Dec 17, 2024
Before he became Trump's temporary lackey, Elon Musk was just your average bandwagon-jumping, San Francisco-hating tech CEO on Twitter, trying to tell the world that the city that birthed his company and many others had gone to hell overnight.You may recall how, when the murder of Bob Lee became headline news 20 months ago, Musk was irresponsibly quick to jump out in front of the story and cast it as a random killing on SF's lawless killing streets. It started with a former MMA fighter, Jake Shields, who claimed to be a "good friend" of Lee's, and who tweeted about how Lee was in the supposed "good part of town" when he was stabbed in what appeared to be a "random" mugging, adding "Fuck San Francisco."Adding to the baseless chatter on the app he'd recently bought, Musk replied, "Very sorry to hear that. Many people I know have been severely assaulted. Violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately." Then he @-tweeted at District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, asking, "Is the city taking stronger action to incarcerate repeat violent offenders?"Jenkins wanted to make sure Elon Musk heard her Tuesday when she gave some remarks outside the courtroom following the verdict in Lee's murder, caught on camera by KRON4. Nima Momeni was convicted of second-degree murder — not the first-degree conviction Lee's family had hoped for, but perhaps a relief given Momeni's expensive and clever defense attorney, who managed to inject some doubt in what had seemed like an open-and-shut first-degree case.Jenkins praised the prosecutors in the case, Omid Talai and Dane Reinstedt, and said that the conviction had "established what truly happened" that night in April 2023."We all know that after Bob Lee was murdered, Elon Musk took to Twitter to make an effort to really shame San Francisco, and to make it seem like this was really about lawlessness in San Francisco, and about what's going on out in our streets. And we knew it was something different," Jenkins said. "I think today proved, once again, that we are a city committed to accountability, we are a city committed to public safety, and that when something bad happens, which we can't always control, that law enforcement, at every level, will respond, to make sure that there is justice and accountability.In announcing the arrest of Momeni back in April 2023, a little over a week after the murder, Jenkins and Mayor London Breed made sure to call out the irresponsibility of Musk and others in jumping to the wrong conclusion about what transpired."Statements like those contained in Mr. Musk’s tweet that assumed incorrect circumstances about Mr. Lee’s death serve to mislead the world in their perceptions of San Francisco," Jenkins said at the time. "It spreads misinformation at a time when the police are trying to solve a very difficult case."Breed scolded "people jumping to conclusions about what they think is happening" before the evidence had come out.Chronicler of the city's history and author of Season of the Witch, David Talbot, wrote on social media at the time of the killing, "Will the tech industry — and the press — now apologize for accusing San Francisco of descending into wanton violence? I can just as well accuse the tech industry and its political and media patrons of laying waste to this once beautiful city... Don't hold your breath. The tech industry would rather whine about SF — even when the blood is spilled by one of their own."Musk has still never apologized, nor removed his tweet.Momeni, 39, is now likely to sit in prison until he's in mid-50s if not longer. He faces a sentence of 15 years to life for second-degree murder, with the possibility of enhancements based on circumstances, remorse, and other factors. A sentencing hearing has not yet been set, and is likely to occur a couple months into the new year.Related: Jury Finds Nima Momeni Guilty of Second-Degree Murder of Cash App Founder Bob LeePhoto: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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