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Video: Dramatic Protester Who Claimed Bank "Took" His Home May Have Lied
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 27, 2011
Modified Sep 28, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 27, 2011
Modified Sep 28, 2011
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One of the first of the 80 protesters to be arrested during the Occupy Wall Street protests on Saturday was a young man who dropped to his knees in the street in front of a Chase Bank. He repeatedly screamed "That's the bank that took my family's home!" before being arrested. But now, Glenn Beck's news website The Blaze claims that they talked to the man's mother, and at no point was their house ever in foreclosure.
As he is being arrested, Robert Stephens ("with a 'PH'") recites his name and his parents' accomplishments: his father has a Ph.D and two master's degrees, and his mother has a master's degree. According to his Facebook profile, he graduated from Carleton College and is now a law student at George Washington University. The Blaze called Mrs. Stephens, who lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, and she said they were actually selling their house in a "short sale" due to a "reduction in income."
Meredith Jessup, writes how Stephens uses "the biggest tool in the left-wing's arsenal: the media," and states, "Only in America could a kid have been blessed with so much…and only in America could he still claim to be a victim." (Boldface type and italics hers.)
Lying about having your parents' house foreclosed on—theatrically—certainly makes you and your cause look bad. But doesn't the middle class have a right to protest? Doesn't everyone have a right to protest? And doesn't the Tea Party leverage the media as much as the "left-wing?" Jessup writes that she too went to George Washington University as an undergrad—is she "choking on a silver spoon" too?
It's also worth noting that a short sale can be an alternative to foreclosure, and that some large banks are taking illegal cash payments from short sales. Exactly the sort of behavior that would make you want to knee in the street in protest.
Tagged
banks
chase bank
economy
glenn beck
occupation of wall street
occupy wall street
protests
Unemployment
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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