Rep. Ilhan Omar voiced her support for demonstrators in Minneapolis who took to the streets Wednesday night upset with the killing of an unarmed black man in the city whose death in police custody has galvanized African Americans across the country.
“Horrified at the needless death of George Floyd, another innocent black man murdered by police in our community,” Omar said early Thursday. “Frustrated that we keep finding ourselves in this position as a city. Angry that justice still seems out of reach.”
The freshman congresswoman, whose district includes parts of Minneapolis, earlier this week called for the officer, who was seen in a video kneeling on Floyd’s neck, to be charged with killing the man.
The city’s mayor also called for the officer seen in the video to be charged.
“I’ve wrestled with, more than anything else over the last 36 hours, one fundamental question. Why is the man who killed George Floyd not in jail?” Mayor Jacob Frey said this week. “If you had done it, or I had done it, we would be behind bars right now. And I cannot come up with a good answer to that question.”
We should and must protest peacefully.
But let us end the cycle of violence now.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) May 28, 2020
Police had been called to the scene Monday night on a report of someone using counterfeit money to make a purchase at a convenience store.
Floyd can be heard on the video telling officers he could not breathe and pleading with them to stop crushing his neck. All four of the officers involved in the call have been fired by the city.
“I haven’t heard anybody justify this,” said Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, head of the organization that represents police chiefs in the United States’s largest cities.
“Our anger is just. Our anger is warranted,” Omar said of Wednesday night’s demonstrations. “And our priority right now must be protecting one another.”
Video circulated overnight Wednesday of some protesters burning American flags as others looted grocery and electronic stores.
At least one person was killed during the eruption of violence in Minneapolis.
“Violence only begets violence. More force is only going to lead to more lives lost and more devastation,” Omar responded. “We should and must protest peacefully. But let us end the cycle of violence now.”
