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An official of the Republican party is receiving backlash after saying that Martin Luther King Jr. would have wanted someone armed with him the day he was assassinated.
In a Facebook post Kristina Cook, chairman of the Denver Republican Party wrote, “I Bet MLK Wishes he’d Had A Sniper by his Side That Day,” reports Newsweek.
The post after someone on Facebook posted an old photo of her with a gun. The comment stated that it’s no wonder Cook was unwanted at Denver’s MLK march and that MLK would not approve of the firearm, Colorado Times Recorder reported.
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But the conversation didn’t stop there. Bernice King, daughter of the late Dr. King, responded on Twitter by saying: “Listen to his speech, ‘I’ve Been To The Mountaintop,’ delivered the evening before he was assassinated. My father knew his time on earth was short. He stood by his nonviolent philosophy. He would not have wanted a gun battle on his behalf. Don’t use him for this.”
One person even took to twitter to express their criticism of Cook’s comment.
My understanding of the late Dr. King was that he would stand bravely for what he believed was right, without advocating violence or armed conflict. That ignorant tweet was directed at bigots who wish he’d never existed, descendants of bigots who wanted him gone from the start.
— Ruh Roh (@03purplejazzMIM) September 5, 2019
Cook released a statement saying, “Regardless of the context of the conversation, my comment about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. drew the attention of Dr. Bernice King. Her tweet helped me understand that while I wish that he’d had a protective detail on that day so that he’d still be with us, that would not have been her father’s wish. I have reached out privately to Dr. King to thank her for helping me understand her father’s perspective. I will also be issuing a public response to her tweet following an opportunity to speak with her further.”
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“We could use Dr. Martin Luther King’s presence in this divided world. Doctored memes like the one being circulated of me only serve to increase the division, when in a case like this both sides share the same ultimate respect for Dr. King. The Denver County Republican Party will continue to reach a hand over that divide in the hopes that we can join others looking to find unity, peace, and healing for our community.”
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