Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin is spreading misinformation about a teenager's tragic death in another state.
The Democratic senator has failed to correct the comments even as additional information contradicts her narrative.
To be clear: The death of Nex Benedict in Oklahoma is a tragedy. However, the fact of the matter is that no one knows yet how Benedict died. What
is known is that, based on preliminary medical examiner's findings, Benedict did
NOT die from trauma following a fight that involved the teen and a group of girls in an Oklahoma high school bathroom the day before Benedict died.
Yet that did not stop Baldwin from calling Benedict's death a
"killing," and further implying that "hate-filled violence" took the life of the teen.
[caption id="attachment_161987" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Tammy Baldwin's post on Nex Benedict.[/caption]
On Feb. 21,
Baldwin wrote on X, "
The killing of Nex Benedict is heartbreaking. Non-binary and trans kids deserve to feel safe and welcome everywhere, especially at school. I’ll never stop fighting to end this epidemic of hate-filled violence against LGBTQ+ youth."
That SAME DAY, Owasso police released a statement that explained Benedict "
did not die as a result of trauma," according to preliminary information from the medical examiner.
"While the investigation continues into the altercation. preliminary information from the medical examiner’s office is that a complete autopsy was performed and indicated that the decedent did not die as a result of trauma," police wrote. "At this time, any further comments on the cause of death are currently pending until toxicology results and other ancillary testing results are received. The official autopsy report will be available at a later date."
Baldwin's words are reckless language, not backed up by current evidence, that inflames an already difficult situation. But don't hold your breath waiting for the media's "misinformation" reporters to fact-check her.
In addition,
new police body cam video of Benedict speaking to an officer in a hospital makes it clear, in Benedict's own words, that, far from being chronically bullied by them, Benedict did not know the girls in the bathroom fight previously and, furthermore,
it was Benedict who made the first physical move, pouring water on the other girls.
In a 911 call, Benedict's guardian also told the operator the teenager was taking medication, although whether that played any role in Benedict's death is also not clear.
https://twitter.com/robbystarbuck/status/1761412077774573583
“We don’t know each. Before this…we never saw each other. They’re freshmen, we’re sophomores. I don’t know their names…I don’t know these girls," Benedict told the officer in the body cam video, who spoke to Benedict about the fight, which occurred the day before Benedict's death.
“I was talking to my friends. They were talking with their friends. We were laughing. They had said something, like why do they laugh like that and they were talking about us in front of us. I went up there, and I poured water on them and all three of them came at me," Benedict said.
In other words: Benedict admitted to getting physical first.
“They came at me. They grabbed at my hair. I grabbed onto them. I threw one of them into a paper towel dispenser. And then they got my legs out from under me and got me on the ground and started beating the sh** out of me.” Benedict then said that Benedict blacked out.
If the girls were making fun of Benedict's clothing, as Benedict also claims at another point in the video, that isn't good, either. Obviously, bullying can be deeply damaging emotionally to youths, and we condemn it. But those facts hardly fit the narrative Baldwin is spreading.
Perhaps things will change as more information comes out. However, for now, minimally, Baldwin should correct her post to match the known information. She won't, of course. It's worth wondering why.
https://www.wisconsinrightnow.com/wisconsin-sen-tammy-baldwin-nex-benedict/?feed_id=11165&_unique_id=65dac15df37d4
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