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Black Lives Matter Phoenix Condemns Statements By Public Officials Linking Movement To Violence

By Jimmy Jenkins
Published: Wednesday, September 16, 2020 - 3:13pm
Updated: Thursday, September 17, 2020 - 7:41am

The scene at the Sandra Day O
Jimmy Jenkins/KJZZ
The scene at the Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse after a shooting on Sept. 15, 2020.

The Phoenix Metro Black Lives Matter collective is condemning comments made by public officials linking the organizing group to a shooting at the federal courthouse without any evidence.

After a security officer was shot outside the federal courthouse in Phoenix on Tuesday, city Councilman Sal DiCiccio tweeted the incident was a direct result of “extremist anti-police attacks we have seen from BLM and Antifa.”

Congressman Paul Gosar then shared the tweet with a warning about the “radical violent Left.”

And on Wednesday, Arizona Senate President Karen Fann released a statement linking protests against police to the shooting.

Phoenix Black Lives Matter organizer and spokesperson Jamaar Williams says the statements demonstrate a lack of understanding of the movement.

"We’re out here in response to grotesque violence," Williams said. "Our movement is a loving response out of seeing that — to support each other and to protect each other.”

The FBI says an individual connected to the shooting is in custody but no details have been given on a potential motive.

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