A chorus of Republicans rebuked Rep. Maxine Waters Sunday for telling angry protesters to “stay on the streets” and “get more confrontational” during the seven consecutive nights of unrest in Minnesota – saying the California Democrat’s fiery remarks would can incite violence in a state already on edge.
Waters stood next to protesters at Brooklyn Center early Sunday morning – breaking a police curfew – to encourage them to speak up after the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright and as closing arguments in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin for George Floyd’s death.
“We have to stay on the street and demand justice,” she urged the crowd, who had previously chanted, “Not a good police force in a racist system!” “FK your curfew!” and “No justice, no peace!”
“We are seeking a guilty verdict” in the Chauvin case, Waters said. “And if we don’t, we can’t leave, we have to become more confrontational.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Waters’s comments reflect the Democratic Party’s overall agenda.
Democrats actively encourage riots and violence. They want to tear us apart. “We have to stay on the street,” said Waters, adding that protesters “had to become more confrontational” and ignore curfews in force, “Cruz said on Twitter.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) Wondered why Waters traveled from California to Minnesota.
Why does Maxine Waters travel to another state to provoke an uproar? What good can come from this? she asked in a Twitter post.
Representative Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) Slapped Waters – who in 2018 encouraged her supporters to harass members of President Donald Trump’s then cabinet – arguing that she’s just responding to the Democratic base.
“The radical left doesn’t care if your cities are on fire, if there is violence in your streets or if the police are too modest to defend their communities,” Biggs said on Twitter. “As long as the left calms their anti-American base, their job is done.”
During a Sunday performance on MSNBC, Waters, 82, said she went to Minnesota “kind of like Aunt Maxine” to show support for the protesters and to let them know “that they can count on me to be with them in this awful time of our lives. “
‘They see their peers being murdered. Minneapolis is a great example of what’s wrong with the criminal justice system, what’s wrong with police. And so those of us who hold important positions must stand up, ”she said.
“We have to support them. We have to speak up. We must demand justice, ”she continued.
Wright, 20, was shot dead during an April 11 traffic stop by former Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter, who claims she mistook her service pistol for a Taser.
Potter quit his job and was charged with manslaughter.