Rep. Maxine Waters has come under fire by House Republicans after she encouraged rioters over the weekend to “get more confrontational” if Derek Chauvin is not found guilty of murder for the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is one of several lawmakers to condemn Waters’ “dangerous rhetoric,” and he vowed to take action.
“Maxine Waters is inciting violence in Minneapolis — just as she has incited it in the past,” McCarthy said in a statement. “If Speaker Pelosi doesn’t act against this dangerous rhetoric, I will bring action this week.”
On Saturday, Waters attended a protest in Brooklyn Center, Minn., where she encouraged demonstrators to “stay in the street” and “fight for justice” if a guilty verdict is not determined.
“We’re looking for a guilty verdict. We’re looking for a guilty verdict. And we’re looking to see if all of this talk that took place and has been taking place after they saw what happened to George Floyd,” Waters said. “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, but I am very hopeful and I hope that we’re going to get a verdict that will say guilty, guilty, guilty. And if we don’t, we cannot go away.”
“And we’ve got to get more active. [We’ve] got to get more confrontational,” she continued. “[We’ve] got to make sure that they know we mean business.”
Freshman GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene also slammed Waters’ comments, announcing on Twitter that she would introduce a resolution to expel Waters from Congress.
“Very soon I’ll be introducing a resolution to expel [Maxine Waters] from Congress for her continual incitement of violence on innocent American people,” Greene tweeted. “Rep Waters is a danger to our society.”
Greene went on to note that Waters does not live in Minnesota and accused her of violating 18 U.S. Code 2101, which states that anyone who travels interstate to “incite…promote, encourage…a riot” is subject to fines and imprisonment up to five years.
“You crossed state lines and incited riots, violence against police, shootings at the MN NG, and threatened a jury as a sitting US Congresswoman,” Greene tweeted. “[Speaker Pelosi] surely you will expel this criminal from Congress and uphold the law!”
Rep. Ken Buck said, “Maxine Waters violated state curfew to encourage violence in Minnesota. Why hasn’t Speaker Pelosi condemned this rhetoric?”
Sen. Ted Cruz also said of Waters’ comments, “Democrats actively encouraging riots & violence. They want to tear us apart.”
