CNN Runs Damage Control After ‘Kony 2012′ Mastermind Arrested For Masturbating In Public

Alexander Higgins
March 17, 2012

The war propagandist behind KONY 2012, being used to push the militarization of Uganda’s 2 billion plus barrels of oil, arrested for masturbating in public.

Jason Russell, co-founder of non-profit Invisible Children and director of “Kony 2012″ viral video campaign, which critics say was purposefully oversimplified to justify invading Uganda for 2 billion barrels of oil, was arrested for getting drunk, vandalizing cars and masturbating in public this morning.

TMZ has reported a video confirming that Russel was naked running around in the streets and masturbating.

Jason Russell THE NAKED MELTDOWN Caught on Tape

TMZ has footage of “Kony 2012″ honcho Jason Russell in the midst of his naked meltdown in San Diego … pounding his fists in anger and screaming maniacally.

As we previously reported, Russell was detained by police yesterday … after witnesses say he was running around naked and making sexual gestures.

Russell was held on a 5150 psychiatric hold … so authorities can decide if he poses a danger to himself or others.

[...]

Of course, in an attempt to keep the propaganda movement going, CNN attempts to do damage control, denying that he was arrested or even naked or even masturbating in public.

‘Kony 2012′ director hospitalized after exhibiting bizarre behavior

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Source: Jason Russell was picked up by police after running in the street in his underwear
• He has been hospitalized for “exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition,” his nonprofit says
• Russell has made a flurry of media appearances since the documentary went viral

(CNN) — The director of a documentary about a notorious Ugandan warlord that went viral after its release this month was picked up by police Thursday in San Diego after several people reported a man running through the streets in his underwear, screaming, sources said Friday.

While San Diego police declined to provide the identity of the 33-year-old man, an official familiar with the case confirmed him to be Jason Russell.

Police said the man, who 911 callers said was interfering with traffic and acting irrationally, was not arrested and was transported to a local medical facility.

Russell is one of the founders of the San Diego-based nonprofit group Invisible Children, which produced the half-hour film about warlord Joseph Kony. “Kony 2012″ skyrocketed to popularity on YouTube, propelled by thousands of posts on Twitter and Facebook, garnering nearly 80 million views since its March 5 release.

Source: CNN

Here’s Alex Jones on the topic.

KONY 2012 Masturbation Meltdown

Jason Russell, head of the viral KONY 2012 video urging military action in Africa, was taken into police custody and later taken to the hospital after reportedly masturbating in public, vandalizing cars and other bizarre activity. TMZ released video showing Russell naked on a public street corner wildly pounding the ground apparently raving mad.

The KONY 2012 video rapidly received more than 80 million views this week, prompting a deluge of criticism and scrutiny from viewers, as well as urging from numerous public figures to send AFRICOM troops into the region.

RT reports:

Man behind ‘Kony 2012’ arrested – for masturbating in public

(RT) – The blonde-haired, blue-eyed, Christian filmmaker behind the Internet’s most recent famous activism campaign, “Kony 2012,” has been arrested. For masturbating. And being drunk. And vandalizing cars. In public. In the morning.

Jason Russell, 33, was arrested Thursday morning by the San Diego Police Department in Southern California and the earliest reports detailing the incident suggest it was one hell of a day already for the Invisible Children co-founder and proclaimed “mastermind” behind the Kony 2012 viral video.Police say he was described as “in his underwear” when the first 911 calls were made.

San Diego Police Department Lieutenant Andrea Brown tells a local NBC affiliate that Russell was found masturbating in public, vandalizing cars and possibly under the influence of an unknown substance at around 11:30 am on Thursday. Authorities detained him at the intersection of Ingraham Street and Riviera Drive in San Diego, only a stone’s throw from the Pacific Ocean.

When the Kony 2012 campaign was released earlier this month, Russell’s activism group, Invisible Children, described him on their website as being the “grand storyteller and dreamer” behind their operation. By Friday afternoon, however, the bio page of the Invisible Children website was unavailable.

Within minutes of the news of his arrest being released on Friday, the group issued a statement. Invisible Children CEO Ben Keesey published an one-paragraph press release, but did not touch on the topic of arrest. Instead, Keesey says, “Jason Russell was unfortunately hospitalized yesterday suffering from exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition.”

“He is now receiving medical care and is focused on getting better. The past two weeks have taken a severe emotional toll on all of us, Jason especially, and that toll manifested itself in an unfortunate incident yesterday,” added Russell.

Speaking on behalf of the San Diego PD, Lt. Brown also made an announcment. NBC reports she described Russell as acting “very strange,” but when your charges include public masturbation and auto vandalism a few feet from the shores of the Pacific while stumbling incoherently on a Thursday night, that’s pretty much a given.

“He was no problem for the police department, however, during the evaluation we learned that we probably needed to take care of him,” Brown explained to the media. “So officers detained him and transferred him to a local medical facility for further evaluation and treatment.”

Answering allegations earlier this month that Invisible Children were profiting off of donations assumed to go towards ousting African warlord Joseph Kony, Russell defended the practices of his charity group by saying that their funds are funneled through an array of different endeavors.

“We’re an unorthodox organization,” Russell said at the time.

This article was posted: Saturday, March 17, 2012 at 11:18 am

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