Lawyer For Mark Hughes Releases A Statement

Earlier this week, as those against police brutality protest in honor of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile in Dallas, Texas, shots rang out. Reportedly, 11 Dallas PD officers were injured, 5 killed. Within minutes, Dallas PD took to social media profiling Dallas resident Mark Hughes as a suspect in the shooting. It was believed that Hughes was profiled because he attended the Texas rally while brandishing an unloaded AR-15, which he was legally licensed to carry.

Even after it was proven via photographs and video footage that Mark Hughes was not involved in the Dallas shooting, Dallas Police Department refused to  remove his photo from their Twitter account. Since then Mark Hughes has received threats both online and offline. Dallas PD only removed the tweet a day later, after the story grew legs.

Lee Merritt, Hughes’s lawyer, issued the following statement:

“When the Dallas PD identified Mark Hughes as a suspect in the murder of five police officers in the Dallas snipper attacks they recklessly triggered a nationwide manhunt that put my client, his family and his livelihood in grave danger. As the nation was just coming to grips with the magnitude and severity of this brutal attack on law enforcement officers and peaceful protestors, they plastered Mr. Hughes face across news outlets and social media for no other reason than the fact that he was a Black man demonstrating his lawful right to openly carry a firearm in protest of the murder of two black men killed while exercising that same right. The moment the shooting broke out he went directly to the nearest peace officer and turned over his firearm. It wasnt until hours later that the DPD 1st shared his image with media outlets. Despite his full cooperation and obvious lack of involvement he was treated as a common criminal, interrogated, threatened, stripped of his property and shown out of the back door. No apology, no public statements of his lack of involvement and photographed remained on DPD’s Twitter account with the request that the general public help find him for over 18 hours after his release. His family has received death threats, he, his wife, his mom, his brother continue to receive threats daily.”

Dallas PD not only owes Hughes and his family an apology, Mark Hughes should consider legal action.