Chicago area Democrat staffer forced to resign after linking Rittenhouse verdict to Waukesha killings, saying it was 'karma'
A Chicago area Democratic operative was ousted Monday after posting a series of tweets linking the Kyle Rittenhouse acquittal to the Waukesha parade killings.
"You reap what you sow, Wisconsin," wrote Mary Lemanski, who had been the social media manager for the the Democratic Party of DuPage County until the party said it "severed ties" with her after her tweets.
"It was probably just self-defense #Wisconsin #KyleRittenhouse," she tweeted Sunday night after five people were killed and more than 40 injured when an SUV rammed into the annual Waukesha Christmas Parade.
She added: "I'm sad. I'm sad anytime anyone dies. I just believe in Karma and this came around quick on the citizens of Wisconsin."
In an early Monday morning reply to Twitter comments, Lemanski wrote that "the blood of Kyle Rittenhouse's victims is on the hands of Wisconsin citizens, even the children," according to the Daily Herald, a suburban Chicago newspaper.
Lemanski's Twitter account has been deleted.
More: What we know, and don't know, about the Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy
The Democratic Party of DuPage County issued a statement Monday saying it "immediately severed all ties with Mary Lemanski once we became aware of her callous and reprehensible posts."
The statement added than Lemanski "does not speak for us and we unequivocally reject her statements about the tragic events that occurred yesterday in Waukesha. We as a party denounce violence of any kind."
Rittenhouse was acquitted last week of killing two men, wounding another and endangering two more in a series of shootings during a night of protests in Kenosha in 2020.
Darrell E. Brooks is in custody and faces at least five counts of intentional homicide with the possibility of additional charges, according to Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson.
In a Monday tweet, Lemanski tried to explain her comments.
"I unfortunately made some remarks that were not in good taste regarding the Waukesha tragedy yesterday," she wrote. "I am accepting the consequences of my free speech."
Lemanski said she had resigned, according to media reports.
Lemanski could not be reached for comment.
DuPage County is a suburban county and home to more than 900,000 people, making it the second largest county in Illinois.
Contact Cary Spivak at (414) 550-0070 or cspivak@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @cspivak or Facebook at facebook.com/cary.spivak.
Contact Mary Spicuzza at (414) 224-2324 or mary.spicuzza@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MSpicuzzaMJS.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Chicago Democrat out after Tweets linking Kenosha verdict to Waukesha
