Republicans slam Rep. Waters for telling protesters to 'get more confrontational'

James Anthony
The Post Millennial
Sun, 18 Apr 2021 02:34 UTC

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Rep. Maxine Waters, (D-CA)

On Sunday, Rep. Maxine Waters received severe pushback from Republicans for her call at a protest on Saturday night in Brooklyn Center MN for protesters to "get more confrontational." Republicans responded vehemently to Waters' statements, which they considered to be inflammatory, to say the least.

Waters flew into the Minneapolis area on Saturday to be a keynote speaker at a rally held amid the protests over the officer-involved shooting of Daunte Wright, according to the Daily Wire. She was speaking about Wright's death, and also the ongoing trial of Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd in May 2020, when she stated:

"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. We cannot go away," if the officers aren't convicted for murder.

Republicans in Congress were quick to severely criticize Waters's comments:

Waters responded in an interview:

"We have to give support to our young people who are struggling and trying to make this justice system work for everybody. They see their peers being killed. Minneapolis is a great example of what's wrong with the criminal justice system, what's wrong with policing.

"I wanted to be there as auntie Maxine to show them, not only do I love them and support them, but they can count on me to be with them at this terrible time in all of our lives."

Comment: Is Maxine one of those do unto yourself as you do unto others? She risks becoming a possible witness against her own lawsuit! See what legal expert Jonathan Turley had to say:

Rep. Waters' statement [to stay confrontational] is ironic since Waters is one of the House members currently suing former President Donald Trump and others for inciting violence on January 6th with his words on the Mall. Waters insists that Trump telling his supporters to go to the Capitol to make their voice heard and "fight" for their votes was actual criminal incitement. Conversely, Waters was speaking after multiple nights of rioting and looting and telling protesters to stay on the streets and get even more confrontational. There was violence after the remarks, including a shooting incident where two National Guard members were injured.

Waters has now guaranteed that she could be called as a witness by Trump in his own defense against her own lawsuit. Waters' most recent words could well be cited in the ongoing litigation over the January 6^th riot on Capitol Hill. Waters has gone further and insisted that Trump should not only be charged with criminal incitement but actual "premeditated murder." She stated,

"For the President of the United States to sit and watch the invasion and the insurrection and not say a word because he knew he had absolutely initiated it - and as some of them said, 'he invited us to come."

That bring us back to Brooklyn Center this weekend. She called on people to stay in the streets and get more "confrontational." She added that there would be no acceptance of court decisions to the contrary in the Chauvin case: "We're looking for a guilty verdict. If we don't, we cannot go away." Protesters have not only been camped around the courthouse but the home of a witness in the Chauvin case was targeted. (It turned out to be his former home). Critics could charge that Waters' statement and these protests are meant to intimidate witnesses or influence the trial — just as critics charged that Trump was attempting to intimidate or influence Congress.

After Waters remarks, protesters confronted reporters in a tense scene. Also protesters descended upon the home of the prosecutor responsible for the second degree manslaughter charge against the officer who killed Daunte Wright. Also the Minnesota National Guard was fired upon, injuring at least two Guardsman.

That is not to say that Water incited such actions but that the same claimed nexus could be raised in making such an allegation as was done in the Trump impeachment.

In my view, those words are political speech and should not be subject to criminal sanctions. I also rejected prior claims against Waters like when she encouraged protesters to confront Trump officials in restaurants and "push back on them and you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere." It is all protected speech.

Yet, that standard cannot be selectively applied to some but not all riots or protests. Waters was encouraging protesters to continue to fight for what they believe in. Her over-heated rhetoric could easily be seen by some as an invitation or endorsement for rioting. However, criminalizing such speech would shred the guarantees of free speech in our country.

Carl Jung once said that "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves". That certainly seems to be the case with Waters and Trump. It is also why Waters could prove the only witness that Trump needs to call to defeat her own lawsuit.

Waters has a long arching trend for incitement to protest and riot.

See also: Petition calls for Maxine Waters removal from congress for inciting public attacks