Beck's summer-long multimedia campaign centered on three lies. When the White House tapped Jones to advise on green jobs, he was neither a self-avowed communist nor a black nationalist.
Beck also twisted and then disregarded the known facts of Jones's 1992 arrest. He said that Jones had been arrested for participation in the 1992 Los Angeles riots and was a "convicted felon." Both claims were false.
The easily accessible truth was that Jones was arrested while working as a volunteer legal monitor during a protest in San Francisco. Never mentioned by Beck was the fact that the state of California later declared Jones's arrest unlawful. After an investigation and a hearing, the state dropped all charges against Jones and awarded him a settlement.
Alexander Zaitchik
