A spokesman with the St. Paul, Minnesota, chapter of Black Lives Matter went on national television to tell the viewing audience: That chant the group did about police being "pigs in a blanket" was simply lighthearted, not violent.
"I want to put that chant in context," said Trahern Crews, the leader of the St. Paul chapter, during an interview with Chris Hayes on MSNBC.
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The chant he was referring to was a widely watched video of Black Lives Matters' protesters walking down the street at a Minnesota state fair shortly after the execution-style killing of Texas sheriff's deputy Darren Goforth, and shouting: "Pigs in a blanket. Fry 'em like bacon."
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Crews dismissed the violent tendencies many saw in the chants, saying even nearby officers joked with the Black Lives Matters' marchers.
"[That demonstration] was so exciting that I think the police who were along escorting the march ... wanted to be part of the march," he said, the Daily Caller reported. Moreover, at least one officer riding in front of the demonstrators "was laughing and joking with the marchers," he said.
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"So when the marchers kind of started chanting that towards him," Crews went on, "it was more playful than anything."
Even Hayes seemed a bit surprised at that explanation.
"So that was – you're saying, that was in a playful context, that chant?" Hayes asked.
Crews responded, "At that particular demonstration, yes," the Daily Caller said. Crews also said the officer who rode in front of the marchers actually turned around and said, "everybody loves bacon," at one point, he said.
But as the Daily Caller pointed out, not everyone caught the humor. The president of the St. Paul Police Federation said the chant was outright "disgusting."
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