House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy R-Calif. said Monday that he expects to introduce a resolution to censure Rep. Maxine Waters D-Calif., reported the Hill.
Waters is quoted as having publicly said, if Derek Chauvin, who is standing trial for the death of George Floyd, is not found guilty, “then we know that we’ve got to not only stay in the street, but we’ve got to fight for justice,” Waters said at a demonstration in Brooklyn Center, Minn., according to video. “We’ve got to get more active. We’ve got to get more confrontational. You’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business,” reported the LA Times.
McCarthy believes those comments irresponsibly incite violence, especially during the Chauvin trial.
“This weekend in Minnesota, Maxine Waters broke the law by violating curfew and then incited violence. Speaker Pelosi is ignoring Waters’ behavior — that’s why I am introducing a resolution to censure Rep. Waters for these dangerous comments,” McCarthy announced on Twitter.
If he elects to file it as a “privileged” resolution, McCarthy could force a procedural vote on his resolution which would trigger a process that requires House floor action within two legislative days, reported the Hill.
“I am nonviolent,” Waters told TheGrio on Monday after McCarthy accused her of encouraging political violence. “Republicans will jump on any word, any line and try to make it fit their message and their cause for denouncing us and denying us, basically calling us violent … any time they see an opportunity to seize on a word, so they do it and they send a message to all of the white supremacists, the KKK, the Oath Keepers, the [Proud] Boys and all of that, how this is a time for [Republicans] to raise money on [Democrats’] backs,” Waters said, reported the Hill.
Waters told TheGrio she is “not worried that they’re going to continue to distort what I say.”
“This is who they are, and this is how they act,” she said. “And I’m not going to be bullied by them.” “This is a time for [Republicans] to keep telling our constituents that [Democrats] are the enemy and they do that time and time again,” Waters said. “But that does not deter me from speaking truth to power. I am not intimidated. I am not afraid, and I do what needs to be done.”
Assuming Democrats reject the McCarthy resolution, however, it would nevertheless require all House members to participate in a ‘roll-call’ vote on the measure.
Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill, who is the judge in the Chauvin trial, also criticized Water’s remarks while denying a defense motion for mistrial by saying, “I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch and our function,” reported the Hill.
Nancy Pelosi chimed in on the issue and predictably backed Waters earlier Monday and said there was no need for her to apologize.
“Maxine talked about confrontation in the manner of the civil rights movement. I myself think we should take our lead from the George Floyd family. They’ve handled this with great dignity, and no ambiguity or lack of — misinterpretation by the other side. No, I don’t think she should apologize,” Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol, reported the Hill.
Pelosi also believes the remarks did not incite violence.
That comes as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene R-Ga., previously announced on Sunday that she would introduce her own resolution to expel Waters from Congress “for her continual incitement of violence.”
“Rep. Waters is a danger to our society,” Greene said in a statement, reported the Hill.
Source: Newmax
