AG William Barr on Wednesday rejected the notion that systemic racism exists in the criminal justice system, but acknowledged that “there are some situations where statistics would suggest” people of color are treated differently than white people
Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday rejected the notion that systemic racism exists in the criminal justice system, but acknowledged that “there are some situations where statistics would suggest” people of color are treated differently than white people.
The attorney general’s comments come amid a spate of high-profile killings by police and shootings of unarmed Black Americans this year that have sparked mass unrest around the country. Fury over the May death of George Floyd under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer and the March killing of Breonna Taylor by Louisville, Ky., officers drove protests around the world, and fueled bipartisan calls for police reform within Congress, though those efforts ultimately fell apart.
Trump has been considerably more restrained when describing unofficial militias showing up in some cities to face off with protesters. After a violent night of protests in Wisconsin last week saw 17-year-old police admirer and Trump supporter Kyle Rittenhouse shoot three protesters, killing two, Trump declined to condemn the shootings, which Rittenhouse's attorney has said were in self-defense.
But though Barr asserted that “I don't think there are two justice systems,” for Black and white Americans — an accusation made by Blake's father when pointing to the treatment of his son versus that of Rittenhouse — he acknowledged what he said “appears to be a phenomenon in the country where African Americans feel that they're treated when they're stopped by police frequently as suspects before they are treated as citizens.
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