A mother from Ohio, who has two children, is sharing her story after getting serious death threats in person and online because of a popular video. Some people are calling her “racist,” which she says is not true and comes from a big misunderstanding.
Michelle Bishop talked to Fox News Digital about her neighbor, DaMichael Jenkins. He shared a video from his Ring camera showing her looking scared at his front door. She thought he was following her in a way that made her uncomfortable and didn’t believe him when he said he lived in that house.
The incident has become widely talked about on social media, with news outlets calling her a “Karen” for thinking Jenkins was a danger just because of his race. Bishop strongly disagrees with this label.
Bishop told Fox News Digital that an incident happened on a cold November night in Delaware County, Ohio. She was jogging with her young daughter and son to see Christmas lights when a car with its headlights on started slowly driving behind them on a dark, poorly lit street.
Bishop said she moved her kids to the path, but the car didn’t go by quickly. Instead, the driver started asking her questions.
“I didn’t respond. I told my daughter, ‘Walk up this driveway, turn here, and don’t look back at the truck.’ So, we went up the driveway, reached the porch, and rang the doorbell,” Bishop said.
“At that time, no one was responding.” The truck was reversing into the garage. He stayed in his truck. I couldn’t see him, so I looked out at the road and asked, “Is this your home?” And he said, ‘Yes. I said, “I don’t believe that,” and at that time, I was fully defending myself. I was questioning it. I couldn’t change my mind at that time. I was really scared and just wanted to keep my kids safe.
Bishop tried to find safety at Jenkins’ house. The Ring doorbell video shows her telling Jenkins that she doesn’t think he lives there before running to a nearby house and shouting for help.
Later footage shows Bishop telling Jenkins that he scared her and that she was surprised. Jenkins told Bishop that he wasn’t following her; he was just looking at Christmas lights.
Bishop told Fox News Digital that she has apologized several times, but the Jenkins family would not accept her apologies. She thought the matter was settled until a video was shared in a local Facebook group and then reported by the media, leading to a flood of hateful messages calling her a racist.
“It is causing massive devastation to our family in every way that you can think,” she said. “Our family and our businesses.” We are getting a lot of threats right now, possibly hundreds or even thousands. These threats are coming through direct messages, phone calls, voicemails, and calls to our shops. Some of the threats we’ve gotten are now death threats.
One message said to Bishop, “You and your kids deserve to suffer, and you should take your own life, or someone else will do it for you.”
“We know your identity and address.” Your husband will return home as a single dad. Another message said, “You should be hanged in public.”
“There are many graphic and violent things about our children that I don’t want to share here,” she said. “Our businesses have been badly damaged, and one had to close temporarily because we received death threats. Someone called our shop and said they would kill all the employees.” “It’s having a big impact on us.”
Social media has many posts accusing Bishop of being “racist.” One post specifically said, “Michelle Bishop…” count your f—ing days.”
Jenkins, a real estate developer, appeared on the “Nightcap” podcast with former NFL players Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson earlier this week. The podcast has over 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube. During the show, Jenkins accused Bishop of racial profiling, even though she said she wasn’t aware of his race during their interaction.
Bishop told Fox News Digital that she “absolutely” did not know Jenkins was Black. She even mentioned to a neighbor at the house she ran to in fear that the person might have been White.
Bishop said, “I saw the headlights of his truck behind me. The first time I looked out at the driveway, the headlights were on, and I wasn’t trying to focus on him.” “I was dealing with the situation.” I had no idea what he looked like. As I mentioned, I thought he was a young white guy. It was all a big mistake. “That’s all it was.”
Bishop has gotten support on social media from well-known right accounts, such as commentator and author Matt Walsh.
“I’m late to this, but the internet outrage group misunderstood the situation,” Walsh said on X. The woman noticed a truck slowly following her. She got worried about the truck even before she knew who was inside. Later that night, she returned and said sorry for the mistake.
Walsh said, “That should have been the end.” No one was hurt, so everything was fine. A harmless error. Instead, this guy chooses to post the video online and embarrass her in front of everyone. Many people on social media quickly believed this without thinking and started attacking this woman’s life. Well done, everyone. Some of you will never understand.
Bishop told Fox News Digital that she wants to make up with the Jenkins family.
“I think love can fix a lot of problems, and what happened that night was just a big misunderstanding,” she said. “We care about all people, and I believe everyone deserves forgiveness. I would like the chance to have a conversation with them.”
“I believe what happened that night was a big misunderstanding,” Bishop said. “I care about their feelings and listen to their views.” I’ve never experienced what they have. I don’t know what challenges they face. I can’t comment on that. I understand their perspective and how he felt. It was a big mistake. I hope they understand that that night, I was a mom trying to protect my kids. That’s all. It was a big mistake, and if I get the chance, I would like to fix that friendship.
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