Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Beto O'Rourke's Comments About the Dallas Police Officer Who Killed a Young Black Man In His Own Home Has People On Their Feet

Beto O'Rourke's Comments About the Dallas Police Officer Who Killed a Young Black Man In His Own Home Has People On Their Feet
U.S. Representative Beto O'Rourke (D-TX) campaigns in Dallas, Texas, on September 14, 2018. - O'Rourke is the Democratic challenger for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) (LAURA BUCKMAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Powerful.

Texas Democratic candidate for Senate Beto O'Rourke has been transforming the state's political landscape with his progressive platform and Texans' embrace of it.

While speaking to a crowd at Good Street Baptist Church in Dallas, O'Rourke spoke out passionately against the murder of Botham Jean, the young African American man who was killed in his own apartment when a white police officer mistook his apartment for her own.


Off-duty police officer Amber Guyger shot Jean in his own home, supposedly mistaking him for a burglar. Guyger remains on paid administrative leave despite facing charges for manslaughter. In a move that angered many Texans, a search warrant was granted for Jean's apartment (rather than Guyger's) where authorities found a small amount of marijuana in his kitchen.

O'Rourke said about the shooting:

"How can it be, in this day and age, in this very year, in this community, that a young man, African-American, in his own apartment, is shot and killed by a police officer and when we all want justice and the facts and the information to make an informed decision, what's released to the public? That he had a small amount of marijuana in his kitchen. How can that be just in this country? How can we continue to lose the lives of unarmed Black men in the United State of America at the hands of white police officers?”

The crowd immediately rose to its feet in a standing ovation, hailing O'Rourke's testament, with many appearing to be in tears.

You can watch it for yourself below:

But it wasn't just those lucky enough to witness the rousing speech who were lauding O'Rourke's unambiguous stance. Twitter immediately began praising the candidate.

Some compared his charisma and courage to that of other legendary politicians.

Meanwhile, the statement on Botham Jean from O'Rourke's opponent Ted Cruz stands in diametric opposition. Ted Cruz's statement is being widely rebuked for grasping at straws in a case of home invasion--however inadvertent--that resulted in someone's murder.

Cruz responded to Beto O'Rourke's remarks:

it may well be that two lives were destroyed that night. That obviously the individual that was at home in his apartment and found himself murdered—that is horrific and a nightmare...It’s possible what happened was a horrifying and horrific misunderstanding. Or it may be something else...I wish Beto O’Rourke and Democrats weren’t so quick to always blame the police officer.

Americans on social media found Cruz's statement heartless, especially with the phrase "found himself murdered."

Polls show that O'Rourke is gaining ground on Cruz. While the Texas senate race is sure to be a nail-biter, if O'Rourke keeps courting all voters of Texas from a place of empathy and passion, he may well clutch the win.

More from News

Donald Trump; Vladimir Putin
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; Contributor/Getty Images

Trump Sparks Concern After Repeatedly Confusing Alaska With Russia Ahead Of Putin Meeting

President Donald Trump turned heads on Monday after he repeatedly claimed he's going to "Russia" on Friday—very openly confusing the country with the state of Alaska, the actual location where he plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for a highly anticipated summit.

Trump made the mix-up during a press conference about crime in Washington, D.C., where he has already moved to federalize the police and deploy the National Guard, citing inflated crime statistics that compared D.C. to Baghdad and Brasilia.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hillary Clinton; Pete Hegseth
Joe Raedle/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Hillary Offers Chilling Warning After Pete Hegseth Reposts Video Of Pastors Saying Women Shouldn't Vote

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned women around the U.S. about what's to come after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth amplified a video about a Christian nationalist church that showed pastors saying that women shouldn't be allowed to vote.

The segment Hegseth aired was a nearly seven-minute CNN investigation into Doug Wilson, cofounder of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches (CREC).

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of JB Pritzker; Donald Trump
NBC News; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

JB Pritzker Explains Exactly Why Trump Is Pushing His GOP Allies To Redistrict—And He's Spot On

Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker perfectly explained why President Donald Trump is pushing for gerrymandered redistricting in Republican-led states amid pushback from Democrats in Texas.

Redistricting has been all over the news cycle in the days since Texas Democrats fled the state to avoid voting on a new heavily-gerrymandered redistricting map and to deny their GOP colleagues a quorum, the minimum number of lawmakers required to conduct legislative business.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

MSNBC Fact-Checks Trump In Real Time As He Blatantly Lies About Crime Rates In DC

President Donald Trump is facing criticism after he was fact-checked by MSNBC in real time as he lied about crime statistics while announcing his decision to federalize police in Washington, D.C., and deploy the National Guard in an effort to fight crime.

Trump's announcement is a significant escalation of his previous attacks on the nation's capital, which he has repeatedly referred to as "crime-infested." He claimed in his remarks to the press that D.C. is “one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the world,” a claim at odds with Justice Department data showing that the city’s crime rate hit a 30-year low last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
A young man sits in a job interview across from a woman we can't see, and he's seems bored.
Photo by Mina Rad on Unsplash

Job Interview Red Flags That Scream 'Walk Away!'

Everybody needs a job and money.

Well, some people just have money with no job... good for them.

Keep ReadingShow less