Democrat Rep. Cori Bush gets slammed for defending ‘very violent’ jail riot, decrying US Capitol riot
Freshman Democratic Rep. Cori Bush (Mo.) was sharply criticized over the weekend after she seemingly defended prisoners who started a riot at the St. Louis County Jail.
What’s the background?
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the riot started early Saturday morning after an angry inmate attacked a guard. City officials blamed a “faulty locking system” that allowed about 115 inmates to escape their cells and participate in the mayhem.
The inmates took control of the jail’s fourth floor and caused widespread damage, “where they set fires, clogged toilets, flooded parts of the floor and caused other damage,” the Post-Dispatch reported.
“These were just very angry, defiant, very violent people that we house at the Justice Center,” the city’s director of public safety, Jimmie Edwards, said. “No one at the Justice Center is housed for a misdemeanor, a municipal offense or a low-level felony. Everybody housed at the Justice Center is housed there because of very serious offenses like assault on police officers and homicide and things of that sort.”
What did Bush say?
In response, Bush seemingly defended the prisoners, empathizing with them by quoting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“‘A riot is the language of the unheard.’ – Dr. MLK Jr,” Bush began “I want to talk to my constituents in the window. Their lives and their rights must be protected. My team and I are working to ensure that the urgent needs of people who are incarcerated are not ignored.”
“A riot is the language of the unheard.” – Dr. MLK Jr.
I want to talk to my constituents in the window. Their lives and their rights must be protected.
My team and I are working to ensure that the urgent needs of people who are incarcerated are not ignored. https://t.co/wMq8ecyLQ2
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) February 7, 2021
