An 18-year-old Massachusetts girl exposed her family members on Twitter after she recognized them as participants in last week’s Capitol riot.
Helena Duke described the move as emotional in an interview with Good Morning America but said that “at the same time, if I did nothing I felt that I was as bad as them,” according to a local ABC outlet. (RELATED: Five People Died In The Capitol Riot. Here’s What We Know About Them)
Rioters supporting President Donald Trump stormed the United States Capitol building Jan. 6, committing acts of vandalism and postponing the certification process as members of Congress were forced to evacuate the building. Duke found pictures of her mother, uncle and aunt participating in the riot and posted them to Twitter, the ABC affiliate reported.
“Hi mom,” Duke tweeted in a post that has since gone viral. “Remember the time you told me I shouldn’t go to BLM protests because they could get violent…this you?”
hi mom remember the time you told me I shouldn’t go to BLM protests bc they could get violent…this you? https://t.co/9ZkbAq0ehO
— Helena Duke (@duke_helena) January 7, 2021
“Hi this is the liberal lesbian of the family who has been kicked out multiple times for her views and for going to BLM protests to care what happens to me,” Duke tweeted in a separate post, before naming her family members.
Hi this is the liberal lesbian of the family who has been kicked out multiple times for her views and for going to BLM protests to care what happens to me so:
Mom: Therese Duke
Uncle: Richard Lorenz
Aunt: Annie Lorenz pic.twitter.com/cuBAPJ3GJA— Helena Duke (@duke_helena) January 7, 2021
She replied to her own tweet with several more pictures, adding, “for those that don’t believe it’s my mother…”
for those that don’t believe it’s my mother… pic.twitter.com/jbSQysEZZ0
— Helena Duke (@duke_helena) January 7, 2021
Duke told the Daily Caller News Foundation that video footage shows her family members harassing a black police officer, Ashanti Smith, who was arrested for assault on the protester she punched, according to NBC Washington.
“I feel as though the harassment of Ashanti (the black police officer) in the video footage is blatantly obvious,” she told the DCNF. “My family members are seen provoking her and getting in her face. They attempt to take her mask off and eventually my mother reaches for her phone.”
“In this situation I would have felt more than threatened,” she continued. “Ashanti did everything right in this situation and my family members should be held accountable for their actions. The fact that this black police officer then was arrested and lost her job speaks volumes to the double standard in this nation.”
Duke added that “countless white police officers have murdered innocent black people” and still work in the police force, but said that “when a female black police officer acts in self defense she is fired.”
“It is just a prime example of how unjust our system is,” she said.
Authorities have said that five people died during the storming of the Capitol on Wednesday. One woman died of a gunshot wound, three persons “suffered medical emergencies,” and a police officer died from injuries sustained while “physically engaging with protesters.” An additional Capitol Police officer died in an off-duty incident, suspected to be suicide, on Friday, and a man arrested in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot has reportedly killed himself.
Editor’s note: This post has been updated to reflect additional statements from Helena Duke.
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