January 20th, 2020 will forever be known as the day when NBC News journalists tried to pretend that black patriotic Constitution loving Americans in Virginia simply don't exist.
Yesterday, as thousands of Americans descended upon the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond, NBC News reporter Ben Collins told his 90,000 followers the event was a "White nationalist rally" but white nationalists weren't found among the event's attendees.
As far as we can tell Collins had no evidence to support his claim. The rally wasn't being organized by neo-Nazis.
Ben's now-deleted Tweet said:
Reporters covering tomorrow’s white nationalist rally in Virginia, I’m absolutely begging you:
Verify information before you send it out tomorrow, even if it’s a very sensational rumor you heard from a cop.
Don’t become a hero in neo-Nazi propaganda circles with made-up stuff.
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__)
This wasn't a proud moment for Collins or NBC News. Besides being blatantly wrong, his timing couldn't have been worse. On Martin Luther King Jr Day, the date of the gun rights rally, Collins was also suggesting that hundreds of black people were Neo-Nazis or that they simply didn't exist.
While members of the alt right weren't found anywhere at the event, hundreds of black gun rights activists proudly marched and participated with people of all ethnic and racial background. Members of the Black Panther Party marched alongside people from the Tea Party movement. There was no violence, little to no arrests, and the rally was deemed peaceful and safe by the Washington Post.
The mainstream media is likely extremely disappointed but it was a great day for the rest of America.
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA - JANUARY 20: Thousands of gun rights advocates attend a rally organized by The Virginia Citizens Defense League on Capitol Square near the state capital building January 20, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia. During elections last year, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam promised to enact sweeping gun control laws in 2020, including limiting handgun purchase to one per month, banning military-style weapons and silencers, allowing localities to ban guns in public spaces and enacting a 'red flag' law so authorities can temporarily seize weapons from someone deemed a threat. While event organizers have asked supporters to show up un-armed, militias and other extremist groups from across the country plan to attend the rally and show their support for gun rights. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)