Source: Fulton County Jail / Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
A Black Lives Matter group in Rhode Island swiftly debunked the claim by former President Donald Trump that they supported him via an alleged member.
On Wednesday (November 29), the Black Lives Matter Rhode Island Political Action Committee posted a statement via X, formerly known as Twitter in response to former President Donald Trump’s post on his Truth Social social media platform indicating the group endorsed him. In the process, it also distanced itself from someone who claimed to be a co-founder.
In that post, Trump praised Mark Fisher, a Black activist who recently appeared on a Fox News segment earlier in the month to throw his support behind the former president as a “great guy”, adding: “Very honored to have his and BLM’s support,” before reiterating a statement of how much he’s done for Black people since President Abraham Lincoln. Fisher first appeared on The Kim Iversen Show on YouTube, hosted by a personality who has expressed support for the insurrectionists of January 6th and is a COVID-19 vaccine skeptic. “I like Trump personally,” Fisher said at the time. “And I think right now who we have sitting in the Oval Office is just a deep disappointment. I deeply have disdain for him, and I really dislike the vice president as well.”
Black Lives Matter Rhode Island PAC, which Fisher claimed to be a founder of, sent out their rebuttal immediately. “In response to recent media coverage, we would like to clarify that Mark Fisher is not and has never been affiliated with our organization, the statement began. “The views expressed by Mr. Fisher in the referenced Fox News segment do not reflect the values or beliefs of BLM RH PAC.”
In response to recent media coverage, we would like to clarify that Mark Fisher is not and has never been affiliated with our organization. The views expressed by Mr. Fisher in the referenced Fox News segment do not reflect the values or beliefs of BLM RI PAC.
— Black Lives Matter RI PAC (@blmripac) November 29, 2023
The PAC also offered further clarification in another post, saying that they are a different organization than Black Lives Matter Rhode Island. This was solidified by a further disavowal of the remarks made by Fisher by Gary Dantzler, the head of the group. “Mark Fisher stated he was one of the co-founders of BLM,” Dantzler said to the Providence Journal. “Absolutely not. He was a respected advocate for BLM. That’s it. And he was paid and somewhere he got fired and demoted.” He added that he was “really disgusted” by Fisher’s actions.