Kamala Harris on Meeting Jacob Blake’s Family: ‘They’re an Incredible Family’

Kamala Harris (Scott Olson / Getty)
Scott Olson / Getty
Joel B. Pollak

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) told reporters on Monday after meeting with the family of Jacob Blake Jr. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin: “They’re an incredible family.”

Jacob Blake Jr. was severely wounded in a confrontation with Kenosha, Wisconsin, police on Aug. 23. He had an outstanding warrant for sexual assault and other charges. Police, responding to a 911 call, attempted to arrest him. He resisted, and was shot seven times from behind as he reached into his vehicle. A knife was later found on the floorboard of his car. In the aftermath, riots erupted in the city that caused many businesses to burn down, and later turned deadly.

Harris met with members of the family, and spoke to Jacob Blake Jr. by telephone as he recovered in hospital. It was not clear precisely which family members she met.

Jacob Blake Jr.’s mother, Julia Jackson, has been widely admired for her pleas for non-violence; Jacob Blake Sr. has a long history of racism and antisemitism, and declared America “guilty” of “systematic racism” in a fiery speech at a march on Washington, DC, last month.

Benjamin Crump, who is representing Jacob Blake Jr. in the police shooting, released a statement on Monday in which he said that Harris had told the injured man that she was proud of him.

Harris campaigned in Wisconsin, a key swing state, where polls suggest the recent Kenosha violence could hurt Democratic candidates in November.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His new book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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