House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy warned that if Speaker Nancy Pelosi takes no action against Rep. Maxine Waters over her “dangerous rhetoric,” then he will.
“Maxine Waters is inciting violence in Minneapolis — just as she has incited it in the past,” Mr. McCarthy tweeted. “If Speaker Pelosi doesn’t act against this dangerous rhetoric, I will bring action this week.”
Republicans have condemned Ms. Waters for saying during Saturday night’s protest in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, that activists need to “get more confrontational” if former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin is acquitted in the May 25 death of George Floyd.
“We’ve got to stay on the street, and we’ve got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational,” Ms. Waters told reporters, as shown on Unicorn Riot video. “We’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business.”
So far Mrs. Pelosi has not commented on the California Democrat’s remarks, which Republicans said were intended to fuel the unrest in the Minneapolis area, the site of protests as well as rioting and attacks on the Brooklyn Center police department for the last week.
Maxine Waters is inciting violence in Minneapolis — just as she has incited it in the past. If Speaker Pelosi doesn’t act against this dangerous rhetoric, I will bring action this week.
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) April 19, 2021
SEE ALSO: Marjorie Taylor Greene prods Congress to expel Maxine Waters over ‘incitement of violence’
Rep. Lauren Boebert, Colorado Republican, noted Monday that two Minnesota National Guard members were treated for injuries from shattered glass after a drive-by shooting over the weekend in Minneapolis.
“Our men and women in uniform have enough to worry about without Mad Max coming to MN and inciting riots,” Ms. Boebert tweeted.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, said Sunday she would introduce a resolution to expel Ms. Waters from Congress, accusing the Democrat of having a “history of supporting criminals and inciting violence.”
She cited Ms. Waters’ 1998 letter to former Cuban strongman Fidel Castro asking him not to extradite Assata Shakur, formerly known as JoAnne Chesimard, who was convicted in 1977 in the murder of a New Jersey state trooper.
Ms. Waters was accused of inciting unrest when she told a crowd in June 2018 to harass Trump administration officials, urging protesters to “push back on them” and “tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere” if they see Cabinet members in public.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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