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Media Bury Story of Radicalized Antifa Terrorist Killed Trying to Firebomb ICE Facility [Updated]

The killer’s name and motivation are known, but have gone unreported

After Democrats spent weeks calling on Americans to up the pressure against agents and facilities enforcing U.S. border policy, one man attempted to firebomb an Immigration and Customs and Enforcement facility on Saturday.

The man, a self-described member of Antifa, 69-year-old Willem Van Spronsen, was killed in an ensuing shootout with police. 

The activist was armed with a rifle, satchel, Molotov Cocktails, and flares, attempted to detonate a propane bomb to ignite nearby ICE detainment facilities. 

Based on self-published writings, Van Spronsen appears to have been radicalized on a steady diet of media/Democratic Party anti-ICE propagandizing. The manifesto he left behind borrowed language from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez likening ICE detainment facilities to “concentration camps,” which he did six separate times. He encourages others to follow him and “arm themselves.”

Since the attack, the terrorist’s name or stated motivation has yet to be reported on CNN, MSNBC, or the evening/morning news shows on CBS, NBC, or ABC, based on a review of Grabien’s archive of news programming. Nor was the story mentioned on any of the Sunday morning political talk shows, despite border detention being such a dominant topic in the preceding months. 

On Saturday, CNN’s Polo Sandoval reported on the terror attack, but only to say that “police have not established a motive.” Sandoval emphasized that nearby anti-ICE protests were peaceful, and suggested mental health, not politics, drove the violent attack: “Police have not established an actual motive and only saying that this individual was unfortunately, and very sadly disturbed.”  

Sandoval returned to the air later Saturday to downplay the possibility the anti-ICE terrorist was connected to the larger Antifa protests taking place that day:

SANDOVAL: “So far, based on what we’re hearing from authorities, Ana, it’s simply just timing when it comes to any possible connection with the controversy, obviously. And the expected I.C.E. raids that are supposed to be carried out. Starting tomorrow at this point, police have not established any sort of connection with that. So at this point, it seems like could have just been timing. But not going to be something we’re going to be continuing to follow to see if that is perhaps a part of the motive here.”

CABRERA: “So we don’t know the motive why he was there throwing Molotov Cocktails.”

SANDOVAL: “Simply a disturbed individual who was creating this scene and sadly shot and killed.” 


While CNN repeatedly said more information would be forthcoming once the attacker’s motives were established, instead the opposite happened: After an Antifa outpost Van Sponsen was connected with posted his “manifesto,” CNN stopped reporting on the attack, with the story receiving zero coverage Sunday and Monday. 

Van Sponsen was previously arrested for attacking the same facility. “Van Spronsen was accused of assaulting a police officer during a protest outside the detention centre, the News-Tribune reported. According to court documents he lunged at the officer who was trying to detain a 17-year-old protester on 26 June 2018,” The Guardian reported. “Van Spronsen pleaded guilty to the charge of obstructing police and was given a deferred sentence in October, the News-Tribune reported.”

A journalist who covers Antifa and was recently hospitalized after Antifa activists attacked him at a Portland protest, Andy Ngo, dug into his own reporting and located video of Van Spronsen. 

Here’s video from Ngo highlighting Van Spronsen in the background:

Seattle’s Antifa Action posted a eulogy for the killed anti-ICE activist:

Beyond Democratic lawmakers, members of the media had also urged Americans to increase the pressure against Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A few weeks ago, The Daily News columnist Shaun King called for quasi-military action against ICE facilities:

Last month, Grabien News reported that CNN and MSNBC have largely been supportive of Antifa.

While CNN and MSNBC have stopped reporting on this story, the networks’ coverage of President Trump tweeting an anti-immigration attack on four Democratic lawmakers, is virtually wall-to-wall. In less than 24 hours, these networks have described the tweets as “racist” more than 130 times. 
 

UPDATE: As of July 16, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC have collectively covered the story of an Antifa-inspired terrorist attacking an ICE facility zero times. 

RELATED: 

— CNN host promoted Antifa group whose member attacked ICE facility

— Montage: The Media’s History Supporting Antifa, an Anti-Free Press, Domestic Terror Group

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