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The leader of the Black Lives Matter New York City chapter on Monday turned himself in amid allegations of assaulting a Black man during a political rally last week – while speaking about the “Black faces of systemic oppression” and comparing himself to Martin Luther King Jr.
Hawk Newsome was spotted in Harlem as he sought to surrender to authorities, the New York Post reported.
He is accused of punching Manhattan Democratic District Leader William Allen as the protest descended into chaos Friday afternoon, sources told the newspaper.
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Newsome was with several activists when they swarmed Councilman Yusef Salaam’s Harlem office to object to a nonprofit leader having her community funding yanked.
On Monday, he went to the New York Police Department’s 28th Precinct to voluntarily surrender to police. While speaking to supporters, Newsome compared himself to civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. as he criticized the charges against him.
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“Recognize this as a step in the right direction. Not only do we fight racism — systemic, Black racism — we fight the Black faces of systemic oppression,” he said, according to the Post.
“Martin Luther King Jr. got locked up 26 times. Right? Twenty-six times for this. This is a sign that we are fighting,” Newsome continued.
“This person is saying that I hit him, but there’s no video evidence of that. There are 30 cameras out there. Nobody has a video of that. The only thing that was hurt was his pride.”
Newsome’s supporters also claimed the charges were “trumped up” and “politically motivated.”
In a statement to the newspaper, Tiffany Fulton, executive director of Silent Voices United Inc., – a group that recently had its funding cut – accused others of inciting the chaos during the demonstration.
“To see this kind of political weaponization in Harlem is heartbreaking,” Fulton said in a statement to the newspaper. “We are witnessing firsthand how speaking truth to power comes with consequences when the system feels threatened.”
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