Lee Merritt
@LeeMerrittesq • 79,130 subscribers
Federal Civil Rights Attorney | Licensed in PA & NJ | Harvard Adjunct |Power 100 | Forbes Top Lawyer |Nation Builder | Top 10 Leader | Justice & Change ✊🏽🌎
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This is a must-watch to the end. There is so much to unpack here, and this Black man does an exceptional job unpacking it himself while giving Bradenton police a lesson on his rights. On February 8, 2026, he was stopped while riding his bicycle at night in Bradenton, Florida. But the conversation raises an issue far bigger than this one encounter. Walking while Black. Driving while Black. Riding a bike while Black. Our freedom to move through our communities should not depend on whether an officer thinks we belong. When one officer tells him that obeying the law means he won’t have to worry about being pulled over, his response is direct: “I have to stop being Black to stop being pulled over by you.” The answer to concerns about racial profiling cannot simply be “obey the law.” All too often, we know this playbook: Black people treated as suspicious while going about their daily lives. This is not a new concern. It is a documented pattern. Knowing your rights is important. Officers respecting those rights is essential. Toward the end, he explains that he was simply trying to get home with groceries for his mother, who has diabetes, to help care for her. Public safety should protect that ordinary freedom, not make it something Black people have to defend. 🎥: Tay Lindsey | Florida Cop Cam
Lee Merritt257,912 Aufrufe • vor 9 Tagen
A 36-year-old man from Texas flew to Bogotá, Colombia and allegedly sexually abused a 7-year-old boy on a balcony in broad daylight. Neighbors heard the screams. They filmed. They called police. Because of them, three children ages 4, 7, and 15 are now safe. Sources indicate he may have adopted all three of those children. Let that sink in. This is not an isolated incident. Colombia has already turned away 100 foreigners for sex tourism in just the first half of 2026. American passports are being used to exploit the most vulnerable children in the world. Colombia’s president is now calling for visas to stop predators from entering the country. 🎥: CBS News / Lilia Luciano
Lee Merritt953,893 Aufrufe • vor 4 Monaten
At the Costa Maya pier in Mexico, Myron was on a Carnival cruise with his wife for their anniversary when an elderly passenger fell from the pier into the ocean. Before anyone could fully react, he jumped in — no life jacket, no safety net, just instinct and courage to save a stranger’s life. Salute to this king. The world needs more people who move like this when it matters most. 🎥 TT: Amy nelson
Lee Merritt898,320 Aufrufe • vor 4 Monaten
This is what “swimming while Black” looks like in 2026 — an ordinary pool day with your children turned into a police encounter because a neighbor decides you don’t belong. According to the father, a white neighbor called the police on him and his sons because they were the only Black family at the pool. He says he had already shown proof that he stays there, yet she still demanded his ID. He further states that when officers arrived, they told her he did not have to show her anything — but by then one of his boys was in tears. He says the incident traumatized his children and that he may pursue legal action. 🎥: Leo Sullivan
Lee Merritt497,539 Aufrufe • vor 2 Monaten
This mother was traveling through Hurst with her 15-year-old son in the passenger seat when she was pulled over and accused of speeding. She planned to contest the claim in court but still provided her license, as required by law. She declined to take the paper receipt of the citation, protesting what she believed was racial profiling. The officer insisted—tossing the ticket toward her when she refused to take it from his hand. She instinctively tossed the paper out of the window. What happened next is an example of everything that is wrong with American policing. This officer had three clear options: 1.Issue a second citation for littering using the information he already had. 2.Walk away—the citation had already been issued. 3.Instead, he chose to snatch this mother out of her vehicle in front of her child, slam her to the ground, seriously injure her, and take her to jail… where she was ultimately issued a citation and then released to the hospital for treatment of the injuries caused during the arrest.
Lee Merritt1,339,885 Aufrufe • vor 7 Monaten
Mother Fletcher survived Tulsa at 7. Died at 111 without justice. “I live through the massacre every day.”
Lee Merritt1,406,417 Aufrufe • vor 11 Monaten
The gag order lifted. And the mask came off with it. After sentencing, Austin Metcalf’s father Jeff Metcalf went live on TikTok and was caught on a racist rant about Karmelo Anthony, including calling him a “watermelon felon,” saying Black people get “all the free sh*t we give you,” claiming “400 years ago someone sold you to us,” and attacking Black fathers for not being involved in their children’s lives. This is the same man who stood in that courtroom and said “this was never about race.” The prosecution struck every qualified Black juror from the panel. A gag order silenced public response for nearly a year. And the moment the muzzle came off, this is who he showed us he was. Karmelo Anthony did not get a fair trial. And now the victim’s own father has confirmed in his own words what this community has known from the beginning. 🎥: @SamsonCrouppen
Lee Merritt567,138 Aufrufe • vor 4 Monaten
The video shows Judson High School police officer Marc Laue confronting 15-year-old Jeremiah Johnson over an allegation that he pushed an assistant principal. Jeremiah was handcuffed, and body-camera footage shows Laue repeatedly driving his fists into the child’s abdomen. A child was subjected to physical violence before the facts of the allegation were established. That is a fundamental failure of judgment. This is what policing in our schools looks like: children made to fear the adults and institutions charged with keeping them safe. Schools should invest in counselors, restorative practices, and people trained to support children—not systems that turn school hallways into sites of violence. 🎥: @aprilgirlhasnopresident
Lee Merritt329,361 Aufrufe • vor 2 Monaten
After being struck, she said: “You can’t punch me in my face.” Trooper Arellano responded: “Says who?” She repeatedly asked for help and to call her mother. Alisa is a daughter. She is a young woman. She is a human being. Too many times, we have watched routine traffic stops involving young Black people end in excessive and unnecessary force—or worse, with lives taken. No one should have to fear being physically assaulted, harmed, or stripped of their dignity during a traffic stop. Encounters with law enforcement must be grounded in professionalism, restraint, and respect for human life. This should never have happened. Alisa Hackett deserves justice and full accountability from the Arkansas State Police. 🎥: Arkansas State Police dashcam footage via NEA Report
Lee Merritt319,134 Aufrufe • vor 2 Monaten
On August 26, 2025, 19-year-old Black autistic college student Victoria Lang was locked out of her dorm in Wichita Falls, Texas and went to a downtown McDonald’s to change her clothes while she waited for housing to be sorted out. A manager called 911, claiming she’d been in the restroom too long and assuming she was homeless. Wichita Falls police officers Daniel Wilson and Douglas Gulley responded; body cam footage shows Wilson choking, dragging, and hogtying Lang as they force her out of the restroom, into the restaurant, and into a patrol car — force the department later labeled “unnecessary and excessive”. Both officers left the Wichita Falls Police Department, with Wilson fired in November 2025 and Gulley resigning afterward. On May 6, 2026, the city finally released five angles of body cam and cruiser video from the arrest, and days later a grand jury indicted former officer Daniel Wilson over his actions in that McDonald’s bathroom. 🎥: Texoma's Homepage
Lee Merritt585,184 Aufrufe • vor 5 Monaten
One week ago, on September 18, we came together at the Congressional Black Caucus forum to confront the modern-day lynchings and Black hangings occurring across this country. I’m deeply grateful to everyone who gave their time, energy, expertise, and support to make this important conversation possible. The work does not end with one forum. We have clear direction and now we must carry these solutions back to our communities, demand proper accountability, and turn this moment into meaningful action. It’s on us.
Lee Merritt112,990 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
BREAKING: The state removed his throat before the family could get a second opinion. Nolan Wells’ independent autopsy results: cause and manner of death undetermined, pending investigation. Attorney Ben Crump says the pathologist couldn’t examine Wells’ lungs or stomach because his throat structures and other organs had already been removed and dissected during the original Mississippi State autopsy. The report also found significant red discoloration in the soft tissue at the back of Wells’ head and behind his ears. This family deserves answers immediately. The fight is not over. It has only just begun. Justice for Nolan Wells 🎥: NewsNation Ben Crump
Lee Merritt308,926 Aufrufe • vor 3 Monaten
Eight years ago tonight, Botham Jean was sitting in his own apartment, eating a bowl of ice cream, when an off-duty Dallas police officer walked through his door and took his life. I’ve stood with this family since the earliest days of this case. I’ve watched Allison and Bertrum carry a loss no parent should have to carry, watched Allisa keep her brother’s name alive, and watched an 18-year-old Brandt Jean show the world a kind of grace I’ll never forget. “The Ballad of Botham Jean” tells the story of what happened that night — and who Botham was long before the world knew his name. Watch it. Share it. And say his name. Botham Shem Jean | September 29, 1991 – September 6, 2018 🎥: Investigation Discovery, “Impact of Murder”
Lee Merritt152,617 Aufrufe • vor 1 Monat
UPDATE on the case of six Charlotte officers investigated over racist texts allegedly targeting Black residents: Three officers have resigned, and a chain-of-command review board unanimously recommended termination for the other three. Resignation should not be the end of accountability. Transparency must be part of what comes next. The public deserves a thorough review of whether bias affected these officers’ stops, searches, arrests, or use of force. That includes examining their records and any prior complaints to determine whether residents’ rights were violated. The department must also take concrete steps to prevent this from happening again, including stronger oversight and meaningful anti-bias training with ongoing evaluation. Training alone cannot replace consequences when misconduct is established. Charlotte deserves clear answers about what happened, what action is taken, and how the department will protect residents’ rights moving forward. 🎥: WBTV News
Lee Merritt34,335 Aufrufe • vor 12 Tagen
The military admits they made a “mistake” brutally arresting my client Kareem El—a Black former Marine captain targeted. We don’t accept “mistake” as closure. We demand full accountability, policy changes to prevent this from happening to another innocent person. The Washington Post
Lee Merritt732,070 Aufrufe • vor 10 Monaten
