Latest news with #BakariSellers
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Yahoo
South Carolina man's family seeks answers in his death 3 days after arrest
The family of a South Carolina man who died three days after being arrested last month demanded the release of police body camera video and answers regarding his death on Tuesday. Byron Jackson, 45, died in the days after his June 22 arrest by the Irmo Police Department, following a 911 call alleging that someone had gotten into a fight, according to his family's lawyer, civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers. The lawyer said that Jackson was not involved in a fight and the cause of his death is unclear. "I can tell you that we're not going to allow the Irmo Police Department just to treat him as some other young African American kid," Sellers said at a press conference on Tuesday. "He's dead now. You guys going about your business -- that's not going to happen on our watch." Byron Jackson's mother Bettie Jackson, who was present at the news conference with other family members, was visibly distraught. "We all loved him dearly, and we talked two and three times a day, and I'm surely, surely going to miss him," Bettie Jackson said. "In fact, not 'am going to miss him' -- I'm missing him already." Irmo Police Chief Bobby Dale told ABC News in a statement on Tuesday that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) has taken over the investigation and that he could not make any further statements to ensure the process is conducted appropriately. Also Tuesday, SLED confirmed in a statement to ABC News that Byron Jackson died on June 25 in the hospital, three days after the arrest. They said that the investigation is ongoing, and more information may be available at "a later time." The Richland County Coroner's Office did not immediately reply to ABC News' request for Byron Jackson's autopsy and cause of death. "We do know that the Irmo Police Department can release the body cam," Sellers said. "We do know that body cam footage does exist, and we're asking them to do that." Sellers requested the release of the identities of the officers involved. He also denied the police department's alleged account that a high-speed chase ensued before Byron Jackson's arrest, or that he was involved in a fight before police arrived. Sellers said he doesn't know why a 911 call was made in regard to Byron Jackson. "This started with a 911 call from a resident of Irmo. I'm not sure what she thought she saw," Sellers said. "I can't go into her head, but there was not a fight in the vehicle. There was one person -- who was Byron -- in that vehicle. That is a fact." Sellers also said that Byron Jackson was in a work utility van that had "its own issues" and that he knew from investigators that there was no high-speed chase. The attorney said that, after police arrived, there was a low-speed collision, Byron Jackson and an officer ended up at the bottom of a ravine and the South Carolina resident was handcuffed. After that, Sellers said he died and the family doesn't know how.
Fox News
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
CNN commentator suggests investigating Trump children's citizenship status
CNN political commentator Bakari Sellers asked why people aren't investigating the Trump family's citizenship status while discussing the White House's ongoing deportation efforts on Tuesday. Sellers took part in a panel on "CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip" on the topic of the Trump administration attempting to revoke the citizenship of naturalized Americans who commit crimes. The panel referenced a recent memo from the Justice Department dated June 11 that directed U.S. attorneys to "prioritize and maximally pursue denaturalization proceedings" as part of an effort by the Trump administration to crack down on crime. While accusing President Donald Trump of refusing to give immigrants "the benefit of their humanity," Sellers suggested people needed to "have a full conversation" about the Trump family's legal status. "Look, if we want to have a conversation about who belongs where, when, how, and whether or not their citizenship status- and we want to look at everything, I mean, I would look at Donald Trump Jr.," Sellers said. "I would look at all of Melania's kids, all of Ivana's kids. I mean, let's just have a full conversation over who belongs here, how did they get here, their citizenship status." He added, "Let's just have a full discussion about all of it. Why is that not on the table right now? I mean, the only person here should be Tiffany Trump, if we're going to have this discussion." First lady Melania Trump, Barron's mother, was born in Slovenia before becoming a U.S. citizen in 2006. The late Ivana Trump, Trump's first wife and Eric, Ivanka and Donald Jr.'s mother, was born in the Czech Republic before becoming a U.S. citizen in 1988. Trump's second wife, Tiffany's mother, Marla Maples, was born in the U.S. All of Trump's children were born in the U.S. The Justice Department memo from Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate states that denaturalization cases against "individuals who pose a potential danger to national security, including those with a nexus to terrorism, espionage, or the unlawful export from the United States of sensitive goods, technology, or information raising national security concerns" are one of the key priorities. "The benefits of civil denaturalization include the government's ability to revoke the citizenship of individuals who engaged in the commission of war crimes, extrajudicial killings, or other serious human rights abuses; to remove naturalized criminals, gang members, or, indeed, any individuals convicted of crimes who pose an ongoing threat to the United States; and to prevent convicted terrorists from returning to U.S. soil or traveling internationally on a U.S. passport," Shumate wrote.
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
CNN star gets on-air revenge against co-panelist over 'touching' incident
CNN panelist Bakari Sellers got some on-air revenge against his conservative colleague Scott Jennings, after a testy touching incident between the two months earlier. On CNN NewsNight Tuesday, Jennings patted Sellers on the back while calling him 'comrade' during a panel debate about the New York City mayoral election. 'Can you not touch me?! Can you not touch me?!' Sellers shouted, in reference to Jennings blowing up at Sellers back in December for placing his hand on the Republican's shoulder during a discussion about inflation. 'I was waiting on that! I was waiting on that!' a smirking Sellers said of getting his payback. The moment served a rare reprieve from the pair's back-and-forth battles on air. The December exchange saw GOP strategist Jennings and former Democratic member of the South Carolina House of Representatives Sellers getting much more heated. During a debate about the rising price of groceries, Sellers touched Jennings on the shoulder - earning a swift response. 'What Scott was not accurate about - which kind of happens around the table sometimes...' Sellers said while tapping Jennings. 'Don't touch me,' Jennings shot back in a serious tone. Sellers then jokingly rubbed his hand on Jennings' back, asking, 'I can't touch you now?' 'All right, everybody, keep your hands to yourselves at the table,' NewsNight host Abby Phillip told the panelists. Weeks before, in October, Sellers admonished Jennings for comparing the ideals of pro-Palestine protestors across the country to those of Adolf Hitler. 'The line has been crossed,' a shocked Sellers said at the time, labeling his colleague's remarks as 'far beyond the pale.' That same month, Sellers interrupted Jennings as the latter tried to discuss the Daily Mail's reporting surrounding then-Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff's alleged assault of an ex-girlfriend. 'Oh my god,' a skeptical Sellers said, cutting off Jennings: 'Okay, you don't even get 12 seconds. I'm not gonna let you go into the far end of B.S.' Phillip also refused to take the allegations seriously, before comparing them to the many that had surfaced against Donald Trump. 'All right, but Scott, I just have to say, I'll take those concerns seriously if you also express concerns about the allegations [against Trump],' Phillip said. 'You can't just pick and choose,' she added. cast off to an entirely different company with the rest of Warner Bros. Discovery's declining cable assets. Back in March, Status reported Jennings - a constant conservative presence on NewsNight - was in the final stages of talks for a 'hefty' pay raise. His salary has not been reported.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'Can You Not Touch Me?': CNN Segment Turns Testy With Scott Jennings, Bakari Sellers
Tensions seemed to flare a tad on CNN on Tuesday evening between Bakari Sellers and Scott Jennings, two of the panelists on 'NewsNight.' Or maybe they were just goofing around. The moment hit as the panel debated Trump's threat to arrest Zohran Mamdani, a member of the New York state assembly running for New York City mayor, if he refuses to assist federal agents should he win. 'Listen, comrade,' Jennings said, placing a hand on Sellers' shoulder. 'It's an important city.' 'Can you not touch me?' Sellers said, his voice rising. 'Can you not touch me?' Jennings laughed it off, and Sellers smiled, so it's possible the moment was intended to be light rather than tense. 'I was waiting on that,' Sellers said. 'I was waiting on that!' That was a reference to a similar moment in December, but with the roles reversed as Sellers put his hand on Jennings' back while he spoke. Jennings wasn't having it. 'Don't touch me!' he said. 'I can't touch you now?' Sellers said, laughing, while Jennings kept a straight face and crossed his arms. 'Keep your hands to yourselves at the table,' host Abby Phillip admonished. Running gag, or sign of tension? As of late Tuesday, neither had addressed it on social media ― but Sellers did retweet the videos without comment. Jennings, who worked in President George W. Bush's White House, serves as CNN's in-house apologist for President Donald Trump. Sellers, a former Democratic member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, is one of the network's progressive commentators.
CNN
02-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Bakari Sellers: Trump's ‘Alligator Alcatraz' is one of most un-American things I've seen
While touring a Florida ICE detention facility dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz,' President Trump again raised the possibility of deporting violent American citizens. CNN commentator Bakari Sellers questions where an order like that could end up and thinks the idea of "Alligator Alcatraz" is un-American.
