A visibly distressed Ashleigh Banfield divulged to her CNN viewers Monday that she and her family had been the target of death threats on social media over her coverage of the racially-charged Dunn trial.
“Call it back, folks!” Banfield exclaimed. “Stop threatening to kill people on Twitter because you don’t like what they are saying! That’s the problem. If we can’t communicate, we are never going to know what the problem is. And this is a case that outlines it.”
Also read: CNN’s Ashleigh Banfield Apologizes For Botched Hillary Clinton Edits (Video)
“And you know? No Twitter!” Banfield interjected. “I have had it with people who are threatening me, and my kids, and my family over simply commenting on the law and criminal procedure and respecting juries! Because they do work hard! They work way harder than I do and they work way harder than the rest of those people making those peanut gallery comments.”
Also read: Michael Dunn Found Guilty on 4 of 5 Charges; Mistrial Declared in Count of Murdering Jordan Davis
Dunn was found guilty of 4 of 5 charges on Saturday, but the jury deadlocked on the murder charge. The trial’s racially tinged elements has been fodder for many passionate segments on cable news of late.
Watch Banfield’s plea to viewers to dial back the rhetoric below via CNN: