That Time John Fetterman Grabbed a Shotgun and Chased Down an Unarmed Black Jogger

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by MATT MARGOLIS

In February 2020, Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was murdered while jogging in Satilla Shores, near Brunswick in Glynn County, Georgia. Three white men pursued Arbery in their trucks for several minutes, incorrectly believing him to be a burglar. Arbery tried to run away, but the men prevented his escape and eventually shot him and recorded themselves doing it. National outrage erupted over the shooting and the botched investigation, but all three men were found guilty last year.
 
This story bears a striking resemblance to an incident from nine years ago involving John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania. Yet, there’s a good chance you haven’t heard the story.
 
In 2013, John Fetterman, who was mayor of Braddock, Pa., at the time, saw a black man jogging after hearing what he thought was gunfire. After the noise, he brought his child inside to safety and dialed  9-1-1. Instead of waiting for authorities to investigate, according to the police report, Fetterman grabbed his shotgun and chased an unarmed black man down, holding him at gunpoint until the police arrived.
 


 
The man had been out jogging and was dressed for it. The sound Fetterman heard was actually fireworks. Fetterman claims that he was initially unable to determine the jogger’s race due to the fact that the jogger was bundled up against the cold winter air.
 
Fetterman’s primary opponents called him out over the incident during a televised debate, questioning his motives and his lackluster explanations for his behavior. Pennsylvania Democrats also expressed concern that the incident could reduce the turnout of African Americans in the upcoming midterm elections. Without significant minority turnout in the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Democrats are unlikely to prevail in November.
 
“He’s not shooting straight on this, no pun intended. Just fess up. Apologize,” Michael Nutter, Philadelphia’s last Black mayor, told NBC News in April. “All this other stuff — that he was the chief law enforcement officer or that he didn’t know the guy was Black — just doesn’t really sound like he wants to tell the truth.“
 
Nutter added, “It’s not helping him. Figuratively speaking, he’s shooting himself in the foot, and he doesn’t have to.”
 
Fetterman went on to win the primary despite the incident, but its potential impact on the minority vote in November is clearly enough of a concern that the incident has barely been mentioned since the primaries.

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Now, it is a fact that Arbery was seen on surveillance video poking around in properties that had materials stolen from them. Not that Arbery was the thief, but at least those good old boys had a legitimate reason for confronting him. They certainly had no cause, reason or right to detain or certainly shoot the guy.

But Fetterman apparently heard a noise, jumped to the conclusion a crime had been committed and then saw, in his mind, the most likely suspect: a black guy. Whatever was going through his pre-stoke (but possibly drug-addled) mind we don’t know, but imagine the mileage the left (Democrats and media) would get out of this incident if a Republican was involved.

At any rate, you can’t deny the racist underpinning of this encounter.