Rolling Stone mischaracterizes Jacob Blake as ‘unarmed Black man’ in profile on Wisconsin Senate candidate

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Rolling Stone pushed the false narrative that Jacob Black was unarmed armed when shot by police in a Sunday profile of a progressive Senate candidate.

Music and culture outlet Rolling Stone praised Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor and Senate candidate Mandela Barnes, D., in a Sunday piece as someone who “condemned law enforcement’s accounts of how one of their own shot Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man.”

Rolling Stone is one of many outlets that have incorrectly pushed the narrative that Blake was “unarmed” when he was shot by the police.

Jacob Blake had been shot 7 times in Kenosha, Wisconsin after police responded to a 911 call from the mother of his children and attempted to arrest him. The incident left him partially paralyzed and sparked a wave of violent protests in 2020. Violent protests in Kenosha caused at least $50 million in damages and forced thousands of National Guard members to be called in to quell the ensuing chaos.

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KENOSHA, WI – AUGUST 24: People watch the American flag flies over a burning building during a riot as demonstrators protest the police shooting of Jacob Blake on Monday August 24, 2020 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
(Photo by Joshua Lott for The Washington Post via Getty Images)

However, prosecutors revealed video evidence of Blake wielding a knife when shot by law enforcement. Blake himself admitted to holding the blade in a January 2021 interview on “Good Morning America.”

He said, “I realized I had dropped my knife, had a little pocket knife. So I picked it up after I got off of him because they tased me and I fell on top of him.”

Blake also had several warrants out for his arrest ranging from charges of disorderly conduct to third-degree sexual assault.

Before waiting for investigators to reveal the facts of the case, news outlets rushed to portray Blake as being “unarmed.”

POLITICO claimed in a tweet that Blake was an “unarmed Black man” who had been “shot in the back.”

Kenosha County Sherriff and police officers in riot gear form a line behind a burning truck during demonstrations against the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin on August 24, 2020.
(Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

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CNN described the incident in similar terms as the “police shooting of unarmed Black man Jacob Blake.”

Then-Presidential candidate Joe Biden condemned the incident, sharing a post from his campaign website demanding an investigation, so police can be “held accountable.”

Then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks Friday, Nov. 6, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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Biden’s then-running mate Kamala Harris responded by declaring “As @JoeBiden said, there must be an immediate investigation and the officers involved should be held accountable.”

Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].