Francesca Hong, a Wisconsin Democratic gubernatorial candidate, previously posted and stated support for dismantling police departments. Social media posts from 2020 and 2021 included advocacy for defunding police as a first step toward abolishing them and claims that police exist to uphold white supremacy. She later said public safety should not be synonymous with law enforcement and that her focus is building systems of care for the future, describing the paradigm shift as long-term. She also said she does not support arbitrary cuts to public safety budgets, while questioning whether current police spending is optimal. Republicans in Wisconsin have highlighted her past statements to portray her as too progressive.
"Hong called to abolish police departments in a plethora of social media posts and public statements, with one X post from 2021 declaring, Police exist to uphold white supremacy. Hong, a 37-year-old Wisconsin state representative and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is running against fellow Democrats Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, and state Sen. Kelda Roys. CNN's review highlighted multiple posts from 2020 and 2021 in which Hong explicitly advocated for dismantling police departments."
"In one August 2020 post on X, Hong wrote she supported defunding the police as a first step towards abolishing the police. In 2021, she wrote that police exist to uphold white supremacy. Defund then abolish. Reform can't be an option. As KFile notes, while Democrats nationally have spent years trying to move past this type of messaging following backlash to it, Hong did not disavow her past rhetoric when asked by CNN, nor has she deleted all of the posts in question."
"While I envision a world where public safety is not synonymous with law enforcement, I recognize that this paradigm shift is a very long-term vision and my focus is building systems of care for now and for our future, Hong said in a statement to the outlet. At the same time, Hong told CNN she does not support arbitrary cuts to public safety budgets, though she questioned whether current levels of police spending are the optimal or efficient use of resources."
"The report noted that Republicans in Wisconsin have already started spotlighting Hong's past statements in an attempt to frame her as too progressive for the state. KFile also detailed several deleted posts from Hong's social media history, including reposts You all can say Chinese coronavirus' as long as I can say white racism' and a profanity-laced 2020 tw"
#police-abolition #defunding-police #public-safety-budgets #wisconsin-politics #democratic-socialists-of-america
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