Cruz blames Waters for ‘encouraging riots and violence’

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Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, took to Twitter Sunday to call out Rep. Maxine Waters for urging protesters in Minnesota to "get more confrontational" if Derek Chauvin is not convicted of murdering George Floyd.

Waters told reporters on Saturday that if the former Minneapolis police officer is found not guilty protesters have to "stay on the street and we’ve got to get more active, we’ve got to get more confrontational. We’ve got to make sure that they know that we mean business."

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Cruz responded to the remark on Twitter, saying, "Democrats actively encouraging riots & violence," Cruz tweeted with a link to a story about the California Democrat’s comments. "They want to tear us apart."

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This is not the first time Republicans have accused Waters of stoking confrontations. In 2018, she was on video and said, "Let’s make sure we show up whenever we have to show up."

"And if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd. And you push back on them. And you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere. We’ve to get the children connected to their parents," she said.

Her office did not immediately respond to an after-hours email from Fox News.

Waters' recent comment has been seized by Republicans and criticized as reckless considering the unrest that has broken out in the area and the city's preparation for the Chauvin trial verdict.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-G announced an effort Sunday to expel Waters from Congress. Taylor Greene accused the California congresswoman of inciting "Black Lives Matter domestic terrorists to fire gunshots at National Guardsmen in Minnesota."

Two Minnesota National Guardsmen were injured following a drive-by shooting that occurred in Minneapolis during the early morning hours Sunday.

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Jonathan Turley, the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and Fox News contributor, said Waters’ recent statement is ironic because she is one of the House members "suing former President Donald Trump and others for inciting violence on Jan. 6 with his words on the Mall."

Fox News' Yael Halon contributed to this report