Tucker Carlson has said top Democrats will not punish and refuse to condemn Maxine Waters 'because they agree' with her calls for 'more confrontation' during Black Lives Matter protests.
The Fox host on Monday slammed the California congresswoman's 'jury intimidation' and said she 'supports mob violence' after the judge in Derek Chauvin's trial said her comments could have given the defense grounds for an appeal.
Both Nancy Pelosi and White House press secretary Jen Psaki refused to condemn Waters when probed on the matter Monday.
And Carlson told his viewers: 'Leading Democrats aren't going to punish Maxine Waters because they're not embarrassed to Maxine Waters. Because they agree with Maxine Waters.
'Maxine Waters is someone who supports mob violence.
'Waters has never believed in Western justice. For decades, she supported the totalitarian government of Cuba, which replaced jury trials with summary mass executions of entire groups of people.
'That was fine with Maxine Waters. She's never had a problem with killing political enemies.
'Is Maxine Waters greater of guilty of greater incitement than Donald Trump? Well, of course, but that's not the point.
'People like Maxine Waters don't care if you point out that they're hypocrites. They don't care if you catch them lying. You're wasting your breath. They are not ashamed, and hey never will be ashamed.'
Tucker Carlson on Monday slammed Maxine Waters' 'jury intimidation' and says she 'supports mob violence' after the judge in Derek Chauvin's trial said the congresswoman's comments could have given the defense grounds for an appeal
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., spoke to protesters outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department on April 17. She called for 'more confrontation' during Black Lives Matter protests
That came after Nancy Pelosi said Waters' comments should be viewed in the context of the long struggle toward civil rights and said Waters should not apologize.
'Maxine talked about confrontation in the manner of the Civil Rights movement,' Pelosi told reporters at the Capitol.
'I myself think we should take our lead from the George Floyd family. They´ve handled this with great dignity, and no ambiguity or lack of misinterpretation by the other side,' Pelosi said.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki also refused to condemn Waters' comments.
She told reporters: 'Well, I can speak to the president's view. He has been very clear that he recognizes the issue of police violence against people of color, communities of color is one of great anguish and it's exhausting and quite emotional at times.'
'But as he also always says, protests must be peaceful. That´s what he continues to call for.'
Carlson pointed to Waters' comments calling for protesters to 'let them know that we mean business'
He added: '"We've got to make sure they know we mean business," she said. That couldn't be clearer. "Do what we say or we'll kill you." That's the message.
'Her demand was very clear. Convict Officer Derek Chauvin of first-degree murder or we will burn it down.
'Maxine Waters doesn't believe in the system, the one that she helps run. So she's demanding a first degree murder conviction.
'What is this called? It's called jury intimidation.'
He went on to criticize her support of the LA rioters, adding: 'Maxine Waters cheered them on.'
Nancy Pelosi, left, said Waters' comments should be viewed in the context of the long struggle toward civil rights and said Waters should not apologize. White House press secretary Jen Psaki, right, also refused to condemn Waters' comments
Waters, 82, had told protesters in Minneapolis: 'We´ve got to get more confrontational, we´ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business.'
Judge Peter Cahill - overseeing the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd in the city - called the comments 'abhorrent,' saying they could lead to a verdict being appealed and overturned.
But Waters defiantly insisted on Monday afternoon that she stood by her words.
'The judge says my words don't matter,' she told CNN.
When pressed on the judge stating that her remarks could be grounds for appeal, she replied: 'Oh no, no they didn't.'
She insisted she was entirely justified in her call to action, saying: 'The whole Civil Rights movement is confrontational.'
Waters reportedly requested police protection while on that Minnesota trip. According to a travel log obtained by Townhall editor Katie Pavlich, Waters requested a US Capitol Police escort on Saturday.
Carlson said of that: 'It's almost hard to process facts like these. Calling for violence even as you demand that taxpayers protect you from the violence?
'Calling for whipping a dangerous mob into a frenzy at the very same moment you are trying to eliminate the police and then disarm the population through gun control? What is that? Well, it's totalitarian and we should be honest about it.'
Judge Peter Cahill - overseeing the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd in the city - called the comments 'abhorrent,' saying they could lead to a verdict being appealed and overturned
Maxine Waters, congresswoman for California, was in Minnesota on Saturday evening, saying that demonstrators needed to 'get more active, more confrontational'
Waters had joined protesters on Saturday outside the police department of a Minneapolis suburb where a police officer fatally shot a Black motorist earlier this month.
Waters, who is clack, told the crowd she wanted to see a murder conviction against Chauvin for Floyd´s death.
When asked what should happen if Chauvin isn´t convicted on murder charges, she replied: 'We gotta stay on the street, we´ve got to get more active, we´ve got to get more confrontational, we´ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business.'
Minneapolis is on edge as it anticipates the outcome of Chauvin´s trial and reels from the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center.
The city is bracing for the verdict in the Chauvin case. More than 3,000 members of the National Guard are in Minneapolis, in addition to 1,100 officers from public safety agencies across the state as part of what has been termed Operation Safety Net.
In the early hours of Sunday, two members of the National Guard were injured - although not seriously - in a drive-by shooting.
Chauvin's defense attorney had motioned for a mistrial in light of Waters' comments.
Cahill denied the motion but called it 'disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch' for elected officials to comment on the outcome of the case.
'Their failure to do so, I think, is abhorrent, he said. 'But I don´t think it has prejudiced us with additional material that would prejudice this jury. They have been told not to watch the news. I trust they are following those instructions.'
Republicans have seized on Waters' comments, saying she is inflaming tensions as Minneapolis looks to prevent looting and destruction that occurred after Floyd's death last year.
The House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy said on Twitter that he was introducing a resolution to censure Waters 'for these dangerous comments.'
He claimed that up to 15 Democrats could vote for his motion.
Demonstrators gather for a solidarity rally lead by community organizers in the Black and Asian communities in memory of George Floyd and Daunte Wright outside Cup Foods, Sunday in Minneapolis
A bullet hole in a National Guard vehicle is seen after Guardsmen were targeted on Sunday
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said in a speech that 'it´s harder to imagine anything more inappropriate than a member of Congress flying in from California to inform local leaders, not so subtly, that this defendant had better be found guilty.'
The Kentucky Republican said that Waters' demand for a guilty verdict was 'like somebody window-shopping or ordering off a menu.'
'Every single American deserves a fair trial. This is sacred. You do not balance the scales of justice by trying to tip them,' McConnell said.
The top Senate Republican noted that through much of the country's 'quest for civil rights and equal justice has been the fight to get rid of extra-judicial violence, to get rid of rigged trials where the outcome was molded by public sentiment or angry mob.'
'It is beyond the pale for a sitting member of the United States Congress to look at what happened last summer and imply there should be some kind of a sequel if a legal case does not unfold as she thinks it should,' he said.
Kevin McCarthy (left) has claimed that up to 15 Democrats could vote for his motion to censure California Representative Maxine Waters (right) after she told Black Lives Matters protesters to 'get more confrontational' in Minneapolis on Saturday night
Senator Ted Cruz and controversial Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene also criticized Waters. Cruz and Greene were some of Trump's most ardent defenders of Donald Trump in the wake of the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill.
Waters has been a galvanizing figure for decades, visiting communities nationwide to advocate for racial and economic justice, and an end to police violence.
It´s no surprise she would appear in Minnesota. She began focusing on policing issues in 1979 after the police shooting of a Black woman during a confrontation in Los Angeles over an unpaid gas bill and was a leading voice advocate for policing changes in the aftermath of the videotaped beating of Black motorist Rodney King by LAPD officers.
Over three decades in Congress, the Los Angeles-area congresswoman has drawn criticism from Republicans and conservatives, who were quick to seize on her comments Monday.
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