Five are dead and dozens more injured after a man who reportedly was a Black Lives Matter activist along with two others allegedly plowed through a crowd of Christmas paraders in Waukesha Sunday evening.
Some say it’s “karma” for the acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse, who walked after a jury decided last week that he acted in self-defense in the killing of two rioters, and the injuring of a third.
One of those people was Mary Lemanski, the social media manager for the Democratic Party of DuPage County, Illinois.
“It was probably just self-defense,” she said in a now-deleted tweet from Sunday night.
“I’m sad. I’m sad anytime anyone dies. I just believe in Karma and this came around quick for the citizens of Wisconsin,” she said in another now-deleted tweet.
“The blood of Kyle Rittenhouse’s victims is on the hands of Wisconsin citizens, even the children,” Lemanski said later.
Lemanski’s statement elicited a response from her employer.
“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,” the DuPage Democrats said 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
Though the group characterized Lemanski as a “former member,” it did not confirm whether she had been fired for her comments.
Left-wing Twitter personality Angela Belcamino jumped into the fray, too.
“The driver from the incident in Waukesha will just claim self-defense,” she said, comparing the mowing over of innocent paraders to Rittenhouse’s case. “It’s the new normal.”
Eighteen children are said to be among the victims of Sunday night’s tragedy, and 10 are reportedly in intensive care at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Up to 30 people are believed to be injured.
Several are members of the Catholic community there.
“Our prayers are with the people who have been injured and killed during the tragic incident in Waukesha,” the Archdiocese of Milwaukee said in a statement. “Among the injured are one of our Catholic priests, as well as multiple parishioners and Waukesha Catholic school children. Please join us in prayer for all those involved, their families, and those who are traumatized from witnessing the horrible scene.”
One of the three suspects, Darrell Brooks, is in custody.
According to a Fox News report, Brooks has a lengthy criminal history, and his latest court appearance was on November 5. During that appearance, he faced charges including reckless endangerment, battery, domestic abuse, resisting arrest, and bail jumping, but was released on $1000 bail. He is a registered Tier 2 sex offender in Nevada, where he was convicted of having sex with a child.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Wisconsin Daily Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
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