Benjamin Crump
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A man has come forward claiming proof of the New York Police Department’s involvement in the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965.
On Tuesday (July 25th), Mustafa Hassan appeared alongside attorney Benjamin Crump at a press conference where he detailed overhearing a comment made as NYPD officers were restraining Talmadge X Hayer, one of the assassins of Malcolm X outside of the Audubon Ballroom that confirmed to him that the department, as well as the FBI, knew that there would be an attempt on his life beforehand.
Hassan, 84, recounted the events of what took place at the Audubon, now The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. He was a member of the Organization of African American Unity, formed by Malcolm X in 1964, and a member of his security detail. He recalled that after the shooting, he managed to knock down Hayer. After checking on Malcolm X, he went outside to find Hagan being beaten up by crowd members and NYPD officers trying to step in. Hassan then said he heard one officer ask, “Is he one of us?”, referencing Hagan.
For Hassan, that confirmed the NYPD’s involvement. “No doubt in my mind,” he said. He also related from his sworn court affidavit that Eugene Roberts, a police undercover agent and informant had detailed seeing a “dry run” on Malcolm’s life just a week prior to the assassination. “The government was involved in the conspiracy to kill Malcolm X,” Crump said, going on to say that the comment may give Malcolm X’s family the basis behind their legal claim against the NYPD and federal government for damages. “It tells us they knew something was going down. They were saying is this guy with us because they knew they had planted Black people in there who were informants.
Two of the activist’s daughters, Ilyasah Shabazz and Quibilah Shabazz were also present at the press conference. Both were present at the time of the assassination. While Quibilah declined to comment, Ilyasah Shabazz said “We want the truth to be known. And justice to be served.” Crump stated that he hoped Hassan’s statement would compel the Biden administration to re-open the investigation into Malcolm X’s murder and how much of a role the federal government had in the incident. He also referenced the city’s $36 million settlement last October with Muhammad Aziz, and Khalil Islam, two men wrongfully convicted of the murder and exonerated.
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British pop star, Ed Sheeran, is taking the infringement lawsuit filed against him by one of the writers of Marvin Gaye’s hit, “Let’s Get It On,” as an insult.
The singer took the stand and threatened to quit music if the court ruled against him in the case which alleges that his hit “Thinking Out Loud” contains elements of Gaye’s hit. “If that happens, I’m done, I’m stopping,” he told his lawyer Ilene Farkas while under oath, according to The Daily Mail.
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‘I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it,’ the ‘Shape of You’ singer added.
Sheeran is being sued for $100 million by the heirs of Ed Townsend who co-wrote the 1973 hit with Gaye.
The case has been quite a spectacle, with, at one point, Sheeran taking to the guitar to play an acoustic version of the song for the jury. In Manhattan federal court last week, lawyers for Townsend’s heirs played a video of Sheeran transitioning seamlessly between ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and ‘Let’s Get it On’ during a live performance.
They likened the mash-up to a confession that he had ripped off the song.
But in court on Monday, Sheeran said he and many other artists frequently perform ‘mash ups,’ and that he had on other occasions combined ‘Thinking Out Loud’ with Van Morrison’s ‘Crazy in Love’ and Dolly Parton’s ‘I Will Always Love You.’
‘I mash up songs at lots of gigs. Many songs have similar chords. You can go from “Let It Be” to “No Woman No Cry” and switch back,’ he said.
‘And quite frankly, if I’d done what you’re accusing me of doing, I’d be quite an idiot to stand on a stage in front of 20,000 people and do that,’ he added.
Musicologist Alexander Stewart is an expert witness in the case and he argued last week that the first 24 seconds of ‘Thinking Out Loud’ were similar to the beginning of ‘Let’s Get it On.’ Stewart said in court that they ‘have the same harmonic rhythm’ while pointing out melodic similarities in the verse, chorus and interlude.
The British rocker has been combative on the stand pushing back as he explained the process of writing the song in 2014 as a collaboration with a songwriting partner named Amy Wadge. He maintained, “I draw inspiration a lot from things in my life and family.”
The Townsend family is being represented by famed civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump.
If Sheeran is found to have ripped off elements of the song, a second trial will likely be held to determine damages.
It’s worth noting that when Sheeran’s hit, “Shape Of You” was released in January 2017, Sheeran, Johnny McDaid and Steve Mac were as the song’s only songwriters. It was not until fans pointed out the similarities between the song and the TLC hit, “No Scrubs,” that producer Kevin “She’kspere” Briggs, Xscape stars and songwriters, Kandi Burruss and Tameka Cottle-Harris were added to the credits.
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The family of Tyre Nichols and their lawyers including Benjamin Crump are speaking out against the Memphis police after seeing footage of him being brutally beaten at a traffic stop, leading to his death.
On Monday (Jan. 23), members of Tyre Nichols’ family and their lawyers spoke to the press about his death after privately viewing video footage of a confrontation with police officers from Jan. 7 when he was confronted at a stop 80 yards from his home. According to attorney Benjamin Crump, Nichols was beaten for three minutes, asking “What did I do?” Nichols would die of his injuries three days later.
Standing alongside Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, attorney Nicholas Romanucci, denounced the incident. “He was a human piñata for those police officers,”, he said. “Not only was it violent, it was savage.” He detailed seeing the officers restraining the 29-year-old, using a stun gun and pepper spray on him in the video footage.
The five Memphis police officers on the scene – Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills and Justin Smith – were all fired after an internal investigation by the department found that they used excessive force. They, like Nichols, are Black. Crump stated in the press conference that this factor was immaterial to the case.
“It is not the race of the police officer that is the determining factor of the amount of force, it is the race of the citizen,” he said. “It is about the Black and brown citizens that get dealt excessive force from the police officers, whether they are Black, white or brown, and it has to stop.”
Investigations by the FBI and the Department of Justice in addition to those by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations have already commenced. The city of Memphis has promised transparency, which has led many to question when the footage of the incident will be released to the public.
“Family and the attorneys we have will not stop until we get justice,” said Nichols’ stepfather, Rodney Wells. “And like I said from day one, justice for us is murder one, and anything less than that we will not accept.” Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said in a statement that he expects the video to be released either this week or next.
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