Ted Cruz Cites Kamala Harris' Comments of 'Inciting' BLM Riots
'They’re not gonna let up, and they should not,' Harris said of BLM riots
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During the fourth day of the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked if Kamala Harris's language used in 2020 regarding Black Lives Matter protests was incitement.
The question came in the context of what the Democrats are basing their case against Trump, "incitement, and insurrection."
Cruz asked while quoting Harris's comments made on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert last June in regard to the Black Lives Matter protests:
“While violent riots were raging, Kamala Harris said on national TV, ‘They’re not gonna let up, and they should not.'"
WATCH:
The BLM protests, ignited by the death of George Floyd, devolved into riots throughout the country, which saw businesses destroyed, violence, injury, and even death.
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Cruz also highlighted that Harris urged her Facebook and Twitter followers to support the Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) in June 2020, raising bail money for jailed rioters.
If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota. https://t.co/t8LXowKIbw
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 1, 2020
“And she also raised money to bail out violent rioters," Cruz said.
The MFF sought to combat cash bail by posting bail for detained individuals.
The fund saw massive amounts of donations while promoting its mission to help rioters.
Though Harris asked her followers to “help post bail for those protesting,” the fund’s website states it does “not make determinations of bail support based on the crimes that individuals are alleged to have committed."
The MFF posted bail for the folowing:
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A father accused of molesting his teenage daughter
A man accused of sexually assaulting his teenage niece
A man accused of sexually assaulting an eight-year-old
A woman accused of stabbing her aunt
Cruz’s question continued:
“Using the manager’s proposed standard, is there any coherent way for Donald Trump’s words to be incitement and Kamala Harris’s words not to be incitement?”
Lead House impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said he was “not familiar” with the quote from Harris that Cruz had referenced.
But Trump attorney Michael T. van der Veek rejected that notion saying his team had given video to the House’s team of Harris’s quote, and the video was played three times that day.
Raskin said he found it “absolutely unimaginable that Vice President Harris would ever incite violence or encourage or promote violence. Obviously, it’s completely irrelevant to the proceeding at hand, and I will allow her to defend herself.”
