On September 6, off-duty Dallas police officer Amber Guyger shot and killed a 26-year-old black man named Botham Jean, because she thought he was in her apartment. He was home. She had mistaken his apartment for hers. She’s facing manslaughter charges. But Fox News is looking to put him on trial.

DEVELOPING: Search warrant: Marijuana found in Botham Jean’s apartment after deadly shooting https://t.co/ISSGgxgt34 pic.twitter.com/iE6IsnNUUX

— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) September 13, 2018

Fox News would have you believe that marijuana in Jean’s apartment means he deserved being shot to death in his own home. It’s a move meant to demonize Jean, who Time reports was a college graduate, a devout Christian, a beloved son, and a caring friend. At the young man’s funeral, his college friend Alexis Stossel said, “He was always in the service of others, even when it wasn’t convenient for him.” Michael Griffin, minister at the Singing Hills of Church of Christ, described Jean as “a light in a dark room.”

That Jean may have had some pot in his apartment changes none of that. Yes, marijuana is illegal in Texas. But Guyger was not in Jean’s home in her capacity as an officer of the law. She was trespassing. And she killed him. The Fox News angle is blatant racist propaganda that suggests even when an off-duty cop murders a black man in cold blood in his own home, it’s somehow still his fault. They are grasping at straws to paint Jean as a criminal who got what he deserved.

Twitter was alive with outrage over Fox’s latest shameless display of white supremacy.

This might be the greatest smear campaign of an unarmed person who was killed by police. They're actively trying to make the man who was killed in his own home look like the bad guy. https://t.co/VTUFFeiYvb

— Zito (@_Zeets) September 13, 2018

This is so irresponsible and disgraceful. Why is this news in a story where he was killed after she broke into HIS home? This is unethical. Period. https://t.co/WStPFHhOND

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) September 13, 2018

Fuck you https://t.co/ISXUTYSe0u

— Ira (@ira) September 13, 2018

Worth noting that this station is not an affiliate. It is one of the few local stations that is owned and operated by Murdoch's 21st Century Fox. Jack Abernathy heads the local television group; he used to be co-president of Fox News. https://t.co/ol5WnFP3gH

— Angelo Carusone (@GoAngelo) September 14, 2018

Oh, so if you shoot an unarmed man in his home, it's cool because he has

S O M E W E E D?!

Go fuck yourselves! https://t.co/pNBs43uzl8

— Brent, Who Wants You To Register To Vote! (@brentalfloss) September 14, 2018

That's only relevant if it's the weed Guyger was smoking when she entered an apartment that didn't belong to her and murdered the occupant https://t.co/lrEH0gbGYj

— Bree Newsome (@BreeNewsome) September 13, 2018

These white supremacists are all on code. We knew this victim slandering was coming. https://t.co/S59001ewSl

— Tariq Nasheed (@tariqnasheed) September 13, 2018

You assasinate his character after assassinating his body. An innocent man murdered in his home but this officer claims self defense. https://t.co/MTs1fJw7ZZ

— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) September 14, 2018

The only relevant "findings," were a murderer in his apartment and bullets in his body.

This is a disgrace. https://t.co/kj5Cy4bliC

— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) September 14, 2018

When nothing else will justify the senseless death of a citizen at the hands of a wayward police officer, quick, reach for the American drug war. For half a century, that horror show has justified damn near anything — especially against citizens of color. Christ almighty. https://t.co/vTLPwpBzYz

— David Simon (@AoDespair) September 13, 2018

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who shoot them in their homes; and the district attorneys, who release irrelevant search warrants after the fact. These are their bullshit stories. https://t.co/bXsO1r6o0m

— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) September 14, 2018

Can't stop thinking about this.

A timely reminder that, while marijuana is now a million dollar industry for the some, it's still used — even in death — to smear others https://t.co/7kUgzMWIMB

— Astead (@AsteadWesley) September 14, 2018

Do not ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever question why Colin Kaepernick kneels. https://t.co/n0Psg4lM0G

— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) September 14, 2018

HERE WE GO!

We're gonna drug test the dead black guy, not the white cop who couldn't find her own apartment so she just murdered somebody.

The question isn't why people of color take a knee, the question is why don't YOU? https://t.co/wifgr118bh

— Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) September 13, 2018

this tweet: the thing that has united people of every political stripe on my twitter feed. (Common thread: anger, incredulity, utter bewilderment as to why this is in any way relevant.) https://t.co/2IWoHMCGTx

— Hallie Jackson (@HallieJackson) September 13, 2018

Rest in power, Jean. Go to hell, Fox News.

Sources: The Grio, CBS

Kristy Puchko is the managing editor of Pajiba. You can follow her on Twitter.

Header Image Source: Getty

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