California Congresswoman Maxine Waters is getting blasted by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and the Derek Chauvin trial judge for telling Black Lives Matter protesters in Minnesota to “get more confrontational” if the former police officer is found not guilty.
Standing in front of the Brooklyn Center Police Department on Saturday, April 17, 2021, the legendary legislator was asked by reporters what would happen if Chauvin is exonerated in the killing of George Floyd on Memorial Day 2020.
“I hope we get a verdict that says guilty, guilty, guilty,” Waters said, according to NBC News. “And if we don’t, we cannot go away. We’ve got to stay on the street. We get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational. We’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business.”
McConnell took to the Senate floor on Monday, April 19, to denounce Waters’ words.
“It’s harder to imagine anything more inappropriate than a member of Congress flying in from California to inform local leaders — not so subtly — that this defendant had better be found guilty or else there will be big trouble in the streets,” McConnell said, according to NBC.
The Kentucky Republican added that “every single American deserves a fair trial. This is sacred. You do not balance the scales of justice by trying to tip them.”
The judge in the Chauvin murder trial, Peter Cahill, denied defense attorney Eric Nelson’s motion for a mistrial. But Cahill said, “I grant you Congresswoman Waters may have handed you grounds for appeal and the turning over of this trial.”
The Hill reported on Tuesday, April 20, that the House of Representatives wants to have Waters censured. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also defended Waters, saying she had “talked about the confrontation in the manner of the Civil Rights Movement.” Pelosi then added, “No, I don’t think she should apologize.”
Flip the page to view McConnell’s rebuke of Waters on the Senate floor.
