Following several nights of unrest around the country, Congressman Fred Upton is calling for peace. After a Monday night that brought some unrest in Kalamazoo, Upton says it’s time for everyone to “heed the advice of George Floyd’s brother to end the chaos and to respond to this latest case of police brutality in a constructive way.”
“Obviously, people have he right to protest,” Upton said. “That is a basic tenet of being an American, and there are certainly issues that most of us disagree with what happened in Minnesota. It was a terrible death, of George Floyd, and it’s right to protest, but there are difficulties that occur when those protests lead to violence.”
Upton appeared this weekend at a peaceful protest in Benton Harbor when Mayor Marcus Muhammad invited him.
“He thought that it was important that leaders are listening to folks to see the frustration firsthand. I talked to a number of people who were there. Local ministers had a very large role participating, and of course their message was peaceful protest.”
Upton says much of the trouble in Kalamazoo was caused by “outside agitators.” He’s been told by Kalamazoo police many were from out of state.
