CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference, has been going on just outside of D.C. all week and on Friday the president took the stage. President Donald Trump spent the first half of his speech bashing the media, saying that “the dishonest press” and “fake news” are “the enemy of the people.” He went on to say that he doesn’t oppose negative stories about himself, but that the media is just making things up. Then, Trump explained how he is going to follow through on his campaign promises such as the dismantling of Obamacare, the construction of the border wall, the deportation of “bad dudes,” and the creation of more jobs.

Trump also claimed that there were so many people who wanted to see him speak that the line outside the Gaylord Hotel and Convention Center where the event is taking place went for six blocks. “There are lines that go back six blocks. I tell you that because you won’t read about it,” he said.

Reporters at Jezebel decided to look into it, and concluded that the reason you won’t read about it is because it didn’t happen; they couldn’t find any evidence of long lines. Volunteers who were stationed by the doors to check peoples’ tickets denied seeing any long lines, and the only big crowds of people to arrive simultaneously came from buses. Jezebel also pointed out that the area where the hotel is located doesn’t even stretch for six blocks.

At one point, several attendees started waving Russian flags with Trump’s name on them.

Someone handed out Trump Russian flags on the #CPAC2017 floor before Trump’s speech pic.twitter.com/uf1ADMt6ZL

— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) February 24, 2017

When staffers saw the flags they hurriedly confiscated them.

Crowd at CPAC waving these little pro-Trump flags that look exactly like the Russian flag. Staffers quickly come around to confiscate them. pic.twitter.com/YhPpkwFCNc

— Peter Hamby (@PeterHamby) February 24, 2017

It’s unknown who made or handed out the flags and why. It’s also unclear whether people even realized it was the Russian flag they were waving, or if they just thought it was just a flag with the American red, white, and blue colors. But according to journalist Sarah Posner, there was at least one attendee who wore a t-shirt that said “Make Russia Great Again.” Prank or not, the incident gave rise to some laughs.

@PeterHamby @mkraju “Excuse me Sir, your Russia is showing. Let me hide that for you. Carry on.”

— MichelleK (@Michelle_In_AR) February 24, 2017

Well played, anonymous CPAC monkeywrencher. https://t.co/ZXElPROsKx

— Angus Johnston (@studentactivism) February 24, 2017

Are Russian flags the Right’s answer to #pussyhats? #CPAC #TRUMP https://t.co/FM74Irzwg4

— lnmassaro (@liddabird) February 24, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post What’s Up at CPAC?: Attacks on “Fake News” and Russian-Themed Trump Flags appeared first on Law Street.

Third Eye Blind, mostly known for ’90s hits like “Semi-Charmed Life,” played a charity show last night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. It was hosted by the Recording Industry Association of America and AT&T, and mostly included RNC attendees and guests. But the members of Third Eye Blind may have been the only ones having fun at the concert–the band spent most of their performance trolling the RNC attendees in the audience.

The band released this statement, outlining how exactly they came to play the event in the first place:

About last night: https://t.co/LIOhIIzGqg pic.twitter.com/nqPKeSYepj

— Third Eye Blind (@ThirdEyeBlind) July 20, 2016

Stephen Jenkins, the band’s singer, kept asking the crowd to “raise your hands if you believe in science”–a clear shot at the GOP’s continued refusal to address climate change. Apparently many of the audience members booed the “science” question. The band also refused to play their hits, instead playing their more obscure songs.

The one big hit they did play was “Jumper,” which was written about one of Jenkins’ friends who was gay and committed suicide. Jenkins introduced the song by talking about acceptance and tolerance, and mentioning his gay cousins.

.@ThirdEyeBlind Epically Trolled People At The Republican Convention #RNCinCLEhttps://t.co/0UxH3vsLIwpic.twitter.com/x9KheBC25x

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) July 20, 2016

Onlookers also tweeted about other funny and tongue-in-cheek moves on the band’s part: 

apparently @ThirdEyeBlind also played their song “Non-Dairy Creamer,” which has these tongue-in-cheek lyrics pic.twitter.com/PBk3VYnMOV

— Rachel Zarrell (@rachelzarrell) July 20, 2016

The band had previously refused to play at the 2012 Republican convention after being asked, and Jenkins explained their logic in an article on the Huffington Post, saying: 

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Third Eye Blind Expertly Trolls RNC Attendees appeared first on Law Street.

The Supreme Court handed down several major rulings yesterday and, as is the case whenever the court decides to weigh in on a social issue, a lot of people got really mad. While watching people get angry on social media is always good fun on its own, this time, there was an added level of entertainment as people tweeted their dissatisfaction at SCOTUSblog’s twitter account, thinking that it was the actual Supreme Court.

SCOTUSblog, a website dedicated to tracking all things related to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), is not, in fact, operated by or in any way affiliated with the actual Supreme Court. But that doesn’t stop the flood of angry Twitter mentions that it receives at the end of each court term. In fact, its Twitter bio features a nice disclaimer, “A private blog. NOT THE JUSTICES OR THE COURT.” Thankfully, its Twitter account sets aside some time on each of these special nights to respond to many of the mistaken Twitter users.

On Monday afternoon, it started off with a warning to its current followers (who are presumably aware that it is not the actual Supreme Court) as well as some satire to set the scene:

You have one minute to unfollow us before we fill your Twitter feed.

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 27, 2016

#BREAKING: facing constitutional crisis, in an unprecedented move, a blog was named to the empty ninth seat on the Supreme Court.

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 27, 2016

And then it began. Here’s a collection of some of the best responses from yesterday:

We don’t rule “against the Constitution.” We twist it however we want. MT @pswise1 @SCOTUSblog Is RACIST &Again Rules Against Constitution

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 27, 2016

So funny bc we’re just flipping coins. Math says we’ll eventually get one right MT @somhrd50 @SCOTUSblog always on the wrong side of history

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 27, 2016

No! Expose who killed Vince Foster, indict Clinton, THEN impeach him. MT @hendog127@SCOTUSblog -Your first OBLIGATION IS TO IMPEACH OBAMA

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 27, 2016

Here’s someone calling SCOTUSblog dumb (while at the same time confusing SCOTUSblog for the actual Supreme Court):

What makes you look dumbest, Bets’? MT @BetsyKerr Nothing makes @SCOTUSblog look dumber than a judge dissenting w/irrelevant opinion.

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 27, 2016

I’ll let you unpack this one:

Keep it? Most men will prolly oblige. #nadaforzada MT @zadabee @SCOTUSblog Stop killing sperm! Man controls the sperm: KEEP IT~

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 27, 2016

Here’s a nice reference to SCOTUSblog’s Twitter bio, which pretty clearly states that it is not affiliated with the actual court. But hey, who takes the time to read Twitter bios before angry tweeting?

Twitter descriptions are good reads too MT @carryabigstaff @SCOTUSblog If you read the Constitution, you know there is no right to privacy.

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 27, 2016

Not all of the tweets were angry–some were happy with the court’s decision to strike down provisions in Texas’s HB 2, a law that placed what the court deemed to be undue restrictions on abortion providers.

Honestly, we were 5-3 on selling you to @zombieblog. MT @slclaridge Thanks @SCOTUSblog for continuing to let ME have control over MY body.

— SCOTUSblog (@SCOTUSblog) June 27, 2016

To cap it off, SCOTUSblog ended up trolling unknowing Twitter users so well that Twitter actually suspended its account thinking that it was hacked. The blog posted an update explaining what happened and after a couple of hours, everything was back to normal: it returned to tweeting serious court news. Apparently the annual “running of the trolls” worked too well this time around.

Kevin Rizzo

Kevin Rizzo is the Crime in America Editor at Law Street Media. An Ohio Native, the George Washington University graduate is a founding member of the company. Contact Kevin at krizzo@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post No Twitter Users, SCOTUSblog is not the Supreme Court appeared first on Law Street.