#BLMKidnapping Video, Arrest News Surges On Twitter With ‘Black Lives Matter’ Terminology Backlash: Here’s What Happened

According to Twitter, the hashtag #BLMkidnapping is a popular trending label at the moment — only second to news about school closings. Update: The #BLMkidnapping hashtag is now a top trending item on Twitter. What happened to make the #BLMkidnapping hashtag so popular? As reported by the Inquisitr, Brittany Herring of Chicago recorded a live and streaming video of the brutal torture of a mentally disabled young man. Herring, along with three other 18-year-old teens, were arrested in the wake of the kidnapping. Soon after, on Wednesday, January 4, the term #BLMkidnapping began trending on Twitter — likely because the teens issued anti-Trump sentiments in the Facebook Live video, which has been removed from Facebook.

Brittany Herring’s Fake Mugshot: $1,500 bond le spreads fast, along with ‘crying’ booking photo [HOAX] https://t.co/hZCYyKUDF9

— Alena Bubniak ? (@abubniak) January 5, 2017

Warning: Graphic videos appearing in this article are disturbing.

As reported by the Daily Mail, those torturing the victim were apparently texting his parents throughout the ordeal. The victim reportedly attended school with one of those who assaulted him and therefore may have trusted them enough to accompany them to Chicago. One video of the torture displayed his hair and scalp being cut, whereas another video shows the victim being forced to drink from a toilet.

This is Clearly A HATE CRIME?Arrested In Chicago After 24-Hour Kidnapping Prison Goes Viral [Graphic Video] WatchVID https://t.co/DgMqLoxKdb

— #ProgressivePersistence WE WILL PERSIST ON POLICY! (@InLWithLBeingL) January 5, 2017

Herring’s video was reposted on YouTube, but YouTube has also been removing copies of the video due to their graphic content clause. However, the video keeps popping up on Twitter — in snippets — under the #BLMkidnapping hashtag. Whereas some folks using the #BLMhashtag are doing so to show photos like the below one of the torture victim, others are calling foul against the #BLMkidnapping hashtag by immediately conflating the crime in Chicago with the Black Lives Matter movement, simply because Herring and her cohorts are black, and because they hollered anti-Trump sentiments.

#BLMKidnapping pic.twitter.com/Hh1pmY0cpB

— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) January 5, 2017

Those coming against the #BLMkidnapping hashtag are calling it a white supremacist hashtag, as seen below, in the tweet from Shaun King, a Senior Justice Writer for the New York Daily News.

Meanwhile, the controversy over the #BLMkidnapping hashtag being used continues.

As reported by Twitter, the #BLMkidnapping hashtag is accompanied by related hashtags, such as #BLMkidnapping video, and other labels such as “#BLMkidnapping what happened,” proving some people want to know why the #BLMkidnapping hashtag is surging. Those typing “#BLMkidnapping arrest video” likely are searching for videos of the event, since the graphic video keeps getting removed from some video-sharing websites. Another related search term, as reported by Twitter, is “#BLMkidnapping white people,” with some complaints about how the #BLMkidnapping hashtag is being used and by whom, whilst others use the “#BLMkidnapping CNN” hashtag to falsely report that mainstream media has not covered the heinous event. A view of the current CNN homepage shows that the torture video is a top story, even if it isn’t termed “BLLM kidnapping” on their website.

Other related search terms reported by Twitter include #BLMkidnapping Obama, likely used by people who want a statement from President Obama about the event, and #BLMkidnapping Don Lemon, from folks wanting the same from the CNN anchor.

A selection of the comments flowing into social media under the #BLMkidnapping hashtag can be read below.

Gurky: “The #BLMkidnapping or whatever you want to call it is a serious hate crime and shouldn’t be taken lightly as it is currently.”

Trout Mask Replica: “The #BLMKidnapping hashtag is a disgraceful smear against the #BlackLivesMatter movement #BlackLivesMatter has never supported hate crimes.”

Mike Cernovich: “If Trump must ‘disavow’ every random Internet troll, then #BlackLivesMatter must disavow every crime or else they support it. #BLMKidnapping”

Holly: “Just a reminder, the thugs who committed this hate crime NEVER said ANYTHING about #BlackLivesMatter but you do you, boo. #BLMKidnapping”

The Aesthete: “I don’t even feel right saying #BLMkidnapping. With the rate of black males being incarcerated, you’re a fool to think BLM supports that.”

[Featured Image by Alan Poulson Photography/Shutterstock]