OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
An Illinois Democrat has resigned from her post as social media director for a county-level party after claiming that the horrific and deadly incident in Waukesha, Wis., Saturday evening, in which someone plowed into a Christmas parade with an SUV “karma” for the verdict of not guilty in the Kyle Rittenhouse case the previous day.
“The blood of Kyle Rittenhouse’s victims is on the hands of Wisconsin citizens, even the children,” wrote Mary Lemanski, then-social media chief for the Democratic Pary in Dupage County, tweeted.
Mary Lemanski, the social media manager for the Democratic Party of DuPage County, Illinois, says the deadly #Waukesha Christmas parade incident is karma.
“The blood of Kyle Rittenhouse’s victims is on the hands of Wisconsin citizens, even the children.” pic.twitter.com/3WkzvSJu5J
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) November 22, 2021
“I’m sad anytime anyone dies. I just believe in Karma and this came around quick on the citizens of Wisconsin,” Lemansky added.
RT.com reports:
Lemanski, whose Twitter profile says she is an acting student with the Second City Comedy Group, meanwhile mockingly referred to the SUV driver as fearing for his life and simply offering “help.” The remarks echoed Rittenhouse’s explanation that he shot and killed Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum in August 2020 in self-defense, claiming he was present during a protest-turned-riot to offer people help.
Lemanski later deleted her tweets as they began to spread online, and shared a statement saying she had resigned from the social media role after making “some remarks that were not in good taste regarding the Waukesha tragedy”. She also claimed she would sue Fox News for harassment, as the outlet was the first to highlight the tweets.
I will. https://t.co/pyYGe7a5dD
— Mary Lemanski (@MaryLemanski) November 22, 2021
I never wanted to be in politics. I just wanted Rauner, Roscam, and Trump out of office. I guess people can fight for their civil rights themselves from now on. Here’s a list: https://t.co/6Sn8O3WaAT https://t.co/rAbpPaPoGf
— Mary Lemanski (@MaryLemanski) November 22, 2021
Becker News’ Kyle Becker noted that the Dupage County Democrats have since scrubbed Lemanksi’s name from the party’s website.
In a statement, the DuPage County Democratic Party put some distance between the organization and Lemanski’s remarks, describing her as a “former member of our organization.” At present, there is no one who is listed as the party’s social media director.
DuPage County Democrats have distanced themselves from Lemanski’s comments and described her as a “former member of our organization.” There is no one currently listed as the party’s social media director on its staffing page.
“We are aware of statements made by a former member of our organization and find them to be incredibly insensitive and not in alignment of who we are as an organization. Our organization does not support hate in any form,” the group tweeted on Monday.
We are deeply saddened by the tragedy in Waukesha.We are aware of statements made by a former member of our organization and find them to be incredibly insensitive and not in alignment of who we are as an organization. Our organization does not support hate in any form
— DuPage Democrats (@DuPage_Dems) November 22, 2021
At present, it is not clear who the driver of the SUV was, but Waukesha police have a “person of interest” in custody who is a career criminal, according to Fox News:
The man being questioned after a red SUV plowed through Waukesha’s Christmas parade, killing at least five people and injuring dozens, has been identified as Darrell E. Brooks Jr., a Milwaukee man with a criminal history dating back to 1999 that includes numerous violent felonies.
He has a long rap sheet and a number of pending cases. Brooks’ most recent court appearance came on Nov. 5 for charges including reckless endangerment, battery, domestic abuse, resisting arrest and bail jumping. He was out on $1,000 bail for those charges at the time of the attack.
