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Chicago has been the focus on crime and gang violence conversation so far during the Donald Trump administration despite Cleveland having a much higher rate than Chicago.

 

CHICAGO (CBS) — Cleveland-area pastor Darrell Scott abruptly canceled a planned meeting Tuesday with “street leaders” eager to bring an end to violence in Chicago with the help of President Donald Trump.

Scott’s National Diversity Coalition for Trump on Monday afternoon issued a press release announcing a “gang summit” to be held roughly 24 hours later at the O’Hare Marriott, apparently delivering on a statement Scott made last month about a proposed meeting with “top gang thugs in Chicago” to broker peace in the city.

A few hours later, during a phone interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Scott said the event was no “gang summit” and would be a small affair, with “15 to 20 guys” and developers willing to offer jobs. Around 10 p.m., another statement from the Coalition announced the event was being rescheduled.

Scott made headlines in February when he emerged from a Black History Month meeting with the president and announced “top gang thugs in Chicago” had told him they were eager to work with the Trump administration to “bring down the body count” in the city in exchange for federal aid.

Scott had walked back his remarks after learning that the “top gang thug” he had talked with was a community activist who denies involvement in gangs. On Monday, Scott sounded chastened by the skepticism from Chicago activists who have worked with youths and gang members for years.

“We’re just calling it a sit-down,” Scott said in a phone interview Monday. “They’re not in gangs . . . they’re street leaders, community activists.”

“I’m not trying to be the hero of Chicago,” Scott said. “I’m not trying to step on anybody’s toes in Chicago. . . . Somebody called me for help. If somebody called me from Juneau or Fairbanks, Alaska, I would have responded the same way.”

Scott said he had been contacted by Torrence Cooks, who told Scott he works with youths on the South Side, not long after Trump was elected. Scott has been one of Trump’s most vocal African-American supporters, was a speaker at the Republican National Convention and hosted a press conference at his suburban Cleveland mega-church for Trump during the campaign.

Scott said Monday that Cooks had contacted “15, 20 guys” with knowledge of what’s happening in Chicago’s streets, and “anyone else who wants to come. It’s at [Cooks’] invitation.”

 

READ MORE: Chicago.CBSLocal.com

Article Courtesy of WBBM-TV Chicago

Picture Courtesy of Jim Watson and Getty Images

Rev. Darrell Scott Cancels His Planned “Summit” Meeting on Ending Gang Violence in Chicago  was originally published on wzakcleveland.com