Rapper Lizzo jumped to her social media to misquote a Florida county sheriff who warned protesters that if they break laws while protesting, they will face serious consequences, and maybe even death.
Last week, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey warned protesters not to block local roads with their protests because drivers might run them over. He also predicted that if protesters throw bricks or bottles or point guns at police officers, the department will “kill you graveyard dead.”
But Lizzo did not grasp the sheriff’s message, and instead claimed that Ivey was saying that he would “kill anyone who exercises their First Amendment right to protest,” which is something the sheriff most decidedly did not say.
The sheriff did not say that no one is allowed to exercise their First Amendment rights. He warned them not to break the law while they do it:
If you resist lawful orders, you’re going to jail. Let me be very clear about that. If you block an intersection or roadway in Brevard County you are going to jail. If you flee arrest, you’re gonna go to jail tired because we are gonna run you down and put you in jail. If you try to mob rule a car in Brevard County, gathering around it, refusing to let the driver leave, in our county you’re most likely gonna get run over and dragged across the street.
If you spit on us, you’re going to the hospital and then jail. If you hit one of us you’re going to the hospital and then jail and most likely get bitten by one of our big beautiful dogs that we have here.
If you throw a brick, a firebomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains at. Because we will kill you graveyard dead. We’re not gonna play.
But the “About Damn Time” rapper didn’t inculcate the “breaking laws” part of Ivey’s warning and instead misconstrued his message to mean that he wants to “kill” peaceful, law-abiding protesters.
“I just watched a video of law enforcement saying they would kill — kill — anyone who exercises their First Amendment rights to protest. And I’ve never seen anything more unconstitutional in my life. It was actually appalling,” she said gravely in her video comments.
The rapper went on to point out that one of the first people killed in our Revolutionary War was Crispus Attucks, who was a Boston resident shot down by British soldiers for protesting against the king during what became the Boston Massacre.
“It is the literal reason why we have our First Amendment right to assemble,” she added.
Lizzo next claimed we are in a “constitutional crisis,” though she did not explain what she meant by that.
“We don’t serve a king,” she insisted. “We don’t serve a dictator. We fought, and lived, and died for the right to vote for people who will protect and serve us, the people — we the people. And when that gets threatened, when that gets challenged, we just have to get louder. We just have to get prouder. It’s the American thing to do.”
The singer also did not explain just who has had their right to vote curtailed or eliminated by any “dictators.”
She concluded, saying, “I want to encourage everybody to remember their constitutional rights. I want to encourage everybody to also protect each other. Because, the people that we put in position to protect us are not doing that. Know your rights, and stand on ’em.”
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