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DuPage County Democrats have severed ties from a social media manager who sparked outrage for what the party condemned as “callous and reprehensible” tweets from her personal account.
Mary Lemanski, who has since deleted her Twitter account, retweeted a post from Heavy.com on Sunday (November 21). Heavy shared a photo provided by a witness of “the driver of a SUV that plowed into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin…” noting that the suspect is in custody. Authorities have charged Darrell Brooks Jr. with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide after he allegedly drove through the parade. Five were killed and more than 40 others were injured.
Lemanski retweeted Heavy’s post, saying “It was probably just self-defense,” hashtagging #Wisconsin and #KyleRittenhouse. Kyle Rittenhouse, 18, was acquitted of fatally shooting two men and injuring another when he traveled from Illinois to Wisconsin for a protest against police brutality, which took place after the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
Lemanski went on to say, in a separate tweet: “I’m sad. I’m sad anytime anyone dies. I just believe in Karma and this came around quick on the citizens of Wisconsin.” She said in one response: “You reap what you sow, Wisconsin,” dubbing herself in another post, “Someone who believes in reaping what you sow. Wisconsin put that bad energy out there. It came back real fast.” She responded to another Twitter user: “The blood of Kyle Rittenhouse’s victims is on the hands of Wisconsin citizens, even the children,” screenshots show.
Ken Mejia-Beal, chair of the Democratic Party of DuPage County, shared a statement on Twitter following Lemanski’s “callous and reprehensible posts.” He said:
“The Democratic Party of DuPage County immediately severed all ties with Mary Lemanski once we became aware of her callous and reprehensible posts. She does not speak for us and we unequivocally reject her statements about the tragic events that occurred yesterday in Waukesha. We as a party denounce violence of any kind. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families impacted by this heinous act, which shocked and saddened us all.”