Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said she will speak at a rally aimed at supporting the police officer who shot and killed Ma’Khia Bryant, a Black teenager.
Her announcement came in a Monday tweet. She wrote: "I have been invited to speak at the #BackTheBlue & Freedom Rally at the Ohio State House this Saturday in Columbus.
"As we all saw on video, Officer (Nicholas) Reardon saved the young woman’s life and should be treated like a hero.
"See y’all there."
Bryant was killed last Tuesday just minutes before a jury in Minneapolis announced a guilty verdict was reached for all three charges against ex-police officer Derek Chauvin, who was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
Body camera footage released in Columbus shortly after the shooting shows an officer, believed to be Reardon, approaching an altercation involving Bryant. Soon after he asked what was happening, the officer fired four shots at the girl after she lunged after another girl, while holding a knife. The officer can be heard saying "she had a knife. She just went at her."
Greene's announcement of her planned appearance at the rally came about a month after she opposed a move to reward law enforcement officers for defending the Capitol building on Jan. 6, according to Newsweek.
She was one of 12 GOP lawmakers who opposed a resolution passed by the House to give Congressional gold medals to the Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department officers who protected lawmakers during the riot.
Newsweek noted the resolution ended up passing by a vote of 413-12. The outlet said Greene later told a town hall in Georgia she detected a blasphemous tone in the resolution's wording, which called the Capitol "the temple of our American Democracy."
The "Back the Blue Freedom Rally!" is set for the West Lawn of the Ohio Statehouse from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., according to The Columbus Dispatch, which attributed the details to promotional information posted on the Ohio Gun Owners website.
A list of former and current lawmakers have been invited to speak, the newspaper noted. Ohio Gun Owners said in its announcement that tickets to the event are free but registration is required.
Meanwhile, Twitter won’t decide whether NBA superstar LeBron James should be banned from the social media platform for his tweet about the police officer who shot and killed Bryant.
James on Wednesday posted a photograph of Reardon, identified as the police officer who shot the teenager, and added the words "YOU'RE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY."
He pulled the tweet down after an outcry from people who said he was inciting violence against Reardon.
But Twitter said it is unable to judge tweets that have been taken down.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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