Florida democrats condemn Lake County lawmaker's tweet to 'protesters'
A Lake County lawmaker is catching heat for his tweet in the wake of nationwide protests.
Republican Anthony Sabatini says he's concerned local demonstrations could become violent and destructive.
“It's just an important warning for people to understand,” Sabatini said. “If you rob or burglarize a building in Lake County there is a very good chance you're going to get shot.”
Sabatini illustrated his message by posting a photo of an assault rifle, and the Twitter message: "This is an AR-15 - - this will be a very common sight upon illegal entry at any Lake County business, FYI."
Sabatini says images of looting around the country following the death of George Floyd during an arrest in Minneapolis last week, prompted the tweet. He says he does not support the officer's actions.
“Oh no. It was excessive force. The guy was just totally wrong,” Sabatini said. “Peaceful protest is totally fine. Unfortunately, we have seen very little of that (around the country). What we have mostly seen is destruction and violence.”
Sabatini's tweet came right after a tweet sent by President Donald Trump that was sanctioned by Twitter.
The president tweeted Friday, in part, "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."
Twitter warned, "you may not threaten violence" but allowed the tweet to remain.
There was no such warning for the Sabatini tweet.
Lawmaker Anna Eskamani and the Florida Democratic Party, including Juan Penalosa, criticized both men's tweets.
“This president and Representative Sabatini need to help this nation heal, not throw fuel on the fire which is what tweets from the president and Representative Sabatini have actually done,” Penalosa said.