Eric Adams, the mayor-elect of New York City, hasn’t even been sworn in yet and is facing a few problems head-on. Adams took some harsh criticism from Black Lives Matter activist Hawk Newsome who told the newly elected mayor that there would be “riots and bloodshed” if plainclothes policing is reinstituted in New York.
Adams, a former police officer who made a return to law and order a key part of his campaign, met with Newsome on Nov. 10, 2021, during a meeting on Instagram Live. Newsome spoke with reporters after the meeting and expressed his thoughts.
“If he thinks that they’re going to go back to the old ways of policing, then we are going to take to the streets again. There will be riots, there will be fire and there will be bloodshed because we believe in defending our people,” stated the BLM activist.
Adams fired back on Friday, Nov. 12, during a press conference and called for his fellow Democrats to not be bullied by Newsome’s threats.
“National, state and city electeds should stand up and say, ‘We will never allow anyone to make those comments,’ that there will be blood in our streets, because you know where that blood ends up? In the streets of our community. I think that this is an excellent moment for the local and state and federal Democratic Party to state: We could have justice without violence,” Adams stated during the press conference.
After Adams spoke with the media, Newsome told the NY Daily News that his initial statement was triggered by a question about plainclothes officers.
“It made me think about the death of Eric Garner, it made me think about the death of Breonna Taylor, it made me think of the death of George Floyd. And to think that Eric Adams is legitimately wanting to put our children in danger — it scares me,” Newsome told the newspaper.
Take a look on the next page as Adams lays down his law.
