On January 6th anniversary, Mayor Lori Lightfoot comes under fire over suspension of ties between cops and Proud Boys

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To mark the two-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack on the United States Capitol, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot released a statement praising congressional investigators and calling for those responsible to be held accountable.

Since that fateful day, the January 6 Committee led by Congressman Bennie Thompson has done tremendous work to uncover the truth behind this tragedy. Not only did he determine that far-right conspiracy groups had formulated this plan to overturn the 2020 election, but he also discovered that the former president was at the helm, Lightfoot said in a tweeted statement. As the trials of those responsible for the January 6 uprising continue, I want to thank Congressman Thompson and his committee for working tirelessly to shed light on what happened and culminated in this serious threat to our democracy.

But Lightfoot soon found herself facing criticism from her mayoral rivals who took issue with her response to the police officers’ ties to the Proud Boys, one of the groups that prosecutors say were key players in the Capitol siege.

In October, Chicago Police Department officials said an officer who was under investigation by the department for his affiliation with the Proud Boys, a white nationalist organization, and allegedly made false statements about it would be serving a 120-day suspension.

When asked by a reporter at the time how Chicagoans can trust the police to keep them safe if the department doesn’t fire an officer who lied to investigators about his ties to a far-right, anti-Semitic group and anti-gay with leaders who have been charged with sedition in connection with the Jan. 6 uprising, the mayor called the characterization overblown.

His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

City Inspector General Deborah Witzburg slammed the decision, saying the case represents a decision that someone who has made false and contradictory statements about their association with the Proud Boys should continue to wear the Chicago Police Department uniform.

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Now mayoral candidates and the Southern Poverty Law Center are questioning the decision not to fire the cop.

Candidate and state representative Kambium Kam Buckner criticized the mayor for what he said played down the matter and allowed the officer to remain in the force.

Public confidence in the police is at an all-time low, and it’s a slap in the face to every CPD officer dedicated to constitutional policing to have a mayor standing up for the racism of the Proud Boys, Buckner said.

Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson also said, There is no excuse for Mayor Lightfoot to keep an associate of the same violent organization that organized the January 6 insurrection on our payroll. city.

Two years ago, the Proud Boys led an insurrection on the US Capitol that contributed to the deaths of several police officers and a full-blown attack on our democracy, Johnson added. The additional employment of this individual is a threat to our public safety and an affront to the officers who were besieged and perished that day protecting lawmakers and this very democracy.

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