Emmett Till family renews push to charge his accuser – National & International News – FRI 22Apr2022

Emmett Till family renews push to charge his accuser. Audio: Prominent Republican wanted Trump to resign after Jan. 6 riot. French to decide this weekend between Pres. Macron and far-right Le Pen.

NATIONAL NEWS

Emmett Till family renews push to charge his accuser

In 1955 in Leflore County, MS, Carolyn Bryant accused black 14-year-old Emmett Till of whistling at her and making unwanted advances in a store Bryant ran with her husband. Two nights later, Bryant’s then-husband Roy Bryant, and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, came to the home of Emmett’s great uncle in a truck and demanded the boy be turned over. From the truck, Emmett’s uncle Mose Wright heard a voice he described as “lighter” than a man’s identify Emmett. The men took the boy away. Three days later, Till’s beaten and bloated body was found in the Tallahatchie River.

An all-white jury later acquitted Roy Bryant and Milam in Till’s murder. Both men have been deceased for decades, but Mrs. Bryant is still living. She’s now in her late 80s, carries the last name Donham, and was last known to be living Raleigh, NC.

Before Till’s body was found, kidnapping charges had been filed against Mr. and Mrs. Bryant, and Milam. At the time, Leflore County Sheriff George Smith told reporters he wouldn’t arrest Mrs. Bryant with the charges. “We aren’t going to bother the woman,” Smith said, “She’s got two small boys to take care of”.  The kidnapping charges against Bryant-Donham have never been vacated. Now, Emmett Till’s surviving family members are hopeful that Bryant-Donham may at long last be charged for her role in his murder.

A few years ago, an author writing about the case claimed that Bryant-Donham had recanted her accusations against Till in an interview. This prompted an inquiry from the FBI which quickly fell apart because the author couldn’t produce the tapes to back up his claim. 

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Audio: Prominent Republican wanted Trump to resign after Jan. 6 riot

Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy recently denied reports from New York Times journalists that he planned to ask former Pres. Donald Trump to resign following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. McCarthy called the report “totally false and wrong”. Following McCarthy’s denial, the Times journalists have released audio backing up their story.

In the tape, McCarthy can be heard speaking to fellow Republican Liz Cheney about the matter. McCarthy contemplates rallying Congress to impeach Trump for a second time in his presidency over his involvement in the riot and Trump’s initial refusal to send National Guard reinforcements. The Minority Leader says he believes the measure “will pass”, and debates about asking Trump to leave office early to get ahead of it. McCarthy states that he doesn’t believe Trump will step down voluntarily.

The House Jan. 6 committee has been eager to speak with McCarthy since it began its investigation. They consider McCarthy to be a material witness and want him to share publicly what he knew and when. McCarthy has refused to testify multiple times. Liz Cheney is now a member of the Jan. 6 committee, but denies leaking the audio to the Times reporters.

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Click here for the full audio (1 min 36 seconds).

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

French to decide this weekend between Pres. Macron and far-right Le Pen

On Sunday, April 24, the French will vote in their presidential election. This is a run-off between sitting Pres. Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen. Recent polls show Macron with just a slight edge over Le Pen, a far cry from his 60+ point victory over her 5 years ago.

The two candidates faced off in a debate this week. Again, polling after the debate showed that Macron was more convincing than Le Pen, but just slightly. Macron charged that Le Pen would not be as tough on Russian President Putin, saying that Putin is Le Pen’s “banker”. Le Pen’s party has taken considerable loans from a Russian bank with Kremlin ties.

International observers worry what will become of the European solidarity against Putin’s actions in Ukraine should Le Pen win. Le Pen has expressed willingness to work with Russia and Putin as an ally in the past. 

Prior to the general elections that took place earlier this month, Macron had barely campaigned at all while Le Pen campaigned aggressively. Le Pen has done much in the past 5 years to try to detoxify her party’s xenophobic and Euroskeptic image. She has now recast herself as a champion of the common people, while many see Macron as out-of-touch and elitist.

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