California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters called Republican claims that mob rule took over last week on Capitol Hill “absolutely ridiculous” during an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes Tuesday night.
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“Congresswoman, you’ve seen Mitch McConnell and Chuck Grassley and others in the wake of all these protesters in the Senate saying basically, this is mob rule, we’re being ‘literally assaulted’ in the words of Mitch McConnell. What do you think about that?” Hayes asked.
“Well, I think it’s absolutely ridiculous, and it is not believable,” Waters responded. “As a matter of fact, this country was built on peaceful protest. And those of us who were part of the civil rights movement, who understood the power of protest taught by Dr. Martin Luther King and others know that we cannot allow Donald Trump and anybody else to take protest away from us and to deem it to be violent and to try and make us look like a mob.”
She continued, “It is because of peaceful protests, not only in the civil rights movement, but the labor movement was able to get better wages, able to get better working conditions, able to get better pay, everything because they learned to march and protest. And they still do it today. We know that protest is guaranteed to a democratic society. We know that this is guaranteed to us by the Constitution. They’re trying to change the description of protest and call it a mob.”
Waters’ comments were in response to Grassley’s condemnation last week of her for telling supporters to confront anyone in the Trump administration in grocery stores and gas stations.
He said, “I think it’s a reflection of the incivility of American society generally, and I think it’s also evidence that people will go to any length when they are encouraged by people on Capitol Hill, like one Congresswoman saying, ‘Confront them in the restrooms. Go up’ … and another senator saying, ‘Get in their face.'” (RELATED: Grassley Lays Blame On Waters And Booker For Protesters Ambushing Senators)
Senate office buildings were filled with protesters last week leading up to the vote to confirm Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
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