Maxine Waters Tells Protesters to ‘Stay in the Street,’ Be ‘More Confrontational’ If Chauvin Acquitted

Representative Maxine Waters (D., Calif.) told demonstrators to “stay in the street” and become “more confrontational” if former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is acquitted of killing resident George Floyd.

Waters arrived in Brooklyn Center, Minn., on Saturday to join demonstrations over the police shooting of Daunte Wright last week. A local officer shot and killed Wright with a handgun during a traffic stop after intending to use a Taser., sparking nightly demonstrations in front of the local police headquarters, with some turning violent.

“I’m going to fight with all of the people who stand for justice,” Waters told reporters at the Saturday demonstration. “We’ve got to get justice in this country and we cannot allow these killings to continue.”

When asked what protesters should do moving forward, Waters said “We’ve got to stay on the street and we’ve got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational. We’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business.”

Waters told reporters “I hope we’re going to get a verdict that will say guilty, guilty, guilty,” in the Chauvin trial. “And if we don’t, we cannot go away.”

Chauvin is accused of killing Floyd by pressing down on his neck during the attempted arrest in May 2020, and has been charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the case. Video of Floyd’s arrest sparked rioting in Minneapolis and across the U.S. last year, along with massive protests.

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• Derek Chauvin Pleads the Fifth, Won’t Testify in His Own Defense

• Pelosi: Waters Should Not Apologize for Urging Protesters to ‘Get More Confrontational’