FOURTH Ferguson activist dies under mysterious circumstances

[Roland Coltrane]

Bassem Masri Dead: Ferguson Activist Dies at 31
FacebookShare on FlipboardE-mail

• 3.5K Views
• 657 Shares
• 5 Comments

• 
• By Caroline Burke

• Updated Nov 28, 2018 at 1:13am

Facebook

Bassem Masri, a 31-year-old Missouran known for his work live streaming the Ferguson protests, has died, according to reports by several close friends and colleagues on Twitter.

The circumstances around Masri’s sudden death are unknown. Faizan Syed, a family member of Masri’s, announced the death on Facebook, in a post that read,

“Bassem Masri son of Zhudi Masri, Muslim Palestinian young man who stood for his beliefs and was on the front lines in Ferguson returned his soul to Allah (swt) today. He was my cousin from my wife’s side of the family. A gentle man who was fierce when he faced injustice. In his short life he did as much if not more to unit the fight for black liberation and Palestinian liberation. We ask everyone to pray and make dua for Bassem and his family. May Allah accept his sacrifices for justice and overlook his flaws and mistakes.”

Here’s what you need to know:

1, The Circumstances Around Masri’s Death Have Not Been Revealed

According to The Cut, Masri’s cause of death has not been released or confirmed. Though there has been no word by police or family yet regarding any suspicion of foul play, internet users were quick to speculate the bizarre coincidence of Masri being the fourth Ferguson activist to die abruptly in the years since the protests.

The three other Ferguson activists who have died since 2014 are Deandre Joshua, Danye Jones, and Darren Seals. Joshua and Seals were both gruesomely shot to death then set on fire, and the murders have never been solved.
As for Jones, his death was deemed a suicide by the police, though his mother, Melissa McKinnies, has insisted that her son was murdered.

2. Masri Was Known For Live Streaming the Ferguson Protests


David Carson

✔@PDPJ
https://twitter.com/PDPJ/status/1067535841961103360

Sad news on Twitter about the passing of @bassem_masri, a live streamer who was frequently in Ferguson & other #STL protests. He could be very intense fighting for what he believed but he'd also spent time just talking calmly about life in general during quiet times at protests 1:49 PM - Nov 27, 2018




Masri first became known as one of the Ferguson protestors who live streamed the events in Missouri, as well as other St. Louis protests during the time period. Journalist David Carson described Masri as a person who could be “very intense fighting for what he believed…but he’d also spent time just talking calmly about life in general during quiet times at protests.”

Masri also became well-known for his fiery interview on CNN in November of 2014, where he was asked about speculation that he had spit on a police officer. When Masri was asked whether he believed he was helping his movement with that “behavior,” he replied, “You know, I don’t believe we should be looking at citizens, how they react to public servants. It should be the other way around…people are pissed off about how they’re treated.”

Masri continued, “We have a right to be mad. Our anger is justified so any other narrative besides that is people getting off the subject.”

3. Masri Lived in St. Louis at the Time of His Death

According to his Facebook, Masri lived in St. Louis at the time of his death and worked as a life and health insurance broker. He attended Hazelwood Central High School and was single with no known children.

4. Masri Planned to Run for the Missouri House of Representatives

Masri ran and operated a Facebook page for his 2020 political campaign for the Missouri State House of Representatives. On the page, Masri wrote in August, “When I win the seat in the Missouri house in 2020 better get ready for my unfiltered candidness.Because I wont let any lobby influence me& I’m going to work hard on police reform,going after big pharma for creating this opioid crisis as well as getting those addicted ppl help.”

5. Immediately Following His Death, Activists Flocked to Twitter to Mourn the News
View image on Twitter


MariaChappelleNadal

✔@MariaChappelleN
https://twitter.com/MariaChappelleN/status/1067525129171861509

Our friend and brother @bassem_masri RIP.

A fearless soldier.
A humble man.
A teacher.
A student.
A man of conviction.

My favorite warrior in the fight for freedom and equity. No person could be a more stronger and loyal ally than Bassem, no one!


252
1:06 PM - Nov 27, 2018

163 people are talking about this

Twitter Ads info and privacy





deray

✔@deray
https://twitter.com/deray/status/1067522513826136065

RIP Bassem Masri. He was a one-of-a-kind presence in the protests & helped to tell the truth about what was happening every day and night. We all felt his spirit in the streets.


293
12:56 PM - Nov 27, 2018
Twitter Ads info and privacy

104 people are talking about this

Twitter Ads info and privacy





MariaChappelleNadal

✔@MariaChappelleN
https://twitter.com/MariaChappelleN/status/1067514114656911366

Please let this news about @bassem_masri not be true. OMG!


19
12:22 PM - Nov 27, 2018
Twitter Ads info and privacy

See MariaChappelleNadal's other Tweets

Twitter Ads info and privacy





Sarah Kendzior

✔@sarahkendzior
https://twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/1067522434696392704

RIP Bassem Masri. He was known as a tough activist and fighter for justice in St Louis. But in person, he was kind and compassionate, funny and sweet. He was always trying to help others.

I am heartbroken. I can't believe he is gone. RIP.

I don't know about this Masri cat, but it always bugged me how the deaths of the 3 brehs never really received any news coverage.
I'm positive beyond a shadow of a doubt those were political assassinations. It might be white supremacists or even some high up liberal cabal(yeah I said it, look who benefited the most from hijacking a rebellion with revolutionary potential) that dispacthed some hit squad like the movie Munich to go and kill people, cuz this shyt just doesn't make any sense.


meanwhile Netta, and Deray an nem bytch asses walking around untouched all this time

 

[Roland Coltrane]

with Edward Crawford this is technically the 5th


and the Crawford shyt was reaaaal sketchy too

Subject of Iconic Photo, Found Dead

Edward Crawford returns a tear gas canister fired by police who were trying to disperse protesters in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014.Robert Cohen / St. Louis Post-Dispatch via Zuma Press





May 5, 2017 / 11:53 AM PDT / Updated May 5, 2017 / 11:53 AM PDT
By Mary Emily O'Hara


Edward Crawford, a St. Louis resident who was the subject of an iconic photo epitomizing the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Missouri, is dead.

Crawford was photographed throwing a flaming tear gas canister in an image broadcast widely during the months of unrest that followed the fatal shooting of Michael Brown Jr. by a police officer.



His death was confirmed to NBC News by the St. Louis Office of the Medical Examiner. Investigator Rose Psara said Crawford was pronounced deceased shortly before midnight on Thursday at 1435 Salisbury Street in the Hyde Park neighborhood.

Related: Darren Seals, Ferguson Protest Leader, Found Fatally Shot in Burning Vehicle

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department told NBC News that Crawford shot himself in the backseat of a car while it was moving, according to two witnesses who were seated in the front of the car.

Edward Crawford returns a tear gas canister fired by police who were trying to disperse protesters in Ferguson, Mo. on Aug. 13, 2014.Robert Cohen / St. Louis Post-Dispatch via Zuma Press
"The victim began expressing he was distraught over personal matters to the witnesses," said the police department's Public Information Officer Leah Freeman. "The witnesses heard the victim rummaging in the backseat, then heard a gunshot and observed the victim had sustained a gunshot wound to the head."


Crawford was pronounced dead on the scene. Police said an investigation is ongoing and, while initially declared a suicide, the official cause of death will be determined by an autopsy.

Related: Federal Judge Dismisses Excessive Force Lawsuit Against Police During Ferguson Protests

According to his father, Edward Crawford Sr., the 27-year-old was the father of four young children, had just gotten a new apartment, and was training for a warehouse job.

"I don't believe it was a suicide," the senior Crawford told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which first reported the death on Friday morning.

Edward Crawford in a combo selfie posted on his Twitter account on June 28, 2015.Twitter
It's not the first time a notable Ferguson protester has died from gunfire.


In September 2016, the body of Ferguson activist Darren Seals was discovered inside a burning car. Seals had been shot, and police declared the death a homicide.

In November 2014 on the night a grand jury declined to convict the Ferguson police officer who fatally shot Brown, 20-year-old Deandre Joshua was found shot in the head with severe burns after being lit on fire. Like Seals, Joshua was discovered dead in his own car.

NBC News sent several requests for comment about the death of Edward Crawford to the St. Louis Police Department but did not receive a response.


It is unclear where Crawford's body was found.

On social media, notable leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement and the St. Louis community mourned Crawford's death.

Missouri State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal said that Crawford was a local hero after he famously picked up the tear gas canister and threw it out of the way of protesters.


View image on Twitter




MariaChappelleNadal

✔@MariaChappelleN




Edward Crawford is dead. Found in his car shot to death. He is #Ferguson's hero. For those of us tear-gassed, he was our local champion. RIP


28.1K

4:13 AM - May 5, 2017


26.5K people are talking about this


Twitter Ads info and privacy





In the photograph, which won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news photography in 2015, Crawford appeared to be throwing the canister back at police while wearing a shirt emblazoned with an American flag. The photo came to symbolize anger at police killings of unarmed black youth.


He was later charged for assault and for interfering with a police officer in relation to the tear gas incident.

Crawford posted a photo on his Twitter profile in September 2015 showing him posing next to his iconic image at the offices of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.


View image on Twitter




That's that one dude@eyeFLOODpanties



@kodacohen very successful interview! #fanofafan #iconic #neverforget


20

1:32 PM - Sep 29, 2015


15 people are talking about this


Twitter Ads info and privacy





But Crawford told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 2015 that he was trying to protect people from the tear gas. and that police were 30 or 40 yards away: "“I can’t even throw a baseball that far, let alone a burning can of tear gas."


"I didn’t throw a burning can back at police," said Crawford. "I threw it out of the way of children."

 

[BaggerofTea]

Is this an outside gang doing the feds bidding here or is this the feds themselves

Ordinarily, one would think the feds would outsource this sort of dirty work.

There is defeninitly an assassination campaign taking place though. .

 

[Deflatedhoopdreams]

Damn.

 

[Jimmy Two-Times™]

Who's "Ferguson"?

 

[Nicole0416_718_929_646212]

Nah... There's definitely a sinister conspiracy at play. None of these deaths are coincidental or random - they all were murdered. These white ptb are out here committing acts of violence in retribution and yet none of this merits any discussion or coverage. What's the underlying factor and the common link? (besides the obvious). Need to start demanding answers in one form or the other.

 

[#1 pick]

 

[Nicole0416_718_929_646212]

Who's "Ferguson"?

... I like u so I'm keeping any arbitrary comments to myself, and in light of the circumstances- the fact that you're not in the states so imma just link this: (OP is stating that since this police shooting incident 5 people with causal connections to the protests/riots have died under "mysterious circumstances" i.e. murdered. We are trying to find out the reason and why there is limited media coverage= government involvement)
What Happened in Ferguson?
The Man Who Shot Michael Brown
What we know about Michael Brown's shooting - CNN

 

[Roland Coltrane]

Who's "Ferguson"?

 

[Jimmy Two-Times™]

... I like u so I'm keeping any arbitrary comments to myself, and in light of the circumstances- the fact that you're not in the states so imma just link this:
What Happened in Ferguson?
The Man Who Shot Michael Brown

Well... damn.

I see u brehs and brehettes talk about Ferguson but I'm clueless to most of your political shiiite.

I didn't mean offense.

 

[jackswstd]

This isn’t a coincidence. These men are being targeted and the manner in which they’re dying is very telling. Shooting someone multiple times and setting them on fire is meant to make it look personal. It’s an attempt to throw suspicion towards it being some sort of gang thing or personal vendetta.

 

[Stone Cold]

Wow

 

[Nicole0416_718_929_646212]

Well... damn.

I see u brehs and brehettes talk about Ferguson but I'm clueless to most of your political shiiite.

I didn't mean offense.

None taken. But it's beyond political at this point- This is government sanctioned homicide and revenge tactics, genocide over here.

 

[EBK String]

probably one of those white supremacists groups in Missouri

 

[Mowgli]

KKK cops