WASHINGTON — Soon after gun shots were fired in the deadly sniper ambush on police officers, Dallas police tweeted a photo of Mark Hughes, dressed in a camouflage shirt and carrying a rifle.
This is one of our suspects. Please help us find him! pic.twitter.com/Na5T8ZxSz6
— Dallas Police Depart (@DallasPD) July 8, 2016
Cory Hughes told CBS Dallas Fort Worth affiliate KTVT he and his brother were protesting the recent shootings of unarmed black men, and Mark had brought a weapon to exercise his Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Hughes said he got a phone call saying his brother’s photo was being tweeted and retweeted around the world.
“I said, ‘Give your gun to this cop, because we don’t want an accident — we don’t want them to come around the corner and see you with a gun, and start shooting at you,'” said Cory Hughes.
Hughes said police interviewed them extensively, then both were released.
In the wake of the original tweet, Corey Hughes said he has received death threats, and says police irresponsibly shared his brother’s photo, based on the word of an eyewitness.
