The Facts
- On Tuesday, 84-year-old Andrew Lester of Clay County, Mo., who was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action for shooting Black teenager Ralph Yarl, 16, surrendered to the county detention center and was freed on a $200K bond a few hours later, according to the Sheriff's Office.
- He was initially taken into custody and released on Thursday — the night of the shooting — prompting demonstrations across Kansas City and some to draw similarities between the shooting and those of Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery, also young Black men.
- Lester, who shot Yarl after the teen rang his doorbell thinking it was the house where he was supposed to pick up his siblings, faces up to 15 years in prison for armed criminal action and life imprisonment for first-degree assault.
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The Spin
Left narrative
This despicable act was clearly racially motivated, and it's right that so many activists are demanding justice over this attempted murder. Ringing a doorbell isn't a crime and the unnecessary force used against this unarmed minor is a testament to the threat faced every day by Black Americans. The fact that law enforcement originally released Lester without charge is an insult to Yarl's suffering and that of his family.
Right narrative
What many Americans may not know is that 20-year-old White woman Kaylin Gillis was shot and killed in New York under very similar circumstances and within 48 hours of the Ralph Yarl shooting. The only difference is that the entire country erupted over Yarl's injuries and Pres. Biden invited him to the White House while Gillis's death went largely ignored. There is a double standard in America, but not the one being portrayed by the media.
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