Crime

‘When They See Us’ incites boycott of former prosecutor Linda Fairstein

ROLLINGOUT — The electrifying Netflix miniseries “When They See Us,” which is the true story of the “Central Park 5” teens that Fairstein wrongly prosecuted for the rape of female jogger Trisha Meili in the 1980s, is inspiring a major revolt against her.

Published

7 years ago

June 7, 2019

Oakland Post

By Terry Shropshire

Former prosecutor Linda Fairstein is forced to see us now.

Terry Shropshire

The electrifying Netflix miniseries “When They See Us,” which is the true story of the “Central Park 5” teens that Fairstein wrongly prosecuted for the rape of female jogger Trisha Meili in the 1980s, is inspiring a major revolt against her.

Fairstein has since gone on to become a bestselling novelist under the name Alexandra Cooper, where she writes about her experiences as a New York City prosecutor.

Despite the ferocious blowback to Fairstein’s work that sent the men to prison for many years, she still stands by her decision and says it was wrong to overturn the convictions, according to the New Yorker.

But in 2014, NYC ended up paying $40M to the freed Central Park Five — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise — after Matias Reyes confessed to the crimes in 2002 and his DNA matched the evidence.

Even more damning is the fact that Fairstein helped disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein evade prosecution for sexual improprieties, even as Weinstein later confessed to the crimes while being secretly recorded:

Linda Fairstein, the sex crimes prosecutor who coerced false confessions out of the Central Park Five, helped Harvey Weinstein evade assault charges. She later told NYT she found @AmbraGutierrez’s complaint to be unfounded
Weinstein confessed on tapehttps://t.co/6x6GRA0V7C pic.twitter.com/R6QZ5KUHNR
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) June 1, 2019

Fairstein has heard the backlash. According to BET.com, Fairstein has been forced to shut down all of her social media accounts since the four-part miniseries premiered on May 31.

Someone has also ravaged Fairstein’s Wikipedia page:

To the person who corrected @LindaFairstein ‘s Wikipedia page, I hope you have an amazing day! #WhenTheySeeUs pic.twitter.com/7gCjmknytB
— Jermaine Taiwo (@sevadelsur) June 1, 2019

Ava DuVernay (director of Selma, A Wrinkle in Time, and OWN’s “Queen Sugar”) created, wrote and directed “When They See Us,” which painstakingly and heartbreakingly details all of what those teens endured and how Fairstein prosecuted them without physical evidence.

Unsurprisingly, folks are going after Fairstein full throttle, with Newsweek reporting that social media users created the hashtags #CancelLindaFairstein and #BOYCOTTSIMONSCHUSTER, in order to get Simon & Schuster to drop the author from their roster.

According to Esquire, the Mystery Writers of America rescinded the prestigious Grand Master title, a lifetime achievement award given to Fairstein, after other authors protested because of her work on the Central Park Five.

Also, there is a Change.org petition that demands publishers and booksellers cease the production and sales of Fairstein’s novels.

And, of course, Twitter and Instagram users are steadily ripping Fairstein without relent:

White women have always supported white supremacy.
.@LindaFairstein should be criminally investigated for her hand in the convictions of the #CentralPark5.
Carolyn Donham Bryant should be prosecuted for telling lies that got #EmmettTill murdered and his murderer acquitted. pic.twitter.com/RpcSrXaWuP
— Bishop Talbert Swan (@TalbertSwan) June 3, 2019

With the help of #ballerart, we have found another case of possible framing & wrongful prosecution by @LindaFairstein. We are demanding that Manhattan District Attorney, @CyVanceforDA, re-open her sex crimes convictions and investigate. This woman is a criminal!
— Tamika D. Mallory (@TamikaDMallory) June 2, 2019

@LindaFairstein should be in jail. I’m so glad her literary honor was rescinded by Edgar awards but she still has a flourishing publishing career. She almost ruined those men’s lives.
— Babe (@baddestbossbabe) June 3, 2019

@LindaFairstein should be behind bars for sending innocent children to jail. #WhenTheySeeUs #lindafairstein
— G (@jhxselin) May 31, 2019

Watching #WhenTheySeeUs and nothing angered me more than #LindaFairstein’s conduct during the investigation. Thank you @ava for shining a light.
— G O L D I E. (@goldietaylor) June 2, 2019

The prosecutor in #WhenTheySeeUs @LindaFairstein is now a multiple time author writing for kids
Anyone with a book deal with this woman need rescind it. Immediately. She destroyed not just the lives of the exonerated 5, but a whole community for decades since
— George M Johnson (@IamGMJohnson) June 3, 2019

Looks like #LindaFairstein deleted her account, your Time is up you vile disgusting creature #WhenTheySeeUs #CentralParkFive pic.twitter.com/SnB80KY2Zf
— 🍕Brit_Kid_Kenny 🍕#TwitchLdn (@Brit_Kid_Kenny) June 3, 2019

This article originally appeared in Rollingout.com.

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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 31, 2025 – January 6, 2026

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

4 weeks ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.