No salvation
The Salvation Army is so bigoted that even many conservative businesses have cut their support. Asheville city council just voted to give them nearly $1 million. How city hall funded an anti-queer hate group Above: A pride flag flies from Asheville city hall in 2015.…
How the mutual aid trials ground to a halt
The push to criminalize mutual aid crumbles in a hail of courtroom absurdity, police lies, revelations of retaliation and lawsuits Above: Art at the Aston Park build camp and mutual aid event in December 2021. The police crackdown would eventually see 16 locals hit with…
Asheville ruling direct attack on journalism
A judge’s bizarre ruling on Blade reporters’ case asserts that journalists can be arrested for inconveniencing cops, and that the First Amendment even requires it. This sets a threatening precedent for reporters everywhere On June 16 Asheville Blade reporters Veronica Coit and Matilda Bliss were…
Journalism on trial in Asheville, N.C.
In a nearly-unprecedented move, police and prosecutors insist on taking two Blade reporters to trial for doing their jobs Above: Asheville city hall by night. File photo by Max Cooper UPDATE: On June 16, after a judge told the jury they couldn’t consider the First…
It’s still police brutality
Despite some blatant APD spin, body cam footage confirms horrific police brutality against Devon Whitmire Above: A screenshot from on of the body cam videos of Devon Whitmire’s May 13 arrest, showing officers pressing his throat into the pavement Blade editor David Forbes contributed to…
‘Clearly these folks weren’t littering’
Emails reveal Asheville city hall’s own waste manager contradicted their lies on bogus ‘felony littering’ charges Above: Art at the December 2021 Aston Park Build. Asheville police and government officials would later claim this was grounds for felony littering charges against 16 locals. Photo by…
Southside crowd halts murderous cops
Neighborhood outcry stops Asheville police’s brutalization of a Black local and a community mobilizes against police brutality Above: Asheville police piled on top of Devon Whitmire on May 13, with one officer pressing down on his throat with her elbow. The brutality only stopped due…
Marching for the missing and murdered
The MMIW crisis is at the intersection of racism, sexism and the ongoing violence against Indigenous communities. A glimpse at how one local is part of the efforts to fight back Photo from the MMIW NC Coalition Amber Merideth was raised here in Asheville with…
COVID WAVE ALERT — April 9
Asheville’s long covid wave continues to hit our communities. Here’s our regular alerts on what’s going on and what you can do to keep each other safe Graphic by Matilda Bliss You can support the Blade‘s covid alerts — and everything else we do —…
The mutual aid trials, week 1
The prosecution tries to portray protest as a crime, but their tactics fall flat as defendants head to separate trials Above: A banner displayed at the Aston Park Build protest and mutual aid project, December 2021. Photo by Veronica Coit Over a year after 16…
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