WASHINGTON (AP) — When Rep. Maxine Waters urged people to be “confrontational” in the pursuit of justice for George Floyd, advocates for racial equity heard a leading Black voice in the nation’s long march toward civil rights. But detractors saw Waters’ push for a guilty verdict as incendiary, momentarily diverting attention away from the case itself. The attorney for former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin moved for a mistrial in light of her comments. The judge denied the motion but called the comments “abhorrent.” As the action and reaction ricocheted around social media, it was an all-too-familiar call and response, a politically fraught exchange that has played out throughout much of America’s troubled racial history.
