California Democrat Maxine Waters told a crowd protesting police brutality Saturday evening that they should “stay on the street” if former officer Derek Chauvin were to be acquitted.
“I’m going to fight with all of the people who stand for justice,” the 81-year-old representative told reporters. “We’ve got to get justice in this country and we cannot allow these killings to continue.”
When questioned about Chauvin’s trial ahead of closing arguments next week, Waters said that if he is not convicted, protests should carry on.
“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.”
Expressing hopes that Chauvin would be held accountable for George Floyd’s death, Waters said that she is not “going away” and plans to remain in Minnesota through Monday.
“This is a very difficult time in the history of the country,” the 30-year veteran congresswoman said. “We have to let people know that we are not going to be satisfied unless we get justice in these cases.”
