FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 14, 2022
Contact: [email protected]
READ THE FACTS: Walker Continues to Lie About Reverend Warnock’s Strong Support for Law Enforcement to Distract from His Own Falsehoods
Multiple Media Reports, Fact Checks Over The Years Have Debunked The Misleading Claim That Reverend Warnock Called Police ‘Thugs And Gangsters’
Savannah, GA — Herschel Walker’s persistent problem with telling the truth is once again on full display as he levels baseless attacks against Senator Warnock’s strong support for Georgia’s law enforcement officers — attacks that have long been debunked by multiple independent reports and fact checks.
While Senator Warnock has a strong track record of supporting Georgia’s law enforcement officers and public safety, Walker has a track record of impersonating and threatening law enforcement; in fact, independent fact checks have affirmed that Walker has lied about his involvement with law enforcement — demonstrating clearly that he is not ready to represent Georgians in the U.S. Senate.
Here Are The Facts:
- Since 2020, multiple independent reports and fact checks have debunked misleading claims that Reverend Warnock called police officers ‘thugs and gangsters.’
- Politifact: “We found that Walker’s assertion that Warnock ‘called police thugs’…is misleading.” [09/30/2022]
- CNN: “Warnock was specifically criticizing abusive police practices in Ferguson, Missouri, not talking about police officers generally […]” [12/09/2020]
- FactCheck.org: In a 2015 sermon, Warnock “specifically said police in Ferguson, Missouri — where Michael Brown, an unarmed, 18-year-old Black man was shot and killed by a white officer in August 2014 — displayed ‘a kind of gangster and thug mentality.’ He was not talking about all law enforcement […]” [11/19/2020]
- Reverend Warnock has a strong track record of supporting law enforcement officers in Georgia and across the country.
- Reverend Warnock introduced the bipartisan Invest to Protect Act in the Senate, which will help fund, train and support local law enforcement; his bill passed the chamber unanimously in August, and was recently passed by the U.S. House.
- In response to the passage of Warnock’s bipartisan Invest to Protect Act, Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams said, “Senator Warnock really understands the needs of local law enforcement…It’s huge for us because it helps shoulder the burden on local taxpayers to provide funding to hire, train, and retain the best qualified officers.” Watch the full interview here.
- Reverend Warnock also helped secure $3.9 billion in grants for state and local law enforcement in the FY2022 spending bill–an increase of $506.4 million over the previous year.
- Meanwhile, Herschel Walker has lied for decades about working with local law enforcement, and once threatened to have a shootout with police.
- A report by 11 Alive revealed that Herschel Walker threatened a “shootout with police,” according to police reports.
- And a report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution revealed that Walker has lied for decades about working with local police departments and the FBI — continuing to show off a laminated “Special Deputy Sheriff Badge” to this day.
- When asked to clarify his law enforcement lies, Walker doubled down, telling 11 Alive “I did train at Quantico with the FBI. And I have worked with law enforcement for years as well. And I continue to work with them.”
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