During an interview with San Antonio Mayor-elect Gina Ortiz Jones on Saturday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “The Weekend,” co-host Eugene Daniels reacted to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) saying that protesters who break the law will be arrested is “callousness” Abbott “has when talking about what could happen to these folks that are simply exercising their First Amendment right to protest.”
Daniels played video where Abbott was asked, “What is the crossing line in protests?” and Abbott responded, “That leads to FAFO? Violating the law. You break the law, you’ve crossed the line, you will be arrested.”
He then said, “Mayor-elect, I’m curious what you think hearing kind of the callousness, the jokey nature that your Governor has when talking about what could happen to these folks that are simply exercising their First Amendment right to protest.”
Jones responded that people in San Antonio “have always prided ourselves in exercising our First Amendment rights peacefully and ensuring that we are clear about where we stand on some of these inhumane practices, and making sure, though, that we are also adhering to the law. We can do both things at the same time. Our city is really known for doing that. And I’m proud of that. And I think we can get through this moment of history, making sure that our voices are heard, making sure that we are reflecting our values, and making sure that we’re doing so in a way that, certainly, doesn’t destroy property and people can’t get hurt. We can do those things at the same time.”
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