1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:06,880 Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio. 2 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:12,080 Speaker 2: News Tuesday bo San Francisco. 3 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 3: Let's see. 4 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:19,880 Speaker 4: It's April fourth, three. 5 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 5: Where are you? 6 00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 4: The nine one one call comes in at two thirty 7 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:30,120 Speaker 4: four in the morning from near downtown San Francisco. 8 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:33,159 Speaker 6: Hello, where are you? 9 00:00:34,040 --> 00:00:37,479 Speaker 4: The caller sounds stunned. He doesn't say his name, He 10 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:41,839 Speaker 4: just keeps repeating health, health, until he says, I know 11 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:42,600 Speaker 4: you hear me? 12 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:44,199 Speaker 5: Where are you? 13 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:46,000 Speaker 4: Have somebody stabbed? 14 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 2: Where are you? 15 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 4: After a minute or so, the caller starts gasping for brud, 16 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 4: I have help going to there. 17 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 7: Where are you? 18 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:58,760 Speaker 4: The nine one one operator tries to get more information 19 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:00,520 Speaker 4: out of him without much luck. 20 00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:02,400 Speaker 8: Are you outside or inside? 21 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 3: Listen to my questions? 22 00:01:04,360 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 9: I know you can hear me. 23 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 7: Well, okay, you're on the street outside. 24 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 2: I'm what I'm at? 25 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 7: He need to hospital? 26 00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:16,640 Speaker 10: Oh? 27 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:26,039 Speaker 4: Slowly he starts struggling for energy three until three minutes 28 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:27,320 Speaker 4: in he goes quiet. 29 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 9: Zero two thirty sir. And fifty three seconds. 30 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 4: The police arrive. Officer Drew Jackson is the first on 31 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 4: the scene. 32 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:39,320 Speaker 11: Hey, hey, it's a police man. 33 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 4: Zero two. 34 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 12: It's the police. 35 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:45,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, the police is there for you. 36 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 11: Can you see that. 37 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 4: This recording is from his body camera here. 38 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: In front of a four oh three main. 39 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 2: Hey, it's the police. 40 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:54,680 Speaker 3: Hey, who did this to you? 41 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:00,120 Speaker 4: The video, I should say, is awful. You can and 42 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,680 Speaker 4: see Officer Jackson come upon this body collapsed on the sidewalk. 43 00:02:04,240 --> 00:02:08,160 Speaker 4: It's a man. He looks completely helpless. He's gone pale 44 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 4: and is struggling to breathe. 45 00:02:09,880 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 2: Hey, my friend. 46 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:14,960 Speaker 4: Officer Jackson pulls up the victim's shirt to reveal stab 47 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 4: wounds and blood on his chest. He starts cutting off 48 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 4: the victim's clothes. 49 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:23,920 Speaker 5: I know, but he's not. 50 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 7: Doing too that. 51 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:31,080 Speaker 4: A few hours later, the man would be pronounced dead 52 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:40,240 Speaker 4: of multiple stab wounds to the chest and heart. The 53 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:43,480 Speaker 4: police don't know it yet, but the victim is Bob Lee, 54 00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 4: a successful tech executive and programmer who had a hand 55 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:52,440 Speaker 4: in creating many popular tech products. He worked at Google 56 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 4: on the Android phone. He was CTO of Square, the 57 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:59,480 Speaker 4: payment company, and he found a cash app, an incredibly 58 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:04,480 Speaker 4: popular pool for sending or receiving money via smartphone. He 59 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:07,960 Speaker 4: was respected and well liked in the tech industry. His 60 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:18,639 Speaker 4: death would send shockwaves through the community. What happened following 61 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:21,640 Speaker 4: this moment was unlike anything I've ever seen in San Francisco. 62 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 4: It took nine days for the police to rest a suspect. 63 00:03:26,160 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 4: In those nine days, very little was even said about 64 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 4: the investigation, and so rumors, fear, and misinformation rushed in 65 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 4: to fill the void. Online speculation turned Bobly's death into 66 00:03:38,280 --> 00:03:42,360 Speaker 4: something else, into a narrative, a story about San Francisco 67 00:03:42,640 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 4: and its decline. At first, there were some prominent figures 68 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 4: in tech who thought that Bob's murder was the manifestation 69 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 4: of all that was wrong with the city, a famously 70 00:03:56,040 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 4: progressive place that had crumbled into lawlessness bush by its 71 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:06,120 Speaker 4: own liberal policies. To them, Bob Lee's death became a 72 00:04:06,160 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 4: symbol of what came to be known as the San 73 00:04:09,040 --> 00:04:14,520 Speaker 4: Francisco doom loop. Leaders in the tech industry started calling 74 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 4: for change. They placed the blame for Bob's death at 75 00:04:18,400 --> 00:04:23,119 Speaker 4: the feet of the city's politicians. San Francisco was among 76 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:25,800 Speaker 4: the first major cities where there were calls for a 77 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:29,840 Speaker 4: return to law and order while flaunting the actual crime statistics, 78 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:32,160 Speaker 4: but it would not be the last. 79 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:36,400 Speaker 6: The Trump administration is also increasing the pressure on Minnesota. 80 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,600 Speaker 4: Thousands of immigration nations were sent to the Twin cities. 81 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:44,159 Speaker 7: Trump administration is deploying an additional two thousand National Guard 82 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 7: troops to Los Angeles. 83 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,479 Speaker 6: Amid his effort to deploy the National Guard to cities 84 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:51,240 Speaker 6: like Portland and Chicago. 85 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:56,880 Speaker 4: In the years since Bob Lee's death, President Trump would 86 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 4: deploy federal troops to several cities with Democratic leaders. 87 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 2: I don't like being up. 88 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:04,960 Speaker 9: You're talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting 89 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:07,920 Speaker 9: this once beautiful capital was. 90 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 4: He would argue that crime was quote out of control, 91 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:14,640 Speaker 4: and that these cities were burning down, that the streets 92 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,800 Speaker 4: were in crisis, and for anyone living in San Francisco, 93 00:05:18,320 --> 00:05:24,040 Speaker 4: this kind of language might sound pretty familiar. The San 94 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:26,720 Speaker 4: Francisco Doom Loop was only the first chapter of how 95 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:31,520 Speaker 4: Bobley's death was spun. After that, when details of Bobley's 96 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 4: personal life started being reported out in the press, a 97 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 4: new story started to emerge. Bob was held up as 98 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:42,000 Speaker 4: an example of the tech industry's excessive party scene, replete 99 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:48,640 Speaker 4: with sex, drugs, and house music. What was the real story, 100 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,720 Speaker 4: Why was Bob Lee killed? And who really was to 101 00:05:52,720 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 4: blame the city, the industry, or something else entirely. I'm 102 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:16,040 Speaker 4: sean wen, this is foundering. The killing of Bob Lee. 103 00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:24,159 Speaker 5: I'm trying. I should look up with our last text 104 00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:25,560 Speaker 5: message hold on me. 105 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 4: I first met Bobley's former wife, Chrystal Lee, at her 106 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 4: family home in Marin County. She moved there after she 107 00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 4: and Bob separated, while he stayed in the penthouse apartment 108 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,599 Speaker 4: in San Francisco. She still lives there with their kids 109 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:40,240 Speaker 4: and her partner. 110 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:42,840 Speaker 5: Okay, so this was in April third and eight, eight 111 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:45,520 Speaker 5: or six pm. How are you feeling hanging with Bow 112 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 5: in the city And I messaged back, Hey, sexy boys, 113 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:50,559 Speaker 5: I'm in bed, not suitable for public eye. I feel 114 00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:52,840 Speaker 5: like crap, Like just leave me alone and say, oh 115 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:55,760 Speaker 5: I feel better, babe. We'll hit you up tomorrow. And 116 00:06:55,800 --> 00:06:58,919 Speaker 5: that was the last message that I heard from him. 117 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 4: Krista and Bob met when they were both twenty two 118 00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:06,320 Speaker 4: years old. They became adults together and raised kids. They 119 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:10,760 Speaker 4: divorced in twenty eighteen after a sixteen year relationship, but 120 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:14,600 Speaker 4: they stayed close, not just we have kids close, but 121 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:18,200 Speaker 4: we still party together close. They had a shared family 122 00:07:18,200 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 4: group text and were in constant touch. 123 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 5: He'll send a message on our family thread, you know, 124 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 5: love you guys, see you soon. He was always in 125 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 5: communication with our family. 126 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 4: It was the morning of April fourth. Bob had moved 127 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:32,440 Speaker 4: to Miami a few months before all of this, but 128 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:34,280 Speaker 4: he was back in town for a work trip and 129 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 4: to see his daughter's school play. Krista had seen him 130 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 4: the night before, but hadn't heard from him all morning. 131 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 4: She was in the car with her daughter. 132 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:44,760 Speaker 5: I was driving and I said, do me a favorite 133 00:07:44,840 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 5: check Dad's location for me. Something's not right. 134 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 4: Bob's phone showed that he was at the police station. 135 00:07:51,440 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 4: After Krista dropped her daughter off at school, she texted him. 136 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:58,480 Speaker 5: April fourth, nine, forty nine, am Are. 137 00:07:58,360 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 2: You in jail? 138 00:07:59,080 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 5: Question mark? 139 00:07:59,680 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 12: Question? 140 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 5: Question mark? I got multiple calls at six am from 141 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 5: Zuckerberg General Hospital, no message, and when I called back, 142 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 5: they said it was probably just auto update confirmation for 143 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 5: an appointment, but I don't have appointments there. Then I 144 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 5: had Scout double check your location. It shows you at 145 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 5: the police station. 146 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:18,640 Speaker 4: She didn't hear back. A few hours passed. 147 00:08:21,040 --> 00:08:23,400 Speaker 5: We were out back having lunch and I tried to 148 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 5: call him again. It was going right to voicemail. I'm like, 149 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:29,880 Speaker 5: this isn't right. I've got a weird feeling. Shortly after that, 150 00:08:29,880 --> 00:08:33,079 Speaker 5: that's when our friend Ali called me and said, babes, 151 00:08:33,080 --> 00:08:34,880 Speaker 5: have you talked to Bob this morning? 152 00:08:35,240 --> 00:08:36,960 Speaker 4: Ali is a close friend of Bob's. 153 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 5: He goes, I don't want to alarm you, but it 154 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:41,199 Speaker 5: shows his location at the police station. And of course 155 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:43,360 Speaker 5: then I kind of giggled to myself, like, how many 156 00:08:43,400 --> 00:08:47,360 Speaker 5: people have your location? Honey? Ali was like, you know, 157 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:49,560 Speaker 5: I'm in the area. I'm going to go see what's 158 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 5: going on, Like, did he get beat up? Did something 159 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:57,600 Speaker 5: happen the I guess A receptionist and at the at 160 00:08:57,640 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 5: the police station said, you know, the person matching this 161 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 5: description was taken to the hospital. My heart dropped, and 162 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:10,720 Speaker 5: I mean we left the house within two seconds of 163 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 5: that and went down there and Ali said I'm on 164 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:16,720 Speaker 5: my way there right now. And of course the entire drive, 165 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 5: we're thinking, Okay, what happened? What damn it, Bob? What 166 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:22,520 Speaker 5: did you do? Or even worse, you know, did he 167 00:09:22,559 --> 00:09:26,360 Speaker 5: get attacked by someone? You know, what's going on here? 168 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:27,320 Speaker 5: Nothing made sense. 169 00:09:28,559 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 4: Christal arrived at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital with her 170 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:33,160 Speaker 4: partner Jeremy. 171 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:36,800 Speaker 5: I walked up, I gave them my ID and the 172 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:39,920 Speaker 5: one said, oh, okay, let's take you back to this 173 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:43,040 Speaker 5: private waiting room. I'm thinking, what the fuck is going 174 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:45,120 Speaker 5: on here? And then maybe about five minutes past and 175 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:47,240 Speaker 5: it's just kind of a we're kind of making little 176 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:50,240 Speaker 5: jokes here and there, like what is going on with Bob. 177 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 5: Shortly after that, a nurse and the attending doctor came 178 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:59,200 Speaker 5: into the waiting room and said, you're the wife of 179 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:03,440 Speaker 5: Bob Lee, a former wife, Crystal Lee. And he's like, 180 00:10:03,559 --> 00:10:06,559 Speaker 5: I'm so sorry to inform you, but we did everything 181 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:15,920 Speaker 5: we could, but we couldn't say Bob. I almost passed out. 182 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:19,240 Speaker 5: This flush went over me and it was like, you know, 183 00:10:19,280 --> 00:10:21,080 Speaker 5: I couldn't even hear what he was saying anymore. It 184 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:23,560 Speaker 5: was just all of a sudden, you know, ears are death, 185 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 5: and I'm listening to this person try to tell me, 186 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:28,280 Speaker 5: you know, and they don't even say his name. They 187 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:31,120 Speaker 5: keep saying a man matching his description, and I. 188 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:33,840 Speaker 4: Was like, what the what the fuck? What is going 189 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:34,199 Speaker 4: on here? 190 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 5: And I'm looking at Jeremy and I couldn't even make 191 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:38,680 Speaker 5: a tear. I couldn't catch my breath, and they wanted 192 00:10:38,679 --> 00:10:40,320 Speaker 5: me to stick around. They wanted me to talk to 193 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:42,320 Speaker 5: the medical examiner all this other stuff, and it's like 194 00:10:42,559 --> 00:10:44,360 Speaker 5: the only thing I could think of was I have 195 00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:47,240 Speaker 5: to go home. My kids just got out of school. 196 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:49,880 Speaker 5: They're at the house. I have to go home now. 197 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:53,800 Speaker 5: I have to tell my children that their father was 198 00:10:54,280 --> 00:10:55,000 Speaker 5: stabbed to death. 199 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:03,720 Speaker 4: Krista made the hour long drive back to her house. 200 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:05,600 Speaker 4: She pulled in the driveway. 201 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:07,640 Speaker 5: I just kind of sat in the car, looking out 202 00:11:07,679 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 5: the window and hoping that I was going to get 203 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:13,640 Speaker 5: a call saying, oops, wrong guy, never mind it was 204 00:11:13,679 --> 00:11:14,720 Speaker 5: some other blonde dude. 205 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:18,040 Speaker 4: When that called didn't come, she went inside to see 206 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:18,560 Speaker 4: her kids. 207 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:24,000 Speaker 5: So I walked upstairs to their rooms and said, I 208 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:26,559 Speaker 5: need to tell you that something happened to dad last 209 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 5: night and he was taken to the hospital and Dad 210 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,840 Speaker 5: passed away early this morning. I didn't really know how 211 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:35,600 Speaker 5: to express to my child, like what words that you're 212 00:11:35,600 --> 00:11:40,240 Speaker 5: supposed to use. And I just remember looking at Scout 213 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 5: and it's our fifteen year old. She's got the big 214 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:47,280 Speaker 5: Disney princess eyes where they just welled up in tears. 215 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:50,560 Speaker 5: So I'm laying there with Bolt, like with my children, 216 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:54,199 Speaker 5: and not really making sense of it all, but just 217 00:11:54,240 --> 00:12:03,600 Speaker 5: feeling pain, absolute pain. Within minutes, I received calls from 218 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:06,120 Speaker 5: dozens of people. Is it real? 219 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:08,640 Speaker 4: I'm like as far as I know, I think so. 220 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:12,720 Speaker 5: Yeah. And then shortly after that, one of our best 221 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:14,920 Speaker 5: friends called and said I just saw on the news, 222 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:18,640 Speaker 5: And at that point in time, my heart shattered. I'm like, 223 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:20,720 Speaker 5: how the fuck is this already on the news? 224 00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 2: Thank you? 225 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:23,199 Speaker 10: RAINA seven oh one and the breaking news. 226 00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:24,760 Speaker 5: A tech executive is dead. 227 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:27,959 Speaker 10: He was stabbed in San Francisco south of Market Street. 228 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:28,240 Speaker 3: Yeah. 229 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 10: The latest reports have identified the victim as Bob Lee, 230 00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:32,720 Speaker 10: the founder of cash App. 231 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,480 Speaker 5: Someone out there has already run doing the media saying, 232 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,439 Speaker 5: you know, cash app founder Bob Lee stabbed to death. 233 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:43,600 Speaker 3: He's widely known as the founder of cash app, a 234 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:45,920 Speaker 3: popular mobile payment service. 235 00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 4: He is a giant in the tech field. 236 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:52,000 Speaker 13: His death certainly sending shockwaves through the tech community. 237 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:52,280 Speaker 3: Here. 238 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:54,680 Speaker 5: I was on the phone with my father and I 239 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:57,080 Speaker 5: started crying. I'm like, Dad, I gotta go. Bob's on 240 00:12:57,120 --> 00:12:57,560 Speaker 5: the news. 241 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:00,640 Speaker 3: Police officers rushed out there, but by the time they 242 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:06,319 Speaker 3: got there, the killer or killers were long gone. 243 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 4: The initial wave of news stories are pretty bare bones. 244 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 4: They mentioned Bob's name and the fact that he was killed, 245 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:16,920 Speaker 4: but they don't mention a suspect or a weapon. Then 246 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 4: the story changes at eight oh one, PM the night 247 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:24,920 Speaker 4: of April fourth, only eighteen hours after Bob was stabbed, 248 00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,760 Speaker 4: a retired MMA fighter named Jake Shields goes on Twitter 249 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:32,200 Speaker 4: and posts quote, I just found out that my good 250 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 4: friend was killed last night while walking in San Francisco. 251 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:37,880 Speaker 4: He was in the good part of town and appears 252 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:41,079 Speaker 4: to have been targeted in a random mugging slash attack. 253 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:48,080 Speaker 4: Suck San Francisco. Nowadays, Jake is a podcast host. He's 254 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:52,120 Speaker 4: interviewed holocaust deniers and white nationalists, but at the time 255 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,880 Speaker 4: he was simply a semi famous guy on Twitter. Soon 256 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,680 Speaker 4: more voices join in, many identifying as venture capitalists and 257 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:05,079 Speaker 4: tech founders. We've trimmed these tweets for length. Rip at 258 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:09,319 Speaker 4: crazy Bob, this is fucking horrific. Fuck you SF politicians. 259 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:12,760 Speaker 4: Fuck you. Can we please stand up and completely purge 260 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:16,160 Speaker 4: SF politics now and start over? How many more of 261 00:14:16,200 --> 00:14:19,640 Speaker 4: these are we going to see? Another? One reads Chase A. 262 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:22,760 Speaker 4: Boudin and the criminal loving city council that enabled him 263 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:26,000 Speaker 4: in a lawless SF for years have Bob's literal blood 264 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:31,480 Speaker 4: on their hands. This last tweet was referencing Chase A. Boudin, 265 00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 4: a progressive da who ran on policies like bail reform 266 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 4: and reducing the prison population. He was removed from office 267 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:45,000 Speaker 4: after a very contentious recall vote. By the time Bob 268 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:48,240 Speaker 4: was killed, members of the tech industry had been rallying 269 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:51,160 Speaker 4: for months around the message that crime in San Francisco 270 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,760 Speaker 4: was out of control, and now one of their own 271 00:14:54,960 --> 00:14:58,080 Speaker 4: was dead. That's when the richest man in the world 272 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:01,960 Speaker 4: chimes in, taking the to a whole new level of infamy. 273 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:08,000 Speaker 4: At two twenty seven am, Elon Musk tweets very sorry 274 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:11,720 Speaker 4: to hear that many people I know have been severely assaulted. 275 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:15,600 Speaker 4: Violent crime in San Francisco is horrific and even if 276 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:19,280 Speaker 4: attackers are caught, they are often released immediately. Is the 277 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:23,440 Speaker 4: city taking stronger action to incarcerate repeat offenders at Brook 278 00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:24,480 Speaker 4: Jenkins SF. 279 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:27,960 Speaker 1: So I woke up, I remember early in the morning 280 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:31,120 Speaker 1: to that tweet already being in my inbox. 281 00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:35,640 Speaker 4: That's Brook Jenkins, the current DA of San Francisco. She 282 00:15:35,800 --> 00:15:37,000 Speaker 4: was appointed after Chase A. 283 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 1: Boudin was recalled, and me having to, you know, out 284 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:44,400 Speaker 1: of the fog of waking up, realize what exactly I 285 00:15:44,480 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 1: was looking at in that it was in fact Elon 286 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:54,120 Speaker 1: Musk who had tagged me in this tweet. About this case. 287 00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,640 Speaker 4: Were you surprised he even knew who you were? 288 00:15:57,360 --> 00:15:57,560 Speaker 6: Oh? 289 00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:03,400 Speaker 1: Absolutely, I was shocked that he knew my name at all. 290 00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:08,920 Speaker 1: I think about six million people saw it within twenty 291 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:14,600 Speaker 1: four hours, and so the flood of media interest began 292 00:16:14,880 --> 00:16:15,760 Speaker 1: almost right away. 293 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,080 Speaker 2: All Right, here's a horrible story, then we'll talk about Trump. 294 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:23,720 Speaker 4: The next morning, things moved beyond the walls of Twitter 295 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:26,720 Speaker 4: when conservative YouTubers take up the story. 296 00:16:27,200 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 9: Tech executive Bob Lee, founder of cash app, was stabbed 297 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:34,400 Speaker 9: to death in San Francisco on the three hundred block 298 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:35,200 Speaker 9: of Main Street. 299 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:38,400 Speaker 4: This is the late Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert. 300 00:16:38,520 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 9: Now this caught my attention not only because it was 301 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:44,320 Speaker 9: a horrible tragedy, but this is the same block that 302 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 9: I was attacked with. 303 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:49,000 Speaker 4: A knife two months before this. Dilbert was dropped by 304 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,480 Speaker 4: major newspapers all over the country when Adams made racist 305 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:56,200 Speaker 4: statements about black people, he became a YouTuber commenting on 306 00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:57,040 Speaker 4: the news of the day. 307 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:01,240 Speaker 9: So in the eighties, I was robbed twice at gunpoint 308 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:04,480 Speaker 9: while I was a bank teller in downtown San Francisco. 309 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:07,160 Speaker 4: He then goes on to suggest that cities are done for. 310 00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:11,200 Speaker 2: I tend to think the cities are dead. I think 311 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:11,680 Speaker 2: they're dead. 312 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:14,719 Speaker 9: I think the next time the cities will be alive 313 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:16,400 Speaker 9: is when robots rebuilt them. 314 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:20,320 Speaker 2: That could be a while. All right, let's talk about 315 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:21,120 Speaker 2: Trump's arrangement. 316 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:25,520 Speaker 11: Clearly, what's happening in San Francisco is political. 317 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:29,160 Speaker 4: This is Luke Rudkowski, a prominent nine to eleven truther 318 00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:30,960 Speaker 4: and an Alex Jones acolyte. 319 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,240 Speaker 11: The latest high profile incident that happened in San Francisco 320 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:37,159 Speaker 11: happened where a major tech executive and the founder of 321 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,600 Speaker 11: cash app, Bobb Lee, was viciously attacked in the middle 322 00:17:40,600 --> 00:17:42,359 Speaker 11: of the night and then lost his life at the 323 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:43,600 Speaker 11: age of forty three. 324 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:47,720 Speaker 4: News of Lee's death caught the attention of many commentators, 325 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 4: from those on the fringe to those who are increasingly mainstream. 326 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:54,200 Speaker 3: Dave Rubin this is the Ruben reported April sixth, twenty 327 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:57,080 Speaker 3: twenty three, were live streaming on Rumble YouTube and locals. 328 00:17:57,359 --> 00:18:01,240 Speaker 4: Dave Rubin is a conservative YouTuber channel has almost three 329 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:02,520 Speaker 4: million subscribers. 330 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:04,480 Speaker 3: And it's not just that they're pushing all of the 331 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:07,080 Speaker 3: gender stuff and the race stuff and that they lied 332 00:18:07,119 --> 00:18:09,440 Speaker 3: about COVID and everything else. It's that there is also 333 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:14,760 Speaker 3: an unbelievable amount of crime happening in blue cities right now. 334 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:16,639 Speaker 3: You know what, We cover it all the time. But 335 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:19,119 Speaker 3: the worst of the worst, as you guys know, is 336 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:24,000 Speaker 3: San Francisco. San Francisco has completely collapsed. Elon Musk's comments 337 00:18:24,040 --> 00:18:26,359 Speaker 3: are completely right, the amount of security he has to 338 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:29,200 Speaker 3: have at the Twitter offices, which is in the midst 339 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:31,159 Speaker 3: of a zombie apocalypse. 340 00:18:31,840 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 4: And then Ruben goes on to connect this to the 341 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 4: city's political leaders. 342 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:39,119 Speaker 3: Why is it the Democrat cities look like that? If 343 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:42,760 Speaker 3: you can find Republican led cities that look like that, 344 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:45,440 Speaker 3: please send me the video and I will show it 345 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 3: and I will go after the Republican mayor in those 346 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:50,680 Speaker 3: cities that's doing it. 347 00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:53,919 Speaker 4: It's worth pausing here to ask where does San Francisco's 348 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:58,080 Speaker 4: reputation as a crime written hellhole come from. The data 349 00:18:58,119 --> 00:19:01,160 Speaker 4: show that all reported crime and San Francisco is at 350 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:05,800 Speaker 4: a twenty year low. During those early years of the pandemic. 351 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:10,320 Speaker 4: Crime was also trending down overall, according to SFPD data. 352 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:15,640 Speaker 4: The exceptions that stand out include Carthieff's burglaries and homicides, 353 00:19:16,280 --> 00:19:20,640 Speaker 4: all of which increased a little, but the homicide rate 354 00:19:20,720 --> 00:19:24,439 Speaker 4: is still among the lowest of major cities in the US. 355 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:28,480 Speaker 4: In twenty twenty three, the year Bobbly was killed, he 356 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:33,119 Speaker 4: was one of only fifty five homicides. But San Francisco 357 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:36,320 Speaker 4: suffers from a persistent gap between what the data show 358 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:41,160 Speaker 4: and how people feel. This has prompted questions about how 359 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:45,240 Speaker 4: crime data is gathered, and some prominent tech voices have 360 00:19:45,400 --> 00:19:50,720 Speaker 4: suggested throwing out the stats altogether. This topic is kind 361 00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:54,000 Speaker 4: of a minefield, and many people who are much more 362 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:56,439 Speaker 4: knowledgeable than I am have made a go at it. 363 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:00,199 Speaker 4: But what I want to get at is a feeling 364 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:08,720 Speaker 4: a disconnect between the data and people's experiences. I remember, 365 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:11,480 Speaker 4: not long after I moved here, about a decade ago, 366 00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 4: I was crossing the street and I saw a man 367 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:18,040 Speaker 4: lying face down right where the crosswalk met the sidewalk. 368 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 4: So to reach the sidewalk you had to step over 369 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:24,680 Speaker 4: his body, and that's what everyone at this intersection did, 370 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:28,679 Speaker 4: including me. We walked right past him, not knowing if 371 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:33,160 Speaker 4: he was alive or dead. While this kind of human 372 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:36,840 Speaker 4: suffering is not unique to San Francisco, there's something about 373 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:41,240 Speaker 4: it here that just feels different. It's more casual, more 374 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 4: in your face, in your daily life, on your way 375 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:47,080 Speaker 4: to work, on your way to dinner, on the walk 376 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:49,840 Speaker 4: to pick up groceries, you might see someone shooting up 377 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:52,800 Speaker 4: at the bart station, or sitting on the sidewalk with 378 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:55,960 Speaker 4: open soores on their legs, or having a mental health 379 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,680 Speaker 4: episode in the middle of traffic, and most long time 380 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:09,480 Speaker 4: sam cosiscents would tell you, unfortunately, that's not new. There's 381 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:12,560 Speaker 4: research that shows that worrying about crime can become a 382 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 4: chronic emotional state that shapes how people see the world 383 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:20,440 Speaker 4: around them. It can sow anxiety and mistrust even when 384 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:25,080 Speaker 4: crime rates are stable or falling. The research also shows 385 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:28,240 Speaker 4: that people who worry more about crime also tend to 386 00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:33,919 Speaker 4: see common nuisances as threatening, things like noisy neighbors, litter, graffiti, 387 00:21:34,320 --> 00:21:38,000 Speaker 4: or just visible groups of teenagers hanging out to them. 388 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:42,920 Speaker 4: These are signs of social decline. Crime during and immediately 389 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:48,159 Speaker 4: after COVID was a nationwide conversation, but San Francisco especially 390 00:21:48,359 --> 00:21:49,199 Speaker 4: was a hot topic. 391 00:21:50,080 --> 00:21:53,400 Speaker 7: Comedian Dave Chappelle was not the usual jokes and giggles 392 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,640 Speaker 7: during a surprise show last week, instead going off about 393 00:21:56,720 --> 00:21:59,760 Speaker 7: San Francisco's high crime and rampant homelessness. 394 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:03,800 Speaker 4: Bob Lee was killed during a moment when San Francisco 395 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:07,399 Speaker 4: had become a national punching bag based on the reputation 396 00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:10,880 Speaker 4: that wasn't completely inaccurate. 397 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:15,240 Speaker 10: The commedian asking the audience quote, what the blank happened 398 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:19,960 Speaker 10: to this place? He didn't say blank, saying the whole 399 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:25,560 Speaker 10: city was now the tenderloin. As a district notorist for crime, homelessness, 400 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:27,000 Speaker 10: drug problems. 401 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,440 Speaker 4: Florida Governor Ron de Santis flew in just to dump 402 00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:32,080 Speaker 4: on the city for a campaign spot. 403 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:35,200 Speaker 6: We're here in the once great city of San Francisco. 404 00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 6: We came in here and we saw people defecating on 405 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,879 Speaker 6: the street. We saw people using heroin, we saw people 406 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:47,359 Speaker 6: smoking crack cocaine, and you look around. The city is 407 00:22:47,400 --> 00:22:51,879 Speaker 6: not vibrant anymore. It's really collapsed because of leftist policies. 408 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:57,520 Speaker 4: After the break, the weight of this national scrutiny comes 409 00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:01,720 Speaker 4: down on a few local politicians. We'll be right back. 410 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:17,000 Speaker 4: By Wednesday night, less than forty eight hours after bob 411 00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:20,520 Speaker 4: was killed, city officials could see the narrative spinning out 412 00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:21,080 Speaker 4: of control. 413 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:23,879 Speaker 12: I learned about Bobly's murder in the same way that 414 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:27,080 Speaker 12: most people did, just seeing coverage from the media and 415 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:27,919 Speaker 12: on social media. 416 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:31,760 Speaker 4: This is Kevin Benedicto, a San Francisco police commissioner. 417 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,159 Speaker 12: What you saw right away was people jumping to conclusions, 418 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:37,960 Speaker 12: blaming the house, blaming open air drug markets. 419 00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:41,560 Speaker 4: In San Francisco, a police commissioner is not the city's 420 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:46,200 Speaker 4: top cop the way there's in New York or in Batman. Instead, 421 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:49,320 Speaker 4: the commission is like a civilian advisory board that's meant 422 00:23:49,320 --> 00:23:54,480 Speaker 4: to oversee police misconduct. It's basically a volunteer gig bob 423 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:57,320 Speaker 4: Ley happened to die the night before a routine police 424 00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:00,359 Speaker 4: commission meeting which would be broadcast to the pub blick. 425 00:24:01,160 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 4: So before the meeting starts, Benadicto wants to talk to 426 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:06,600 Speaker 4: the city police chief, a guy named Bill Scott. 427 00:24:06,920 --> 00:24:09,400 Speaker 12: One reason why I wanted to speak to the chief 428 00:24:09,400 --> 00:24:11,959 Speaker 12: of police before the commission meeting was to ask if 429 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 12: there was any evidence that this was linked to opener 430 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 12: drug markets, if there was any evidence that this was 431 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:19,040 Speaker 12: connected to any and how'se individuals or anyone in a 432 00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:21,359 Speaker 12: mental health crisis. And at that point of the answer 433 00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:23,480 Speaker 12: was no, there was nothing that connected to those things, 434 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:27,080 Speaker 12: and all the evidence pointed to that not being the case. 435 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:33,000 Speaker 12: What really, I think most frustrated and really disgusted me 436 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 12: was what seemed to me an attempt to weaponize this 437 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:41,560 Speaker 12: tragedy to advance an existing political agenda and to advance 438 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:44,760 Speaker 12: political narratives about the state of San Francisco, when we 439 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:47,720 Speaker 12: were less than twenty four hours, when the investigation was 440 00:24:47,720 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 12: still in its early stages, and there wasn't really any 441 00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:53,040 Speaker 12: evidence to suggest any of those things, and all the 442 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:56,760 Speaker 12: sort of statistical data suggested really quite the opposite. 443 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:02,560 Speaker 4: At the commission meeting that night, Benedicto decides to make 444 00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:04,040 Speaker 4: a statement about Bob Lee. 445 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:07,240 Speaker 12: I do feel compelled to comment on what we're seeing. 446 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:11,040 Speaker 12: I do feel like some people out there on the 447 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:14,600 Speaker 12: media and social media that are exploiting this horrific incident 448 00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:16,440 Speaker 12: for political gain. 449 00:25:17,320 --> 00:25:21,040 Speaker 4: Like most government commission meetings, this one was sparsely attended, 450 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:24,080 Speaker 4: so he thinks he's speaking to a small group of people. 451 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:27,520 Speaker 12: So much of the coverage in this short amount of 452 00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:32,840 Speaker 12: time has been a significant amount of misrepresenting facts, of 453 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:36,960 Speaker 12: fear mongering, and of trying to exploit this tragedy. The 454 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:39,000 Speaker 12: thrust of my statement was really, wait and see, we 455 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:41,040 Speaker 12: don't know all the facts. The Department will update the 456 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:43,920 Speaker 12: public and the Commission when we do and would discourage 457 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:49,199 Speaker 12: people from reading the fear mongering and the politicization and 458 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:52,120 Speaker 12: things on Twitter, including things by the CEO of Twitter. 459 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:58,600 Speaker 12: So I got home, I went to bed and woke 460 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:04,520 Speaker 12: up to dozens, maybe over one hundred negative responses and 461 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:06,680 Speaker 12: mentions directly in emails, including threats. 462 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:15,960 Speaker 4: Police commission meetings are taped, and unbeknownst to Benedicto, his 463 00:26:16,080 --> 00:26:19,080 Speaker 4: comments were cut into a short video clip and tweeted 464 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:22,280 Speaker 4: out by a local news outlet called The San Francisco Standard. 465 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:24,840 Speaker 12: It had gotten I think upwards of one or two 466 00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:27,920 Speaker 12: million views. I since stroked. I watched my remarks back 467 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:29,639 Speaker 12: to make sure that I didn't confess to the murderer, 468 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:33,479 Speaker 12: because why else would someone be spreading me and spreading 469 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 12: my family bad One that said, I hope your mom 470 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:38,639 Speaker 12: gets stabbed, and let's see if you say we should 471 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:41,640 Speaker 12: wait and see when it's your mom to get stabbed. 472 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:46,840 Speaker 4: One of the people to jump on him was Jason Calacanis, 473 00:26:47,359 --> 00:26:50,960 Speaker 4: a prominent venture capitalist. He tweeted in all caps and 474 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:55,000 Speaker 4: with minimal punctuation. These are the lunatics running San Francisco, 475 00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:59,720 Speaker 4: evil and competent fools and grifters who accomplish nothing except 476 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:02,800 Speaker 4: in name bling rampant violence, vote them out. 477 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:08,439 Speaker 12: I really do feel empathy for their immediate fear and 478 00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:12,960 Speaker 12: anxiety when there's violence that strikes into our community, particularly 479 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,480 Speaker 12: if it's sort of a subset of a community that 480 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:17,960 Speaker 12: you belong to, just have just goes home to many 481 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 12: tech companies that are many tech workers, and so to 482 00:27:20,160 --> 00:27:23,360 Speaker 12: feel that anxiety, I totally empathize that, But it really 483 00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:26,600 Speaker 12: felt quite distasteful to be sort of the conclusions. 484 00:27:26,840 --> 00:27:31,880 Speaker 4: Benedicto's empathy was not necessarily returned. Jason Kalakanas, the guy 485 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,359 Speaker 4: who called Kevin Benedicto an evil and competent fool, is 486 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:37,840 Speaker 4: one of the four hosts of the All In podcasts. 487 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:42,240 Speaker 4: The show has nearly nine hundred thousand subscribers on YouTube, 488 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 4: and I want to talk about All In for a 489 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:49,480 Speaker 4: moment specifically because of who those hosts are. All for 490 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:53,439 Speaker 4: our powerful tech leaders, all for our venture capitalists with 491 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:58,119 Speaker 4: connections to PayPal, Facebook, and Uber, among other companies. They 492 00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:03,240 Speaker 4: are powerful businessmen who've built up a very successful podcast. Also, 493 00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:06,240 Speaker 4: they've been some of the loudest critics of San Francisco 494 00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:11,720 Speaker 4: politics since twenty twenty. Here's Calacanas. Politicians are sending their 495 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:12,600 Speaker 4: thoughts in prayers. 496 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:16,760 Speaker 8: But obviously San Francisco is still a very dangerous place, 497 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:17,280 Speaker 8: it seems. 498 00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:20,440 Speaker 4: The next voice is a guy named David Friedberg. 499 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:24,760 Speaker 8: I used to live two blocks from where the event happened. 500 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:29,000 Speaker 8: I'll zoom out. Is it a bad tis in Soma 501 00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:31,199 Speaker 8: at ring Con Center? Is it part of all that 502 00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:36,920 Speaker 8: drug craziness? No, it's just a nice area. Look, here's 503 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:38,760 Speaker 8: the thing. If you park at a parking meter in 504 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:41,080 Speaker 8: San Francisco for eight minutes too long, you get a 505 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:44,440 Speaker 8: sixty to one hundred dollars parking ticket. And San Francisco 506 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:47,840 Speaker 8: has become an upside down town. What I mean by 507 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:50,280 Speaker 8: that is I think that, like so much of the 508 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:54,920 Speaker 8: response to concerns about the powerful having too much influence 509 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:59,040 Speaker 8: over those who are less powerful, the response has been 510 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:02,280 Speaker 8: to turn things upside down, which is to give those 511 00:29:02,360 --> 00:29:05,240 Speaker 8: who were lacking in the power structure everything and to 512 00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:07,040 Speaker 8: try and take everything away from those who are at 513 00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:08,240 Speaker 8: the top of the power structure. 514 00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 4: Look, there are clearly differences between the all in guys 515 00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:17,080 Speaker 4: and right wing pundits like Dave Rubin or the outright 516 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:21,360 Speaker 4: conspiracy theorists like Luke Rutkowski. People listen to all In 517 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:26,520 Speaker 4: because the hosts are incredibly successful investors offering business insights. 518 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:31,680 Speaker 4: But there are some key parallels too. They're freely zipping 519 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:36,040 Speaker 4: between Bob Lee's murder and unrelated topics like Walgreens and 520 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:40,240 Speaker 4: parking tickets, and they also speculate quite openly. 521 00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:42,520 Speaker 14: We don't know exactly what happened yet. 522 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:46,600 Speaker 4: This is David Sachs, an early PayPal executive. He's probably 523 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:48,840 Speaker 4: the most prominent among the all In guys. 524 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:52,320 Speaker 15: I think we suspect, and I would bet dollars to 525 00:29:52,480 --> 00:29:54,880 Speaker 15: dimes that the story is very similar to a case 526 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:58,080 Speaker 15: we had in LA recently, that Brianna Kupfer case, where 527 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:01,520 Speaker 15: a young woman was basically stabbed for no reason by 528 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:04,520 Speaker 15: a psychotic, homeless person who could have been locked up, 529 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:07,200 Speaker 15: who has arrested multiple times but was not kept locked 530 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:11,240 Speaker 15: up because of this push for decarceration. But this idea 531 00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:14,080 Speaker 15: of just releasing these people onto the street, I just 532 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:19,920 Speaker 15: think is an outrageous abdication of responsibility by our elected officials. 533 00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:24,320 Speaker 4: To be clear, there was nothing tying Bob Lee's death 534 00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:28,360 Speaker 4: to the death of Brianna Kupfer in LA. At this point, 535 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:32,520 Speaker 4: there was no suspect publicly identified and no evidence linking 536 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:37,000 Speaker 4: Bob's murder to homelessness or mental illness. It was all speculation. 537 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:41,920 Speaker 4: I should mention. In the years since, David Sacks's political 538 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:46,720 Speaker 4: involvement has only deepened, but crime in San Francisco was 539 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:50,520 Speaker 4: one of the first examples of SAX prominently waiting into 540 00:30:50,560 --> 00:30:51,440 Speaker 4: a political fight. 541 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:58,600 Speaker 14: These elected leaders they are setting loose on us a predatory, 542 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:03,480 Speaker 14: criminal or icotic element that jeopardizes our safety and makes 543 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:04,600 Speaker 14: these cities unlivable. 544 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:09,160 Speaker 4: David Sachs turned down my request for an interview. Jason 545 00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:16,880 Speaker 4: Calacanis and David Friedberg did not respond. Meanwhile, amidst the speculation, 546 00:31:17,520 --> 00:31:18,200 Speaker 4: time ticked on. 547 00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:23,040 Speaker 7: Four days later, still no arrests or suspects identified in 548 00:31:23,120 --> 00:31:26,760 Speaker 7: Tuesday's tragic murder of tech executive Bob Lee. Last night, 549 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:30,440 Speaker 7: police Chief Phil Scott said there have been good developments. Reportedly, 550 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:32,880 Speaker 7: a kitchen knife with a four inch blade was found 551 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:35,200 Speaker 7: in a nearby parking lot. 552 00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:38,840 Speaker 4: One week after Bob's death. Crystal Lee, Bob's former wife, 553 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:41,080 Speaker 4: was starting to pick up the pieces. 554 00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:44,880 Speaker 5: I headed out and had to fly to Miami to 555 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:48,520 Speaker 5: do something I wished in my life I'd never have 556 00:31:48,600 --> 00:31:51,880 Speaker 5: to do, and that is to go through someone's apartment 557 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:56,240 Speaker 5: and pack things up and also look for evidence because 558 00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:58,640 Speaker 5: at this time there was no suspect. 559 00:31:59,320 --> 00:32:03,720 Speaker 4: However, some new information had leaked to the press, including 560 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:05,160 Speaker 4: security recordings. 561 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:10,880 Speaker 7: The Daily Mail website obtained this heartbreaking footage showingly staggering 562 00:32:10,880 --> 00:32:14,520 Speaker 7: along the sidewalk leading trying to flag down a driver 563 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:16,520 Speaker 7: or a doorman to no avail. 564 00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:24,880 Speaker 4: Then, nine days after the murder for breaking news right now, 565 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:26,840 Speaker 4: it seems there might have been an arrest. 566 00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:29,960 Speaker 7: San Francisco Police Department has arrested a suspect and the 567 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:32,520 Speaker 7: murder of tech executive Bob Lee. 568 00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:35,840 Speaker 4: There was big news. The Mayor, the DA and the 569 00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:38,040 Speaker 4: Chief of Police held a joint press conference. 570 00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:43,240 Speaker 13: On April fourth, twenty twenty three. At approximately two thirty am, 571 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:47,360 Speaker 13: San Francisco Police officers from Southern Station responded to the 572 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:49,680 Speaker 13: three hundred block of Main Street for a report of 573 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:54,720 Speaker 13: a stabbing. Our homicide investigators developed information that identified the 574 00:32:54,760 --> 00:33:04,280 Speaker 13: suspect as thirty eight year old Nima Momeni of Emoryville, California. 575 00:33:02,440 --> 00:33:08,640 Speaker 4: Who San Francisco Police arrested thirty eight year old Nima Momenti. 576 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:12,520 Speaker 3: The suspect is another tech executive who knew Lee. 577 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:14,600 Speaker 5: I did not know the name. I had never heard 578 00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:17,400 Speaker 5: of him before. They showed pictures of him. I looked 579 00:33:17,440 --> 00:33:19,760 Speaker 5: him up. I had no idea who this person was. 580 00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:22,360 Speaker 4: Here's police Chief Bill Scott. 581 00:33:22,840 --> 00:33:26,000 Speaker 13: We can confirm that mister Lee and mister Momenti knew 582 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:30,800 Speaker 13: each other. Mister Momeni was taken into custody without incident 583 00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:34,960 Speaker 13: and Emeryville, California. He was transported to the San Francisco 584 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:38,640 Speaker 13: County Jail and booked on one charge of murder. 585 00:33:39,360 --> 00:33:42,640 Speaker 4: Scott starts by emphasizing that the two men knew each other, 586 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:46,120 Speaker 4: which is most often the case when it comes to violence. 587 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:48,680 Speaker 4: It's usually not a random act on the street. 588 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:51,880 Speaker 13: This is more about human nature and human behavior than 589 00:33:52,040 --> 00:33:55,120 Speaker 13: it is about our city. This is not about San Francisco. 590 00:33:55,240 --> 00:33:58,200 Speaker 13: It happened in San Francisco, and that is unfortunate. It's 591 00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:00,480 Speaker 13: even more of a tragedy that it happened and at all. 592 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:03,960 Speaker 13: But this speaks to more about human nature. Fact show 593 00:34:04,040 --> 00:34:07,440 Speaker 13: and research shows that most people who commit homicides know 594 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:08,520 Speaker 13: the people that they kill. 595 00:34:09,080 --> 00:34:13,640 Speaker 4: Then the new DA Brook Jenkins speaks and somewhat surprisingly, 596 00:34:14,080 --> 00:34:18,600 Speaker 4: she turns her attention to Twitter. She calls out Elon Musk. 597 00:34:18,560 --> 00:34:21,560 Speaker 1: As you already heard mister Lee was murdered by somebody 598 00:34:21,600 --> 00:34:25,000 Speaker 1: that he knew. While we're not going to release any 599 00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:28,000 Speaker 1: additional facts at this time, I must point out that 600 00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:33,080 Speaker 1: reckless and irresponsible statements like those contained in mister Must's 601 00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:37,880 Speaker 1: tweet that assumed incorrect circumstances about mister Lee's death served 602 00:34:37,960 --> 00:34:41,040 Speaker 1: to mislead the world in their perceptions of San Francisco 603 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:46,160 Speaker 1: and also negatively impact the pursuit of justice for victims 604 00:34:46,160 --> 00:34:49,920 Speaker 1: of crime, as it spreads misinformation at a time when 605 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:52,760 Speaker 1: the police are trying to solve a very difficult case. 606 00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:01,680 Speaker 4: So, after nine days of speculation, Nima Momeni was arrested. 607 00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:07,000 Speaker 4: He wasn't, as some had suspected, a quote psychotic homeless person. 608 00:35:07,800 --> 00:35:10,400 Speaker 4: He was an it guy who lived in a fancy 609 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:14,479 Speaker 4: loft just across the bridge from San Francisco. Him being 610 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:17,120 Speaker 4: out on the street that night in April had nothing 611 00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:21,920 Speaker 4: to do with decarceration politics or lenient city officials. But 612 00:35:22,080 --> 00:35:27,720 Speaker 4: now there were many new questions. How did Bob know Nima? 613 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:30,279 Speaker 4: Why was he hanging out with him at two in 614 00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:33,239 Speaker 4: the morning. All of us were just like, who who 615 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:37,080 Speaker 4: is this guy? These questions opened a window into a 616 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:41,799 Speaker 4: subculture that Bob inhabited a realm of casual sex, recreational 617 00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:43,360 Speaker 4: drug use, and hard partying. 618 00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:46,279 Speaker 5: I started to piece things together and started kind of 619 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:50,400 Speaker 5: wondering Millennium apartment. Oh wait, I picked up Bob from 620 00:35:50,719 --> 00:35:53,040 Speaker 5: some chicks apartment at the Millennium Tower Once. 621 00:35:53,920 --> 00:35:58,040 Speaker 4: The story that emerged after Momeni was charged was far 622 00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:05,799 Speaker 4: more complicated than the initial speculator. On the next episode, 623 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:10,520 Speaker 4: who is the supposed tech executive Nima Momeni, Why would 624 00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:13,399 Speaker 4: he want to kill Bob Lee? And what was the 625 00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:16,400 Speaker 4: cost of pushing a narrative that was so off the mark? 626 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:25,600 Speaker 4: That's next time on Foundry. Foundering is reported, hosted and 627 00:36:25,719 --> 00:36:30,840 Speaker 4: executive produced by me Sean Wen, Eric Mesitzi's mental producder 628 00:36:30,960 --> 00:36:35,160 Speaker 4: show Bart Warshaw is our audio engineer. Our story editors 629 00:36:35,239 --> 00:36:38,960 Speaker 4: are Joshua Brustein, Tom Giles, Anne vander May, and Nicole 630 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:43,680 Speaker 4: Beamster Bower Special thanks to Peter Bloomberg, Janna Knoedler and 631 00:36:43,719 --> 00:36:46,560 Speaker 4: Brad Stone. Be sure to subscribe and if you like 632 00:36:46,640 --> 00:36:50,160 Speaker 4: our show, leave a review. Most importantly, tell your friends 633 00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:51,279 Speaker 4: see you next time. 634 00:37:00,040 --> 00:37:03,239 Speaker 7: Actor Plaster report to prison, Stan Cop with 635 00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:06,040 Speaker 15: The compass and the same before the State of patter,