Winston Smith was Assassinated

A 32 year old comedian, musician, father, brother, son, and friend was murdered by Hennepin County and Ramsey County Sheriff’s officers working with the US Marshals North Star Fugitive Task Force on Thursday afternoon June 3rd, 2021.

This murder came on the heels of the City of Minneapolis’s attempt to open the autonomous zone known as George Floyd Square to car traffic earlier that morning. George Floyd Square is the community mourning space that has been cared for since George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis police last year at 38th and Chicago Avenue.

By Friday morning June 4th, community members and Minneapolis activists started noticing significant changes to their social media experiences, especially those who had been actively sharing news about Winston Boogie Smith’s murder. Those community members (full disclosure: I am one of them) believe their accounts were being suppressed as part of a larger effort to cover-up the heinous murder of Winston Smith.

Because it has been extraordinarily difficult to share verified information due to this suppression, here is a list of what we know from sources that can be verified outside of the police.

• Winston Smith’s last social media posts from June 3rd show a picture of drinks with the location tag of Stella’s (a bar in Uptown Minneapolis). Winston was killed shortly later on the roof of the parking lot across the street from Stella’s.
• The US Marshals Service issued a statement shortly after the shooting via a Hennepin County Sheriff’s spokesperson that Winston Smith was being pursued on a state arrest warrant for “felon in possession of a firearm”. The Marshals’ statement also states that Winston Smith “produced a firearm” and that’s why they shot him. The Marshals Service also claim there is evidence that Smith fired a weapon from inside the car and that a handgun and spent casings were recovered.
• The BCA, who is investigating this case, stated that no body camera footage was available because US Marshals task forces don’t allow body cameras. The BCA has updated their statement to say that they are not aware of dash camera footage or any other video footage of this incident.
• The BCA stated that the names of the local Hennepin and Ramsey Sheriff’s Officers would not be disclosed as those officers were “working in an undercover capacity”.
• Video and photos taken by media show 7–8 unmarked dark vehicles surrounding Winston Smith’s car on the rooftop level of an otherwise empty parking ramp. Video stills show the back windshield of Winston Smith’s car was broken through, presumably by the gunshots.
• There was a woman with Winston in the car that afternoon. Her lawyer issued a statement on her behalf on the afternoon of June 10th stating that she did not see a gun in the vehicle at any time and did not see Winston Smith produce a gun. This is the first public statement this witness has made; her lawyers did not reveal her name and asked the community to respect her privacy.
• Winston Smith’s friends and community members have spoken out via social media stating that Winston was an up and coming comedian and would not risk his life because he had so much he was working on.

• Winston Smith himself, in a video he posted and shared again by his friend after his death, talks about a case he was facing regarding a gun in his possession where he was facing 4 years in prison for the a gun being found “around” him.
• Winston Smith also openly advocated for revolutionary beliefs like armed response to police violence and, specifically, the 2020 police murders of Dolal Idd and George Floyd.
• Local community members, independently of each other, have expressed experiences of Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook suppression regarding the murder of Winston Smith.

Winston Smith should still be alive.