Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joined the company of Republican officials in criticizing Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters for comments she made calling for people to “get more confrontational” if former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is not found guilty for the death of George Floyd last year.
“Every single American deserves a fair trial. This is sacred,” McConnell said. “You do not balance the scales of justice by trying to tip them, and yet, this past weekend, one Democratic House member from California took it upon herself to visit the protesters in Minneapolis.”
McConnell’s criticism was a response to comments that Waters made over the weekend in the company of protesters in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, where police officer Kim Potter shot and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright on April 11.
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“We’re looking for a guilty verdict,” Waters said. “And we’re looking to see if all of the talk that took place and has been taking place after they saw what happened to George Floyd — if nothing does not happen, then we know that we’ve got to not only stay in the street, but we’ve got to fight for justice.”
McConnell said Waters’s words about looking for a guilty verdict were made “like somebody window-shopping or ordering off a menu.”
“It’s hard 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 added. “It’s beyond the pale for a sitting member of the United States Congress to look at what happened last summer and imply there should be some kind of sequel.”
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy offered his own criticism of Waters for her comments, saying on Sunday that she was “inciting violence.” McCarthy said that “if Speaker Pelosi doesn’t act against this dangerous rhetoric, I will bring action this week.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended Waters on Monday.
“No, I don’t think she should apologize,” Pelosi told reporters. “Maxine talked about confrontation in the manner of the civil rights movement.”
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Chauvin’s criminal trial concluded on Monday, and jury deliberations will ensue. Chauvin was charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.
