Eric Garner’s daughter says she was silenced by ABC News

Jul 17, 2016

Erica Garner, the daughter of Eric Garner, who was killed by police in a chokehold that was captured on video, is upset with ABC News for silencing her during a town hall with President Barack Obama.

Garner says that she was “lied to” and was “railroaded” by ABC producers, who promised her that they would highlight her questions for the president but then ignored her.

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“ABC is using black lives as a rating and to get paid,” Garner told HuffPost in an exclusive video statement. “They guaranteed me that I would be asking the president direct questions about what’s going on. I was lied to.”

Ultimately, she was able to meet with the president backstage, where he told her, “I am sorry for your loss,” but not until after she had walked out of the event.

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“I had to stage a walkout by myself,” Garner said. “And I went out there I had to yell, scream, and eventually I was able to speak to the president. It’s a shame as black people that we have to yell and become belligerent to have our voices heard.”

As for ABC, they released the following statement: “We took an extra 30 minutes to get to as many people as we could during the town hall. The President spoke to several people after the event ended, including at length with Erica Garner.”

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