Minneapolis man once favorably profiled by media convicted of trying to kill his own baby

A man who was once a Minnesota media darling during a racially-charged trial that lasted from 2015-2017 has now been convicted of trying to kill his own baby.

Cameron Clark (Wikimedia Commons & Hennepin County)
Background: Cameron Clark speaks to reporters in 2017 following the sentencing of Allen Scarsella. (Tony Webster/Wikimedia Commons) Left: Cameron Clark mugshot (Hennepin County Jail)

A Minneapolis man once presented by the media as a voice for justice has now been convicted of trying to murder his own unborn child.

Cameron Clark was shot during a 2015 protest by a man named Allen Scarsella, who was being chased by protesters who were demonstrating after Clark’s cousin, Jamar Clark, was killed by police. Although Scarsella claimed self-defense, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison after a trial that largely hinged on his history of making racially insensitive remarks. Following the shooting, Clark was uplifted by Minnesota media as a voice for racial justice. Now, he’s received a lengthy sentence of his own after he tried to murder his unborn child.

On April 16, Clark and an accomplice named Tanisha Dunn ambushed the pregnant mother of his unborn child. According to court documents, the victim arrived at an apartment complex to meet up with Clark and was promptly sprayed with mace by Dunn before the duo shocked her abdomen with a taser and rained an “innumerable number” of blows upon her.

A video of the event obtained by Minneapolis police “shows Defendant Clark methodically circle around Victim, so he faces her stomach. Once her stomach is exposed, he braces himself against the wall and kicks her directly in the stomach,” per a criminal complaint.

This vicious assault came after Clark “constantly pressured [the] Victim to have an abortion,” according to police. “I’m gonna get somebody to stomp that baby out of you,” he reportedly told her on one occasion.

He now faces a 16-year sentence for the attempted murder of his child as well as aggravated robbery, although he will only serve 10 years in jail thanks to a rule in Minnesota that allows convicts to convert the last third of their sentence to parole.

Dunn will be sentenced on Nov. 5 and can face up to 12.5 years in prison, according to her plea deal.

Former media darling 

“My community needs me,” Clark told KARE 11 at a protest in 2015 that occurred very shortly after he was a victim of Scarsella’s shooting. Around that time, he was also profiled by Minnesota Public Radio, where he spoke on racial issues.

Clark also made statements about policing and the justice system, claiming that his cousin was a victim of law enforcement profiling and that the court system wasn’t strict enough in dealing with Scarsella. “If that was me, I’d be looking at 25, 30 to life,” Clark said, speaking on Scarsella’s trial in 2017. “White supremacy has a lot to do with it,” he added on another occasion, still on the topic of court proceedings.

 

Kyle Hooten

Kyle Hooten is Managing Editor of Alpha News. His coverage of Minneapolis has been featured on television shows like Tucker Carlson Tonight and in print media outlets like the Wall Street Journal.