HuffPost reporter defends 'grieving college student' who ambushed Chelsea Clinton at vigil for Christchurch

As we told you earlier, the activist who ambushed Chelsea Clinton at a vigil for the victims of the attack in Christchurch, New Zealand has refused to apologize even after a mostly bipartisan condemnation of her actions.

Woman who ambushed pregnant Chelsea Clinton at the Christchurch vigil refuses to apologize https://t.co/DxqssqJX1t

— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) March 16, 2019

Huffington Post reporter Ashley Feinberg came to the defense of the activist who yelled at Chelsea Clinton, and here’s why Chelsea’s fair game:

Chelsea Clinton is an enormously powerful and influential person and it's okay for a grieving college student to yell at her

— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) March 16, 2019

Last month Feinberg offered a staunch defense of Rep. Ilhan Omar after her anti-Semitic comments (one was in a tweet that she deleted).

Ultra-stupid hot takes like this have me defending a Clinton. I didn't think that was possible.

— Waldo (@AndyWIII) March 16, 2019

Some things can be so awful and uncalled for that many on both sides can come together.

Hijacking a vigil for 50 slain Muslims to advance your own political agenda by berating a private citizen—who's pregnant with a half-Jewish child—for calling out a sitting congresswoman's anti-Semitic rhetoric isn't only uncivilized. It's disrespectful to the literal victims. https://t.co/CH7iuPPucN

— Tiana Lowe (@TianaTheFirst) March 16, 2019

Ms. Feinberg is a space-time anomaly. It is impossible for her to be wrong about absolutely everything. At some point she should get something right, even by accident, but there is just no evidence for it.

No, it is not okay to yell at random people who did you no harm. https://t.co/tcQzGqcT9O

— Friendly Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) March 16, 2019

Yelling at someone who did nothing wrong is wrong.

What the hell is wrong with you, anyway? https://t.co/lE23XvrKxw

— Apache Dreamsac (@NathanWurtzel) March 16, 2019

Another classic example of someone using power dynamics to justify terrible behavior: https://t.co/yBaDhrrdwC

— Justin Norman (@JustinNorman) March 16, 2019

Yelling at a person who did absolutely nothing wrong and was in no way connected to the tragedy being grieved about is bad and their "power and influence" should have exactly nothing to do with that basic moral calculation. https://t.co/7mfxeQ1BN3

— Esoteric Jeff (@EsotericCD) March 16, 2019

Feinberg later dialed it back a little while saying the activist who yelled at Chelsea Clinton shouldn’t be where the focus is:

I think people sometimes get mixed up with how they feel about something like this.

I mean the yelling versus what was yelled.

For instance I don't see anything wrong with the yelling since she's a public person. But I disagree with what it was about.

Does that make sense?

— Noah Ma'goa Mcgee (@ZENihilist) March 16, 2019

sure, I'm not saying she was absolutely correct, and I think Chelsea honestly handled it really well — but I think the student's frustration is understandable and that she's not at all where the focus should be right now

— Ashley Feinberg (@ashleyfeinberg) March 16, 2019

With that in mind, a 2016 tweet from Feinberg was spotted that has aged well: