Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California has called for violence in the event that the jury in the trial of Minneapolis Police Department Officer Derek Chauvin hands down a verdict that conflicts with her demands.
While in the middle of a group of protesters in Brooklyn Center, Minneapolis, Waters told reporters that if the jury does not convict Chauvin, the people of Minneapolis should "get more confrontational" and make sure that the city's officials know that "we mean business."
"We've got to not only stay in the street, but we've got to fight for justice. But I am very hopeful and I hope that we're going to get a verdict that say guilty, guilty, guilty. I don't know whether it's in the first degree, but as far as I'm concerned, it's first-degree murder."
"We've got to stay on the street and we've got to get more active. We've got to get more confrontational. We've got to make sure that they know that we mean business."
John Nolte, editor-at-large for Breitbart News, was quick to point out how Waters' is setting a standard that is "impossible to achieve" in calling for Chauvin to be convicted of first-degree murder since he is not being charged for it.
Furthermore, Nolte pointed out that Waters is not calling for violence to occur in her neighborhood in Los Angeles. Instead, she is calling for the escalation of violence in Minneapolis and other cities like it, where the victims of the rioting will mostly be other Democrats.
"All this rioting, all this violence, all this mayhem, anarchy and domestic terrorism is aimed at and focused on Deep Blue cities like Minneapolis, Chicago, Baltimore, Atlanta, St. Louis," wrote Nolte in an editorial posted on Breitbart. "You name it, it's Democrats like Waters and her pathetic enablers furthering the destruction of the very cities in which their own ideological allies live and do business."
"The people who live in these cities are getting exactly what they voted for," continued Nolte. "The Democrat mayors who are in charge of the city police force have all been voted into office, often by overwhelming numbers, by the citizens of those cities… There is simply no question whatsoever that Democrats and the corporate media want these cities to burn, and until they stop, these cities are going to burn."
Attempt to censure Waters in Congress blocked by Democrats
Republicans in the House of Representatives attempted to censure Waters over her incendiary remarks. But Democrats defeated this effort thanks to its majority in the House.
In a vote held shortly before the verdict in Chauvin's trial was announced, the House voted 216 to 210 to table a vote on a resolution to censure Waters. All representatives voted along party lines. (Related: Steve Scalise: 'I was shot' because of the kind of 'dangerous rhetoric' repeated by Maxine Waters.)
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy criticized Democrats and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for refusing to condemn Waters' "violent rhetoric."
In a statement after the vote, McCarthy said that the Democrats "had the opportunity to condemn the violent rhetoric of our colleague Representative Waters, a chairwoman and senior member of Congress, to protesters to 'get more confrontational.' Instead, they condoned it."
McCarthy introduced the resolution, calling Waters' remarks "beneath the dignity" of the House. He added in a tweet that Waters' statement "raised the potential for violence, directed lawlessness and may have interfered with a co-equal branch of government."
On Monday, April 19, Chauvin's attorney, Eric Nelson, asked Judge Peter Cahill to declare a mistrial because of Waters' incendiary remarks. Cahill denied the request, but told Nelson, "I will give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned.
"I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law."
Republican Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who was injured when a politically motivated shooter attacked him and several of his colleagues during a baseball game in 2017, said that any kind of political rhetoric that can incite violence should be fought against.
"If you look at Maxine Waters' comments, the judge in the trial just yesterday acknowledged that Maxine Waters' comments are so inflammatory that it could cause grounds for an appeal if that ruling goes the wrong way," said Scalise.
Learn more about the volatile situation in cities like Minneapolis by reading the latest articles at Rioting.news.
Sources include:
Please contact us for more information.