingly as a blunt political jab.
Crime and killings in Chicago have reached such epidemic proportions that I am sending in Federal help. 1714 shootings in Chicago this year!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2017
If Chicago doesn't fix the horrible "carnage" going on, 228 shootings in 2017 with 42 killings (up 24% from 2016), I will send in the Feds!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017
Chicago murder rate is record setting – 4,331 shooting victims with 762 murders in 2016. If Mayor can't do it he must ask for Federal help!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2017
Dwyane Wade's cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago. Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 27, 2016
Gorka has a documented history of connections to far-right groups and made a name for himself, under the shingle of “counter-terrorism expert,” as fiery speaker on the supposed dangers of Islam.
The director of Islamic studies at Duke University told TPM in February that Gorka “opines on everything from the Koran to Mohamad to jihad to Islamic history to contemporary politics but does so in a way that is inaccurate, sloppy, superficial, bigoted and ideological.”
Before joining the White House staff, Gorka was an editor at the far-right outlet Breitbart News.
Can we deport him? Or at least send him to Chicago?
All the black Africans I know in Chicago–and I know quite a few-- work in healthcare and are keeping people alive.
The job of the police is NOT to rebuild societies. Especially, at the point of a gun.
Nice to read that a panelist called him out on “Black Africans”. I guess in his mind they’ve already shipped all the “Black Africans” back to Africa.
And if he was going to play his “I’m an immigrant card” shouldn’t he have used kilo instead of bushel?
Also where the fuck does he think the police derive their authority from if not legislation?