Criminal Justice Reform Group Cuts Ties With GOP Lawmaker Over George Floyd Comments

By Jim Small/Arizona Mirror

A leading advocacy group for broad criminal justice reform in Arizona has cut ties with one of its closest Republican legislative allies after her gave a radio interview disparaging as terrorists the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators across the country who have marched to protest police violence in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the knee of a white police officer.

Rep. Walt Blackman, a Republican from Snowflake, later posted a video on Facebook in which he repeatedly attacked the character of Floyd and highlighted his criminal background. Floyd shouldn’t be lionized in death, he said, because he had a criminal history that included robbery, drug possession and theft. He also said people needed to know that Floyd had drugs in his system when he was killed.

The video was titled “I DO NOT support George Floyd and I refuse to see him as a martyr. But I hope his family receives justice.”

In response, American Friends Service Committee-Arizona said it would no longer work with Blackman on criminal justice reform legislation. AFSC-AZ has been at the forefront of the push for reforms in Arizona, including repealing the state’s “truth-in-sentencing” law that requires people serve the vast majority of their sentences before being eligible for release.

“We condemn the remarks made by Rep. Blackman. AFSC-AZ will not work alongside partners who are not aligned with our values and commitment to uphold the worth and dignity of all people, regardless of who they are or what they have done,” AFSC-AZ said in a press release Thursday afternoon.

Blackman is the first black Repbulican ever elected to the legislature. He did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

During the June 3 radio interview, Blackman told Phoenix KFYI talk show host James T. Harris – a black conservative, like Blackman – that the protests over Floyd’s murder have been “hijacked by liberal left extremists,” including Black Lives Matter. The group was formed in response to the killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014, by a white police officer.

Blackman called Black Lives Matter “a terrorist organization,” and incorrectly said the FBI has deemed it such. The FBI has not done so.

Blackman’s comments were first reported by Arizona Capitol Times.

In its statement, AFSC-AZ expressed hope that Blackman would “unlearn (his) harmful attitudes and beliefs and commit to do better.”

This story was originally published by the Arizona Mirror. For more stories from the Arizona Mirror, visit AZMirror.com.