Lewis Slams Smith for Irresponsible Rhetoric & Actions

“Smith’s 2008 Inaction Helped Fuel Minneapolis Riots”

June 3, 2020

WOODBURY, Minn. — U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis released the following statement on Senator Tina Smith’s continued irresponsible rhetoric as rioting continues in Minnesota and across the country, as well as her actions as Chief of Staff to the Minneapolis Mayor in 2008, shooting down a proposed ordinance requiring protests over 25 people in size to obtain a permit.

“Senator Tina Smith has always had an affinity for the ‘resistance’ Antifa-style faction now in control of the Democrat Party. In 2008, while serving on a working group as chief of staff for the mayor of Minneapolis, she openly opposed a proposal that would have required protest groups apply for a permit if more than 25 demonstrators were going to attend. If the proposed 2008 ordinance had been in place and been enforced ahead of the riots this week, law enforcement officers could have been dispersing crowds before the violence and chaos ever began. Make no mistake, Tina Smith’s inaction on regulating protests in 2008 directly fueled the rapid escalation of violence and chaos we have seen in our cities the past eight days.

Even today, Smith continues to throw fuel on the fire of a very volatile situation with her irresponsible and inflammatory rhetoric. As the rioting continues, Tina Smith has refused to condemn the violence. Instead, even in the wake of heartbreaking destruction in our Twin Cities, she has brazenly encouraged ‘taking to the streets to demand change,’ even though it ‘may make the folks in charge uncomfortable.’

We must begin the process of healing our state and building a better community for all of our citizens, and that isn’t going to happen if our elected leaders continue to fan the flames of divisiveness. We need peace and order, not continued riots and dangerous rhetoric. Minnesotans deserve better!”

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