News/Commentary

Parents of Tyre Nichols accept Dem. Black Caucus invite to Biden’s State of the Union address

January 30, 2023 | | Print Article

The parents of Tyre Nichols, 29, who died following a brutal beating at the hands of Memphis police, will be attending President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address next month.

Nichols’ mother, RowVaughn Wells, and stepfather Rodney Wells were invited to the exclusive event by the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep Steven Horsford (D-Nev.).

(Video: MSNBC)

Nichols’ shocking death is, of course, being used by the left as justification for their progressive anti-police agenda.

On Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC “Morning Joe,” co-host Mika Brzezinski told Horsford that the death of Nichols “was a murder” and asked, “What do you think can be done in Congress about a problem that seems to run so deep, is coursing through the veins of a police department?”

“This is a very serious and important issue that all of us should agree, bad policing in the United States should not exist,” he responded. “It does go to the root of the culture of policing, but as you just noted in the prior segment, they disbanded this special unit in Memphis, while data from a report that was recently released from 2016 to ’22 shows that that unit and the department actually had three times as many stops for excessive force or uses of excessive force against black residents than they did against white residents”

“That is the root cause of what we have been talking about as a Congressional Black Caucus and others on this important issue,” he continued. “Yes, it is time for Congress to act. That’s why I spoke to the Nichols family yesterday. I made sure that they knew that we are standing with them on this important matter. Obviously, we send our condolences for the loss of their son, Tyre, but we are going to take action.”

“It is about making sure that the President knows that this is an issue to talk about at the State of the Union,” he stated. “I have invited the Nichols family as the guest of the Congressional Black Caucus, so they will be there to hear from the President and the members of the Congress on how we’ll take action to keep our community safe.”

It’s the kind of cunning emotional blackmail politicians love to pull at State of the Union addresses.

With grief-stricken parents in the audience and the entire world watching, President Biden will be able to say or propose nearly any plan to further restrict the police’s ability to protect and serve, and any member of Congress who doesn’t jump to their feet and enthusiastically clap will be branded a white supremacist before the speech is over.

Make no mistake: What happened to Tyre Nichols was inexcusable.

But the five black officers involved who were charged with his murder are being held up as examples of white supremacy, and the Memphis Police Department — led by a black chief — has been accused by the left of being, like all police departments, systemically racist.

The legislation that will be proposed by Congress — though, clearly, local policing is a matter for the states to legislate — will likely seek to gut funding and result in even more crime.

A statement released by President Biden on Friday — the day police bodycam footage of the incident was released — suggests he already has plans to discuss the issue at his address.

After disclosing that he already spoke with Mr. and Mrs. Wells, the president wrote, “We must do everything in our power to insure our criminal justice system lives up to the promise of fair and impartial justice, equal treatment, and dignity for all.”

“Real and lasting change will only come if we take action to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again,” he continued. “That is why I called on Congress to send the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to my desk. When Senate Republicans blocked that bill, I signed an executive order that mandated stricter use of force standards and accountability provisions for federal law enforcement, as well as measures to strengthen accountability at the state and local level.”

On Twitter, the executive director of the Black Caucus, Vincent Evans, confirmed the Wells’ RSVP: “@TheBlackCaucus Chairman @StevenHorsford has invited the parents of Tyre Nichols to the State of the Union next month—they have accepted his invitation.”

 

Melissa Fine
Latest posts by Melissa Fine (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles