Freshman Democratic rep deletes tweet calling Tire Nichols’ murder a ‘result of white supremacy’

A Democratic congressman has deleted a tweet posted Friday night that described Tire Nichols’ murder as a result of ‘white supremacy’ – even though all of the officers charged with his death are black.

“It doesn’t matter what color these cops are,” Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla, tweeted Friday night.

“Tire Nichols’ murder is anti-black and the result of white supremacy,” he added.

The tweet was later deleted.

QUICK REACTION AFTER POLICE IMAGES OF TIRE NICHOLS RELEASED: ‘THESE MEN WERE STREET FIGHTING’

The tweet came shortly after four videos emerged of the Jan. 7 traffic stoppage that preceded the death of Tire Nichols, who spent three days in hospital before succumbing to his woundsaccording to the authorities.

The brutal encounter led to the firing of five Memphis police officers, who now face numerous charges, including murder. Hours after the department released the videos, Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. announced he was releasing two deputies and launching his own internal investigation.

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The footage, taken from body cameras as well as a nearby street camera, shows Nichols trying to flee from officers, who are chasing him, tasering him, repeatedly insulting him, punching him and punching him. foot, spray him with pepper spray and leave him. bloodied and dazed.

Representative Maxwell Alejandro Frost at a campaign event. Photo courtesy of the Frost For Congress campaign.
(Frost for Congress)

Frost’s tweet was one of many attempts to cast Nichols’ death as a racial issue.

“If You Think Memphis Police Officers Had To Be White To Show Anti-Blackness, You Need To Take This African American Studies Course From AP [Florida Gov.] Ron DeSantis just got banned,” tweeted former rep Mondaire Jones, D-NY.

“Yes, the police officers who brutally murdered him must be held accountable. But even their conviction on the most serious charges cannot bring Tyr back. We must do everything in our power to end police brutality against people of color,” Senator Bernie Sanders said. , I-Vt., said.

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Meanwhile, the CNN commentator VanJones attempted to argue that the former Memphis police officers responsible for Nichols’ death “may still have been driven by racism”.

“From the beating of the king to the murder nearly three years ago of George Floyd, American society has often focused on the race of officers – so often white – as a factor in their deplorable acts of violence,” Jones wrote. . “But the narrative ‘White Cop Kills Unarmed Black Man’ should never have been the only lens through which we attempted to understand police abuse and misconduct. It’s time for a discussion more nuanced about how police brutality endangers black lives.”

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“At the end of the day, it’s the race of victim who is being brutalized — not the race of the violent cop — which is most relevant to determining whether racial bias is a factor in police brutality. It’s hard to imagine five cops of any color beating a white man to death under similar circumstances. And it’s almost impossible to imagine five Black cops giving a white arrestee the kind of beating Nichols would have received,” Jones said.

Joseph A. Wulfsohn and Michael Ruiz of Fox News contributed to this report.