Jacob Blake’s dad 'refuses to play politics' as Trump declines meeting because family wanted a lawyer present
KENOSHA, WISCONSIN: Father of Jacob Blake, the Black man who was shot several times on Sunday, August 23, has refused to meet President Donald Trump. The president is expected to arrive in Wisconsin city around 1 pm on Tuesday, September 1, but Jacob Blake’s father won’t meet with him because he does not “want to play politics”.
Jacob Blake Sr's refusal came after Trump decided not to meet the family since they wanted their lawyer's presence during the conversation. The president found the demand “inappropriate’, the Daily Mail reported.
In an interview with CNN, the father said, “I'm not getting into politics. It's all about my son, man. It has nothing to do with a photo op.” While Jim Acosta, Blake Sr's lawyer, said that he wanted to listen to the family’s call with Trump. “[I think] it would be most appropriate to have your counsel on the phone when you're talking to anybody involved in the government,” he stated.
Trump is paying a visit to the disturbed city of Kenosha despite being urged by local officials not to since they fear his presence may reignite protests that have cooled down in the past few days. But without any heed to the requests, the 74-year-old is going ahead with his plan. He has also accused the governor of Wisconsin and Kenosha mayor of failing to control the violence happening in the city following the shooting of Blake.
Blake, 29, was shot at least seven times in the back as he attempted to enter a vehicle in which his three kids were present. Police arrived at the 2800 Block of 40th Street after receiving a complaint of “family trouble”. They alleged that Blake attacked them before being hit by the bullets. The shooting left the man severely injured and he was soon rushed to the Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee.
Blake Sr also shared details on his son’s condition as he said that he is “holding on for dear life.” “We are dealing with an individual that a couple of months, a couple of weeks ago was running around with the boys and talking to me on the phone and laughing to an individual that cannot move his leg,” he added.
The grieving father also urged protesters to demonstrate peacefully but it seemed his plea fell on deaf ears as it has been reported that a number of businesses and buildings were damaged during the violent protests across the city. However, the demonstrations took a different turn on August 25 when a teenager, identified as Kyle Rittenhouse, shot and killed two people and injured a third with an AR-15-style rifle.
He was arrested on August 26 and has been charged as an adult. Rittenhouse is now facing two charges of first-degree homicide for killing Anthony M Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum. Besides, the 17-year-old is also facing one count of attempted homicide. However, his lawyer John Pierce defended him and said: “This is 100 percent self-defense. The only individuals Kyle shot were the three individuals attacking him and putting him at risk. This is a 17-year-old kid, this is amazing what he did."
Trump has also favored Rittenhouse and said, “He was trying to get away from them I guess, it looks like, and he fell and they very violently attacked him. It was something that we are looking at right now and it's under investigation, but I guess he was in very big trouble. He probably would've been killed. It's under investigation.”