The Judge in the Andrew Brown Body-Cam Dispute Thinks the Media Are Morons

 

Photo by Robert Willett
News and Observer

Superior Court Judge Jeffery B. Foster ruled this past week that the police body cam footage of the killing of Andrew Brown in Elizabeth City will remain private. He ruled that the media has no standing to demand its release and even if it did, “good cause does not exist” to make the body-cam video public.

When it looks like a coverup is well underway in this case, the active participation of a judge in that coverup does make one wonder about the biases of the judge.

The News and Observer's Brian Murphy followed up on some investigation by The Root into Judge Foster's social media postings over the years, and they suggest a clear lean to the right:

On Sept. 10, 2020, Foster posted a temporary profile picture of a thin blue line over a sheriff’s badge from Henderson County. That day, Henderson County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Hendrix, 35, was shot and killed by a suspect, who also died.

In May 2020, Foster posted a link to a news story about a Raleigh police officer being shot during a robbery attempt.

“When you work with, get to know, and become friends with law enforcement officers these stories make your heart stop for a moment. Thank God the officer is ok. These LEO’s risk their lives every day to keep us safe. God bless all of our law enforcement officers. Thank you all for what you do every day,” Foster wrote in the post.

In April 2020, Foster posted a meme with a photo of media members asking probing questions about Pearl Harbor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The meme is captioned: “If FDR had to deal with a press corp like President Trump’s.” Foster wrote: “I’m just gonna leave this here.”

Read more here: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article251072394.html#storylink=In 2010, he wrote: “I’m constantly amazed at how moronic the press is,” referring to a headline about Mexico’s president complaining about an Arizona law to President Barack Obama.

Foster’s Facebook feed is a fairly typical one — a mix of family photos, travel pictures, sports takes and memes. It contains many photographs taken by him of birds and other natural sights, many marked with a stylish photo signature.

In one post, he writes about his daughter looking for babysitting gigs. In another, he shares a photo of him as a young boy with his mother “in honor of Mother’s Day week.”

 ANTI-MASK RHETORIC

The feed also includes some anti-mask rhetoric, including a meme with re-imagined Queen lyrics about not wearing a mask.

“The anti-maskers getting creative. I love this,” Foster wrote.

Early in the coronavirus pandemic, Foster wrote in an exchange with someone on his page that “every year the flu kills more people than have died from Covid 19.”

Another post expresses his admiration for G. Gordon Liddy, calling him a “badass.” Liddy was convicted for his role in the Watergate scandal.

Another from April 6 shares a TV screen grab about Coca-Cola requiring photo ID for its shareholder meeting. The company has earned scorn from the right for its stance against recently passed voting laws in Georgia.

“Hypocrisy,” Foster writes.

Before he was a judge, Foster offered his thoughts on other cases. He said George Zimmerman, who killed Trayvon Martin but was found not guilty of criminal charges, “should have never been charged. The jury did the right thing. Fox News got it right again.”