The daughter of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who died in a police chokehold in 2014, bashed Hillary Clinton in a series of tweets Thursday after WikiLeaks released emails showing that Clinton had talked about her father’s death in the context of her presidential campaign.
“I’m troubled by the revelation that you and this campaign actually discussed ‘using’ Eric Garner … Why would you want to ‘use’ my dad?” Erica Garner tweeted along with a link to emails released by WikiLeaks. “These people will co opt anything to push their agenda. Police violence is not the same as gun violence.”
“I’m vey [sic] interested to know exactly what @CoreyCiorciari meant when he said ‘I know we have an Erica Garner problem’ in the #PodestaEmails19,” she added.
I’m vey interested to know exactly what @CoreyCiorciari meant when he said ” I know we have an Erica Garner problem” in the #PodestaEmails19
— officialERICA GARNER (@es_snipes) October 27, 2016
I’m troubled by the revelation that you and this campaign actually discussed “using” Eric Garner … Why would you want to “use” my dad?
— officialERICA GARNER (@es_snipes) October 27, 2016
In an email released by WikiLeaks, Clinton’s press secretary Nick Merrill wrote: “I know we have Erica Garner issues but we don’t want to mention Eric at all? I can see her coming after us for leaving him out of the piece.”
Maya Harris, another Clinton aide replied via email, “Eric Garner not included because not killed by gun violence.”
Garner also tweeted links to hacked emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta showing how top Clinton staffers were going to word an editorial on gun violence for the New York Daily News.
“I’m glad you had Maya on your team to explain why you won’t be USING my dad in you f——-g gun violence piece… Black woman saved your ass,” Garner tweeted about Harris. She added in another tweet, “In this #PodestaEmails leak @CoreyCiorciari n @NickMerrill plot to use police violence victims to push gun control.”
Garner’s father died on July 17, 2014, after NYPD officers attempted to arrest him for selling cigarettes illegally.
Officer Daniel Pantaleo put Eric Garner in an illegal chokehold to take him down, which led to his death. His last words of “I can’t breathe” became a rallying cry for activists against police brutality nationwide.
