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Ohio mom bombarded with death threats after Black neighbor's video goes viral: 'Massive misunderstanding'

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Ohio mom bombarded with death threats after Black neighbor's video goes viral: 'Massive misunderstanding'

An Ohio mother of two is speaking out after receiving vicious death threats both directly and on social media over a viral video that has caused some to smear her as “racist,” which she says is completely false and the result of a “massive misunderstanding.”

Michelle Bishop spoke to Fox News Digital about the situation involving her neighbor, DaMichael Jenkins, who posted Ring camera footage of her in a panic at his front doorstep, believing she was being inappropriately followed by Jenkins and not believing his claim that he lived at the house he had pulled into. 

The exchange has gone viral on social media, with news reports labeling her as a “Karen” who assumed Jenkins was a threat simply because of his race, which Bishop vehemently disputes. 

Bishop told Fox News Digital that the incident in question began on a cold November night in Delaware County, Ohio, when she took her young daughter and son with her on a jog to go look at Christmas lights and a car with its headlights on was slowly driving behind them as they walked down a poorly lit street in the dark.

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DaMichael Jenkins, left, and Michelle Bishop. (Fox News)

Bishop then explained that she moved her kids onto the sidewalk but that the car did not pass her “in a timely manner” and that the driver began asking her questions.

“I didn’t answer, I walked into— I told my daughter, ‘walk up this driveway, turn here, don’t look back at the truck,’ and so we went into the driveway, ended up on the porch, was ringing the doorbell,” Bishop said. 

“Nobody was answering at that point. The truck was backing into the driveway. He stayed in his truck. I could not see him and I look out at the driveway at that point and I said, ‘Is this your home?’ And he said, ‘Yes. And I said, ’I don’t believe that’ and in that moment I was in, just, complete defense mode. I was challenging it. There was no way of changing my mind at that point. I was completely in panic and just trying to protect my kids.”

Bishop had, in fact, attempted to seek shelter in the home that belonged to Jenkins, and the Ring doorbell footage captures her telling Jenkins that she doesn’t believe he lives there before running to another nearby house and yelling for help.

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Footage from later shows Bishop telling Jenkins that he had “scared the crap” out of her and that she was “caught off guard.” Jenkins told Bishop he was not following her and was just admiring Christmas lights. 

BLACK AMERICANS, COMMON SENSE AND OUR FUTURE

Michelle Bishop speaks to Fox News Digital. (Fox News)

Bishop tells Fox News Digital she has apologized many times, which the Jenkins family would not accept, and thought the issue was resolved until the video was posted on a local neighborhood Facebook group and ultimately picked up by the media, causing a firestorm of hateful messages to come her way attacking her as a racist. 

It is causing massive devastation to our family in every way that you can possibly think,” she said. “Our family, our businesses. We are receiving hundreds, if not thousands, of threats at this point in our direct messages, to our phones, voicemails calling into stores. But some of the threats that we have received have become death threats.”

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“You and your children deserve to die slow and you should kill yourself or it will be done for you,” Bishop was told in one message. 

“We know who you are and where you live. Your husband is going to come home to being a single Dad. You should be hung in public,” another message said. 

“There are multiple that are very graphic and violent in regards to our children that I do not want to share here,” she added. “Our businesses have seen massive devastation, one of them having to close temporarily due to death threats, calling into our shop, saying that they are going to kill every last one of the employees. So it is affecting us in massive ways.”

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Social media is littered with posts calling Bishop “racist,” including one post that said, “Michelle Bishop… count your f—ing days.”

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Jenkins, a real estate developer, went on the “Nightcap” podcast with former NFL stars Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson earlier this week, a show with over 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube, and accused Bishop of racial profiling despite her claims that she did not know Jenkins’ race during the interaction.

Bishop told Fox News Digital that she “absolutely” did not know Jenkins was Black, and that she even told the neighbor at the house she ran to when she panicked that the person might have been White.

The headlights were behind me and then the first time I looked out in the driveway at his truck, the headlights were there and I was not specifically trying to look at him,” Bishop said. “I was addressing the situation. I absolutely did not know what he looked like. Like I said, I thought he was a young White man. It was all a massive misunderstanding. That’s all that it was.”

Bishop has received some support on social media from prominent conservative accounts, including that of commentator and author Matt Walsh.

“I’m late to this but of course the internet outrage mob got this situation completely wrong,” Walsh posted on X. “The woman saw a truck following behind her slowly. She panicked about the truck before she ever saw who was inside it. Later that night she came back and apologized for the mistake.”

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Walsh continued, “That should have been the end of it. No harm, no foul, nobody was hurt. An innocent mistake. Instead this guy decides to put the footage online and shame her in front of the world. And unsurprisingly a bunch of slobbering idiots on social media ran with it uncritically and proceed to tear this woman’s life apart. Good job, everyone. Some of you will just never learn.”

Bishop told Fox News Digital that she hopes to reconcile with the Jenkins family.

I believe a love can cover a multitude of things and what happened that night was a massive misunderstanding,” she said. “We are lovers of all people, and if given the opportunity, like I said, I believe forgiveness should be given to all, and I would love to sit down with them.”

“I think what happened that night was a massive misunderstanding,” continued Bishop. “I do hold their heart, hearing their perspective on things. I’ve never been in their shoes. I don’t know what they’re up against. I can’t speak to that. So hearing their point of view and how he felt, I understand that. But it really was a massive misunderstanding. I really wish, I do hope and wish that they understand that on that night I was a mama bear trying to protect my kids. That is all that. It was a massive misunderstanding and if given the opportunity, like I said, I would love to reconcile that relationship.”

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Jenkins did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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Cleveland, OH

Browns loss to Jets, Guardians scandal crown Cleveland in saddest sports fanbase debate — Jimmy Watkins

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Browns loss to Jets, Guardians scandal crown Cleveland in saddest sports fanbase debate — Jimmy Watkins


CLEVELAND, Ohio — Browns fans were busy digging their heads in the sand on Sunday when their phones buzzed to give them more bad news.

Around the same time one Cleveland franchise became the first since 2013 to allow a kick return touchdown and punt return touchdown in the same quarter on Sunday, another became the first in its sport this century to have two players indicted on federal gambling charges. And it wasn’t even 2 o’clock Cleveland time.


Football Insider newsletter free trial: Take a minute and sign up for a free trial of our Football Insider newsletter, featuring exclusive content from cleveland.com’s Browns reporters.

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Jimmy Watkins is a columnist for Cleveland.com. He provides unique perspectives and intricate reporting on our local teams and their rivals. He joined us in November 2022 as the rivalry beat writer, and his…

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Illinois

Several Chicago-area schools announce closures ahead of expected snow. Here’s a list

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Several Chicago-area schools announce closures ahead of expected snow. Here’s a list


Editor’s Note: Our latest weather story on the winter storm can be found here.

Several schools across the Chicago area have announced closures, delays or switches to e-learning ahead of a winter storm beginning late Sunday night.

More than half a dozen schools announced closures, or moves to e-learning protocols, ahead of the anticipated snowfall, according to the Emergency Closing Center.

Below is the latest list of schools that have announced closures, early dismissals or switches to e-learning for classes on Monday.

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Dist #125 (Atwood Heights) Alsip Delayed 1 Hour
Dist #128 (Palos Heights) Palos Heights Delayed 2 Hours
Horizon Science Academy Southwest Chicago Closed Tomorrow No Evening Activities
River Forest School Corporation (Madison St) River Forest Closed Tomorrow E-learning
Dist #1 (Momence Community Unit) Momence E-learning
Crown Point Community School Corp Crown Point Delayed 2 Hours
Lake Station Community Schools Lake Station Closed Tomorrow E-learning

The announcements come as a winter storm warning was set to take effect for Cook, Kankakee and Lake counties in Illinois, as well as Lake, LaPorte and Porter counties in northwest Indiana.

Dangerous to impossible travel conditions due to lake effect snow were expected, the National Weather Service stated. Snowfall rates could exceed three inches per hour, and total snow accumulations in excess of 12 inches were possible, meteorologists said.

Track an updated list of school closings across the Chicago area here.



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Indiana

Indiana basketball is ahead of schedule, indicated by win vs Marquette, but has plenty to improve

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Indiana basketball is ahead of schedule, indicated by win vs Marquette, but has plenty to improve


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  • Tucker DeVries scored 24 of his game-high 27 points in the first half, setting the pace for a blowout win.
  • Lamar Wilkerson added 23, 15 in the second half, each of Wilkerson and DeVries hitting six 3-pointers in IU’s win.

CHICAGO — Indiana basketball’s traveling party was in an expedient mood Sunday afternoon, as members traded quiet fist bumps and back slaps inside the basement hallways of the United Center.

Darian DeVries took a few moments in the stands with family, but otherwise moved through his postgame duties with the same efficiency his team had just displayed in a 100-77 win against Marquette. Flanked by his son, Tucker, and another former Drake Bulldog, Conor Enright, Darian DeVries worked the press room front to back, then pointed his team toward the bus.

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There was something akin to a snow hurricane floating out over Lake Michigan, threatening to drop feet, plural, of November snow onto Chicago, and no one here was interested in getting stuck in the Second City.

Nothing could slow the Hoosiers down Sunday.

“We talked about it before the game, just staying composed,” DeVries said. “We couldn’t let [Marquette’s] presses and their tenacity on defense speed us up. We needed to stay within ourselves and trust the offense, trust our movement and I thought the guys did that.”

No team should be fully formed right now, and no one should rush to conclusions about this one after just two games that count. But whatever Marquette (2-1) becomes or doesn’t across the next four months, there’s an awful lot to be said for the proof of concept the DeVries era is already showing, and for the basic, inherent value of momentum at this time of year.

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Beyond just the win, that’s what Indiana (2-0) gets for being willing to test itself so early in the season.

DeVries got those extra practices and games because of his decision to take the Hoosiers to Puerto Rico this summer, undeniably leaving his team better prepared than the average in Week 1.

Preparation still does not guarantee results. Nothing that’s happened up to this point, since DeVries took the job in March, has spoken so well of his credentials as watching his team take apart arguably the best Big East program other than UConn across the last three years.

“It was overall a great team effort from our guys,” DeVries said. “Really proud of a lot of different contributions that we got tonight.”

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It started with his son.

Tucker DeVries scored 24 of his game-high 27 points in the first half, at times personally overwhelming a Marquette team that could not seem to look past its own dogmatic philosophies to realize the damage they were causing.

While the Golden Eagles played at a pace too fast for the decisions they were making and the shots they were putting up, DeVries epitomized an Indiana team comfortable playing fast and almost totally in control of itself. He hit five of his six 3s in the first half, contributing significantly to a teamwide 14 of 28 performance from distance.

“That was obviously a big performance from Tuck in the first half,” Darian DeVries said. “Just got us going.”

Lamar Wilkerson shouldered the load after halftime.

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Once Marquette finally adjusted, and fouls started to pile up, Wilkerson stepped in for his equally dangerous teammate and put on a second-half clinic that rivaled what Tucker DeVries had done in the first.

Wilkerson scored 15 of his 23 points after halftime, all of them on 3s. He also finished with a career-high eight assists, compared to zero turnovers. In the same way Tucker DeVries’ first-half shooting set Indiana’s range, Wilkerson’s passing both sides of halftime headlined an afternoon Indiana finished with 27 assists to just eight turnovers, as an entire team.

“That’s something that I really like about this team: We have a lot of different guys that are capable of having moments like that throughout the game,” Darian DeVries said.

Perhaps none quite so meaningfully as that senior duo. But Sunday did endorse the idea that — especially as this team finds its depth in the coming weeks — the Hoosiers understand how to make their strengths consistently outweigh their weaknesses.

There are still those weaknesses.

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Indiana did a better job on the boards Sunday, but their lack of size won’t resolve itself anytime soon. And the Puerto Rico foul trouble we thought might just be about issues with international rules doesn’t look so right now. The Hoosiers have committed 43 fouls through four regulation halves of basketball.

“We need to do a better job,” Darian DeVries said. “We got a little handsy at times. We’ve got to clean that up. We have to be physical with discipline.”

Two games into the season, though, after a performance like that one, DeVries might consider those champagne problems. He knows what his team is and is not, and crucially, his team seems to understand that as well.

The Hoosiers look comfortable with what makes them tick, where they need to cover up and how they win. And they’ve got the confirming evidence of a meaningful win five days into the season to back that up.

It’s a start, but it’s a good one.  

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Want more Hoosiers coverage? Sign up for IndyStar’s Hoosiers newsletter. Listen to Mind Your Banners, our IU Athletics-centric podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the latest on IndyStar TV: Hoosiers.



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