Will MSNBC's Maddow Excuse Occupy Bomb Plot?

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow repeatedly tried to smear the Tea Party movement with the allegation that it caused violence. See this NewsBusters report—or this Mediaite item for two of the many, many times she pushed the theme. In the latter case, she suggested that the Tea Party would spur violence in reaction to passage of Obama’s health care law–citing one lone fringe head of some militia movement to suggest it was already taking place:

On today’s Meet The Press, Rachel Maddow demanded to know whether Dick Armey was a member of a coalition with the Tea Party Patriots, a group she alleges to promote “violence.” Moderator David Gregory joined in the cross-examination of Armey, head of Freedom Works.

Today, Maddow’s painting with a much finer brush, as opposed to the overly broad one with which she tried repeatedly to smear the Tea Party. Nothing to see here, folks–so what if several individuals who appear to be leaders of the Cleveland Occupy movement were taken down in an alleged plot to blow up a bridge and strike a blow for progressive politics? 

Move along, nothing to see here, Cleveland has cancelled its Occupy events. Look at how nice and thoughtful those people are:

On the right, the arrests are showing up as a case of “Occupy Leaders” gone way wrong. And it’s true that you can find a couple of the suspects had been called Occupy organizers, in a Tumblr post and in this local report. Setting aside that Occupy is leaderless by design, these guys don’t seem to have found fertile ground for destruction.

Occupy Cleveland has responded to the news by canceling a May Day demonstration. Minutes ago, the Occupy Cleveland posted this on Facebook:

Occupiers have caused violence across America today, from San Francisco to New York, where they’re even attacking the media:

Stephanie Keith@Steffikeith Some black bloc man bigger than me with bandana tried to take my camera from me violently fuck that! Smash the state not my camera

In fact, many of them planned for a day of violence. That, on top of violence in which they’ve previously engaged.

The flyer also makes mention of the type of more violent activity that was seen recently this month in NYC:

There are fissures within OWS, but a “respect for diversity of tactics,î which includes everything from peaceful protests to the kind of vandalism directed at Starbucks in April, when demonstrators tried to smash the windows at the Starbucks location at Astor Place, has been embraced by the movement.

Be reminded that the incident at Starbucks this month also resulted in the arrest of several anarchists, including one long-time Occupy protester, for the alleged attack on a NYPD officer with a metal pipe.

Now comes the apparent involvement of Cleveland Occupy leaders in a bomb plot, and it’s just a blip on Maddow’s misguided radar screen. 

Whatever it is that the unprofessional hacks at MSNBC, including Maddow, report on Occupy, it likely won’t be the real news–and it obviously won’t come close to being the truth.