Shaun King On Kenosha Riots: ‘I’m Not Going To Call For Peace’

In response to the riots and mayhem in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following a police-involved incident that saw a white police officer shoot a black suspect several times in the back, racial justice activist Shaun King openly declared he would not be calling for peace.

“Nah. I’m not going to call for peace. We’ve tried peace. For years. Y’all don’t understand that language. We are calling for a complete dismantling of American policing. It’s NOT broken. It was built to work this way. And mayhem is the consequence. You earned it,” he tweeted on Sunday night.

Twitter has not yet responded to questions on why Shaun King’s statement remains on its platform despite its open promotion of violence, ostensibly in violation of the site’s terms and conditions. This past June, the social media giant censored President Trump when he warned rioters that looting will lead to more violence.

“I can’t stand back & watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right,” Trump tweeted. “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”

For that, Twitter placed a warning over the president’s tweet saying it “glorifies violence.”

“This Tweet violates our policies regarding the glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today,” the platform said. “We’ve taken action in the interest of preventing others from being inspired to commit violent acts but have kept the Tweet on Twitter because it is important that the public still be able to see the Tweet given its relevance to ongoing matters of public importance. As is standard with this notice, engagements with the Tweet will be limited. People will be able to Retweet with Comment, but will not be able to Like, Reply or Retweet it.”

On Sunday, riots broke out in Kenosha, Wisconsin after a video went viral that showed police shooting Jacob Blake, a black man, several times in the back. In a statement, Democratic  Gov. Tony Evers immediately condemned the use of excessive force by police while admitting facts about the incident are scarce.

“While we do not have all of the details yet, what we know for certain is that he is not the first Black man or person to have been shot or injured or mercilessly killed at the hands of individuals in law enforcement in our state or our country,” Evers said.

“And we stand against excessive use of force and immediate escalation when engaging with Black Wisconsinites,” he continued. “I have said all along that although we must offer our empathy, equally important is our action. In the coming days, we will demand just that of elected officials in our state who have failed to recognize the racism in our state and our country for far too long.”