Fact Check

Did Former BLM Rhode Island Leader Endorse Trump for President?

Mark Fisher has also expressed support for Jan. 6 rioters who were arrested for violence on Capitol Hill.

Published Nov 28, 2023

Updated Nov 30, 2023
 (Elvert Barnes/Wikimedia Commons)
Image Via Elvert Barnes/Wikimedia Commons
Claim:
Former Black Lives Matter Rhode Island leader Mark Fisher endorsed former U.S. President Donald Trump for the 2024 presidential election.

In October and November 2023, comments by Mark Fisher, a former leader of a Black Lives Matter (BLM) chapter in Rhode Island, went viral in which he endorsed former U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of the presidential election of 2024.

In a Nov. 6, 2023, interview with radio host Kim Iverson, Fisher said in response to her question about why he supported Trump: “Because everybody else sucks. [...] You know, I like Trump personally, and I think right now who we have sitting in the Oval Office [Joe Biden] is just a deep disappointment. I deeply have disdain for him, and I really dislike the vice president [Kamala Harris] as well."

Given that Fisher is a former leader and co-founder of a BLM chapter in Rhode Island, and that he also expressed his support for Trump's 2024 presidential candidacy, we rate this claim as True.

We have reached out to Fisher and BLM Rhode Island to learn more about his involvement with the group and will update this story as we get more information.

Fisher reiterated these views in an interview on Fox News on Nov. 28, 2023. He has expressed support for conservative views before as well, including in August 2023, when he called the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol rioters “political prisoners” and said he stood in solidarity with them. However, in a Nov. 20, 2023, interview with political commentator Roland S. Martin, Fisher described himself as an independent, without a party affiliation.

He also spoke out in support of members of the Proud Boys movement who participated in the Capitol riots. He told The Epoch Times in October 2023, “They’re lambs led to slaughter to be sacrificed as an example for all who might want to dissent in the future.”

Fisher’s ties to the wider Black Lives Matter movement don't necessarily mean that others in that movement agree with him. BLM has been described by the Library of Congress as a largely decentralized network of activists in the U.S. and around the world, with no formal hierarchy. The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter was originated in 2013 by three Black organizers, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. The movement’s website describes itself as “a member-led global network of more than 40 chapters.” BLM is best known for organizing protests against police brutality, racial profiling, and racial inequality in the criminal justice system.

According to an interview Fisher did with The Epoch Times in October 2023, he was a co-founder of BLM’s Rhode Island chapter but had stepped down from his leadership role to form his own group called Black Lives Matter Incorporated. The timing around when he left BLM’s Rhode Island network to form this new group was unclear. BLM Incorporated, according to The Epoch Times, appears to focus on entrepreneurship education and financial empowerment for Black people, and says it is not affiliated with any political party.

According to the caption of the YouTube clip for Iverson’s November 2023 radio show, Fisher stepped down from his leadership position at the older BLM soon after he began making his opinions about Trump known: “He’s been making waves lately after endorsing President Donald Trump saying he is 'THE BEST CANDIDATE we have.' Fisher has since resigned from his leadership position at BLM Rhode Island and is now the founder and executive director of Maryland's BLM Incorporated.”

Fisher argued in his interview with Iverson that he did not feel “alone” as a BLM leader who supported Trump.

"I feel like the tide is starting to turn," Fisher said. "I feel like a lot of Black people are starting to pivot off of that Democratic plantation. For so long, we've been slaves to that party. Actually, we've been mental slaves, afraid to get off of that plantation."

"That party, they don't value our vote," he added. "Their policies are basically racist policies. I believe that it's a racist party that strikes at the heart of the Black family and the nuclear family in general. And I believe Donald Trump, he's the opposite. [...] He's not going to be a hypocrite and stab you in the back like the Democratic Party loves to do."

Although Fisher was part of a larger BLM movement via Rhode Island, he does not necessarily speak for what is a vast movement with many members spread across the world with their own distinct viewpoints. However, reports from late 2023 did show support for Biden waning among Black voters, with recent polls finding that if elections were held at the time of this writing, around 22% of the Black electorate would support Trump, compared with the 8% he pulled in the 2020 elections.

Sources

Baragona, Justin. “D.C. Insider Rag’s Star ‘Conspiracy Theorist’ Abruptly Exits.” The Daily Beast, 27 July 2022. www.thedailybeast.com, https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-hills-rising-star-kim-iversen-a-conspiracy-theorist-abruptly-exits. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

“Black Lives Matter (BLM).” Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0016241/. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

“Black Lives Matter Leader Stands Behind J6 Prisoners, Endorses Trump.” The Epoch Times, https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/exclusive-black-lives-matter-leader-stands-behind-j6-prisoners-endorses-trump-5513609. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

“BLM Leader Endorses Trump as Biden’s Support among Black Voters Dwindles | Fox News Video.” Fox News, 28 Nov. 2023, https://www.foxnews.com/video/6341896855112. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

"BLM Leader: Unite To Break The Media Narrative." Kim Iverson, Nov. 6, 2023. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwISzuMIg-w. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

“Herstory.” Black Lives Matter, https://blacklivesmatter.com/herstory/. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

Parker, Paul Edward. “Artistic Message of Black Unity Sows Some Division in Providence.” The Providence Journal, https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2021/06/04/black-lives-matter-group-upset-its-not-part-providence-mural-project/7545289002/. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

Powe, Alicia. “EXCLUSIVE | Black Lives Matter Leader Stands In Solidarity With J6 Political Prisoners And The Proud Boys At Federal Court House: ‘And I Have 100 More Men Who Stand With Me’ [WATCH] | The Gateway Pundit | by Alicia Powe.” The Gateway Pundit, 2 Aug. 2023, https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/exclusive-black-lives-matter-leader-stands-solidarity-j6/. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

"Roland CRUSHES Trump Supporting BLM Local Leader: You’re Just Making Sh*t Up." Roland S. Martin, Nov. 20, 2023. www.youtube.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdHisbwFPQQ. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

Siders, David. “Black Voters Are Drifting Away from Democrats. Will That Hurt Biden in SC?” POLITICO, 28 Nov. 2023, https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/11/28/black-voters-biden-2024-00128338. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

“Waning Enthusiasm from Black Voters Presents an Inflection Point for Biden’s Campaign.” NBC News, 20 Nov. 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/waning-enthusiasm-black-voters-presents-inflection-point-biden-campaig-rcna125122. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

Updates

Nov. 30, 2023: The story was amended to reflect that we have reached out to the parties involved.

Nur Nasreen Ibrahim is a reporter with experience working in television, international news coverage, fact checking, and creative writing.