‘This is war’: Black Panther leader says blacks are being murdered, protests protected under 2nd Amendment
‘This is war’: Black Panther leader says blacks are being murdered, protests protected under 2nd Amendment
A leading New Black Panther figure declared ‘this is war’ in response to the violent protests in Milwaukee at the weekend.
Babu Omowale, the national minister of defense for the People’s New Black Panther Party, said there is a ‘war against black people’ as ‘we’re the ones being murdered’.
His comments came as a second night of riots erupted following the death of 23-year-old Sylville Smith, who was shot by an officer.
At least one person was shot during the protests as police moved in to disperse nearly 150 protesters, while a cop was also injured.
Omowale suggested the violent protests were protected by the Second Amendment.
‘As it is said in the Second Amendment, you know. So this is not new. The people in this country have always defended themselves against tyranny. So I can’t liken this to a civil war.
‘Is it a war? Yes, it is. It’s a war against black people because we’re the ones being murdered. We’re the ones being killed. So there’s been a war against us. But is it a civil war? I can’t say that that’s the case.’
He added that the death of Sylville Smith was yet another example of black men ‘being murdered’ and the ‘same old that is happening around the country’.
Omowale is the co-founder of the Huey P. Newton Gun Club, a coalition focused on self-defense and named after a co-founder of the Black Panther Party.
The club provides armed patrols and training exercises and takes people from poor, minority communities to local gun ranges.
The People’s New Black Panther Party was founded two years ago as an off-shoot of the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense, a militant black separatist group that has been described as a hate group ‘whose leaders have encouraged violence against whites, Jews, and law enforcement officers’.
It is understood that Micah Xavier Johnson, who shot dead five cops at Dallas Black Lives Matter protest in July, went to several People’s New Black Panther Party meetings.
While the groups refer to the Black Panther Party, which was set up in 1966 and advocated violent protest, they are not affiliated with the original group.
A leading New Black Panther figure declared ‘this is war’ in response to the violent protests in Milwaukee at the weekend.
