St. Louis Teabag Protester Lies about Medical Coverage to Solicit "Donations"

It's been widely reported that Kenneth Gladney, the African American man who claimed he was beaten during a scuffle at a St. Louis health care town hall did not have health insurance. His attorney, David Brown actually solicited funds for his medical bills:

Kenneth Gladney sat in a wheelchair on Pershing Avenue Saturday, his knee bandaged, holding a flag that read: "Don't Tread on Me."

Gladney, 38, was handing out the same flags after a town hall forum in Mehlville Thursday night, when, he says, he was attacked by members of the Service Employees International Union.

Less than 48 hours later, protesters gathered Saturday in front of the union's offices, many of them holding signs with a slightly different version of the message: "Don't Tread on Kenny."

Supporters cheered. [His attorney, David] Brown finished by telling the crowd that Gladney is accepting donations toward his medical expenses. Gladney told reporters he was recently laid off and has no health insurance.

.

The Washington Independent is now reporting that this was a complete fabrication and that Mr. Gladney was neither "laid off" nor without health insurance coverage. Despite this, he still collected over $1,000 in donations

Brown said, contrary to recent reports like [the] one from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Gladney wasn't laid off and has health insurance. "He's just unemployed," says Brown, and "has insurance through his wife."

Meanwhile, though Gladney appears to be just fine in the video right after he was supposedly beaten up, he showed up the next day at a tea party event in a wheelchair. At the event, Bill Hennessy, the organizer of the St. Louis tea parties, asked the crowd to donate money to Gladney to help him pay for his injuries, despite the fact that he now says he has insurance. When I asked Brown about this, he said: "Well, who doesn't need a donation? If people want to give him a donation because he's injured and unemployed, that's up to them." Brown said Gladney has raised about $1,100 in donations so far.

In other words, Gladney lied in public about needing money for his bills and is now profiting off his lie to the tune of over a grand in donations.

Comments

[chicagurl]

Typical republican. What a sad little man.

[WorkingClass]

I'll bet his family is really proud of him.

[Shellly]

More from the astroturfe­rs/afterbi­thers:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6289409

[iMissMollyIvins]

I bet he doesn't report it on his taxes either.

[Kiri sute gomen]

I believe the proper term would be fraud? Correct me if I am wrong please, i has been a long day.

[Telemachus]

Plain/Gladney 2012

"Makin' Stuff Up For America And Our Troops"

[jaydeedub]

funny

[jayhawk6677]

chris savage is a total LIAR and believes Americans are so stupid that they will buy this JUNK when all they have to do is watch the video and use some basic logic

[kathy001]

I watched the video. I couldn't tell who started the fight - I did see Gladney do down and I saw someone trip over him. I didn't see anyone kick him or beat him while he was on the ground and I saw him get up and walk away - not limping - holding his shoulder.

That video didn't have any details about Mr. Gladney's employment or insurance status. However, the information about Mr. Gladney having insurance and not being laid off apparently came from Mr. Gladney's attorney. So, who's the liar?

[Telemachus]

Believe it or not, attorneys have an ethical duty to tell the truth about factual matters, and Mr. Brown apparently did. But it's questionable whether he should have gone further and made it clear to the people donating money that they were donating money to a guy who had most, if not all, of his medical expenses covered already.

[satanlite]

Withholding the whole story is a typical political tactic used by right and left. Conservative Republicans have turned it into an artform and use it incessantly.

[Jason Hollis]

I have watched the video numerous times. There is NO evidence of who started what, since the beginning of the footage has been cleanly edited out. All that is left is a schoolyard slapfight, and a lot of finger pointing, with Gladney running around just fine.

Pure fabrication.

[quietfortoolong2]

Is there ANY republican alive in the United States today who is not actively lying every time they talk about health care? I think not.

[mia8485]

that's not limited to health care.

[Telemachus]

Or anything else.

[sviolette]

How can you tell when a republican is lying? Their lips are moving.

[Pupadup4oBama]

They are moving so much you can't even put lipstick on them

[satanlite]

No.

[condor101]

Rampant Fraud from the Right Wing.

I'm re-posting this link. Please watch the interview of Wendell Potter. He speaks the truth.
We need congress to vote for a Public Plan.

Right now, the insurance companies are salivating at the prospect of having the 50 million un-insured to be mandated to buy health insurance.

We need a Public Plan so that private insurance companies will have to compete and lower their premiums.

Wake Up People!
Do Something!
Please watch this video interview of Wendell Potter and then contact your congressma­­n/senator­, urging them to support a Public Plan.
Also, feel free to copy and re-post the video link below and/or my message and place on all comment boards on HuffPost.
We need to get more and more people to watch this interview and effect change.
Currently, the Corporate Beaurocrats and their Lobby are taking over town hall meetings and influencing the general public to be scared of a Public Plan. We need to take control of this debate and show the Real Truth.

If you haven't seen Bill Moyers' interview with Wendell Potter, former PR executive for CIGNA, I strongly recommend it:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/watch2.html

[mia8485]

You're right. I saw this.

Mr. Potter was an health insurance company insider who knows exactly how health insurance companies strive to rip off their paying customers. It's just chilling listening to him describe the influence Wall Street plays on whether people get certain medical care or not.

[jayhawk6677]

mia quit lying!

[Aerows]

90% of these "protestors" against health care reform are frauds. This guy and the lawyer he had with him looks more like a provocateur every minute. Of course the big bad Union people hurt him, and his lawyer conveniently happened to be with him. Of course it is acceptable to try to make a buck off of being injured by evil leftists, even if you have to lie to do it.

The lawyer, the SEIU being the "alleged aggressors" and the video that doesn't really show anything except him leaping up from the ground (doesn't show him getting knocked to the ground either) doesn't add up. This is nothing but an attempt to agitate and profit from agitating.

[jayhawk6677]

yeh those SEIU guys are a bunch of THUGS, a bunch of GANGSTERS.­...they are in no way leftists..­..leftists are supposed to be peaceful..­.this is violence..­.these are THUGS

[Kiri sute gomen]

LOL, The trolls are using some rather weak bait these days.

[newpantaloons]

Anything worse than a 'dittohead'? A 'Kansas' dittohead.

[chicagurl]

No evidence, so you need to pipe down. The video show Kenny on the ground, then jumping up and talking to reporters. He is, however, obviously a con man.

[wndrwrthg]

Felony fraud. Give him employment and healthcare in a federal lockup.

[LMPE]

This is going from bad to worse.