Apparently not everyone in the country has the right to be offended.
Todd Starnes, the host of the “Todd Starnes Show” on Wednesday called out the recent hate crime charges that were leveled at a white couple for painting over a Black Lives Matter mural while looters and anarchists across the U.S. have burned police cars, toppled statues and evicted police from precincts without similar charges.
“If Black Lives Matter can destroy statues they deem to be offensive, why can’t the average American destroy Black Lives Matter slogans they find offensive?” he asked.
Diana Becton, the Contra Costa County district attorney, said it is important to “address the root and byproduct of system racism in our country.”
“The Black Lives Matter movement is an important civil rights cause that deserves all of our attention. The mural completed last weekend was a peaceful and powerful way to communicate the importance of Black lives in Contra Costa Country and the country,” she said, according to ABC News.
The report identified the two people who allegedly defaced the mural as Nicole Anderson and David Nelson. The incident occurred on the Fourth of July and reportedly involved them painting over letters in the word “BLACK.” To apparently make matters worse, Nelson was apparently dressed in pro-Trump gear at the time.
“We’re sick of this narrative,” the man in the video said. “That’s what’s wrong. The narrative of police brutality, the narrative of oppression, the narrative of racism. It’s a lie.”
The East Bay Times reported that the two were charged with misdemeanor vandalism and the hate crime. The mural was sanctioned by the city on a temporary basis and was located in front of the city’s Wakefield Taylor courthouse, the report said. The couple could face up to a year in jail.
The city has been experiencing racial tension after the mural was created, including a separate incident “that resulted in the brandishing of a firearm,” a statement from Mayor Rob Schroder said.
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“The city supports the intended message of the BLM mural, namely, that all persons, no matter their race, are entitled to be treated equally in our society,” he wrote. He said the city will consider “permanent murals or other expressions on public property in support of social justice and racial equality.”