Mitch McConnell Says It’s “Jaw-Dropping” That BLM Chapter Bailed Out Suspect in Attempted Shooting of Jewish Louisville Mayoral Candidate

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in a February 17 speech on the Senate floor that it’s “jaw-dropping” that the Black Lives Matter (BLM) Louisville chapter posted bond for the suspect in the attempted shooting of a Jewish Louisville mayoral candidate.

The suspect, 21-year-old Quintez Brown, was arrested on February 14 after allegedly entering the campaign headquarters of Craig Greenberg and opening fire. No one was injured, although Greenberg’s sweater was grazed. Following Brown’s arrest, a judge posted $100,000 bond for Brown; the bond was paid for by the Louisville Community Fund, which was organized by Black Lives Matter (BLM) Louisville. BLM Louisville organizer Chanelle Helm told WHAS11 that they posted the bond for Brown because “they are calling for this individual, this young man who needs support and help, to be punished to the full extent. It is a resounding message that people are down for the torture that has taken place in our jails and prisons.” She also told The Courier Journal that they are seeking mental health counseling for Brown. “Jails and prisons do not rehabilitate people,” Helm said. “The community’s been doing that.”

McConnell said, according to his Senate website, that “On Monday, my hometown of Louisville was stunned by what appears to have been an assassination attempt against a Jewish mayoral candidate by a prominent far-left activist who’d previously called for defunding our Police Department. This far-left Black Lives Matter activist and defund-the-police cheerleader walked into a Jewish Democrat’s campaign headquarters and opened fire.

“Obviously, every aspect of this is still under investigation, including the suspect’s mental condition,” he continued. “But guess what: He’s already been let out of jail. A left-wing bail fund partnered with BLM Louisville to bail him out. Less than 48 hours after this activist tried to literally murder a politician, the radical left bailed their comrade out of jail.

“It is just jaw-dropping. The innocent people of Louisville deserve better.”

McConnell went on to speculate if any “corporate money” went toward Brown’s bond, pointing out how “a long list of prominent corporations” have provided money to BLM since 2020. He then accused the media of a double-standard when it comes to its coverage of Brown and BLM Louisville.

“I’m confident that if an activist claiming to be conservative tried to assassinate a politician, whatever his mental state, the media would open a 24-7 ‘national conversation’ about rhetoric on the right,” he said. “Somehow I doubt attempted murder by a BLM activist will get that treatment. I doubt we’ll have a ‘national conversation’ about the constant chorus of powerful voices calling our society evil.” The Senate minority leader argued that the double-standard extends to the legal system as well, pointing to how prosecutors in Minnesota asked for a more lax sentence for someone in May 2020 who “broke into a pawn shop and started a fire that burned it down” during the George Floyd protests. “His act of arson killed somebody.” “We cannot have federal officials acting like left-wing political violence is more acceptable than any other violence,” McConnell added. “If anything, political violence is uniquely unacceptable in a democratic republic.”

He concluded: “The American people need public servants to crack down on crime and defend their safety. Less pandering to woke mobs; more protecting innocent families.”

Greenberg said in a February 16 statement that Brown’s release shows that “our criminal justice system is clearly broken. It is nearly impossible to believe that someone can attempt murder on Monday and walk out of jail on Wednesday. If someone is struggling with a mental illness and is in custody, they should be evaluated and treated in custody. We must work together to fix this system. Sadly, like others who suffer from a broken system, my team and family have been traumatized again by this news.” He concluded by saying that “too many families in our city live in fear due to the constant threat of gun violence. We must all work together to fix this system so it works for everyone and is focused on preventing violent crime from happening.”

Former Judge David Holton placed the blame at the feet of the judge, saying that he would have set Brown’s bail at $500,000 minimum. “I believe that the judge failed this community,” he said, although the judge did set the bond at a higher level than what the prosecutors requested. Holton also called for cash bond to be abolished entirely in Kentucky; State Representative Jason Nemes, a Republican, will be introducing a bill nixing cash bond for charges related to violent crime.

According to The Daily Beast, Brown’s social media posts leading up to the shooting showed “an increasing interest in Black nationalist and pan-Africanist leaders” and had encouraged his followers to join the Lion of Judah Armed Forces, a local group that believes in Black Hebrew Israelite theology. A spokesperson for the group told the Beast that Brown was not a member of the group, nor do they support the attempted shooting of Greenberg. “We are terribly heartbroken over what appears to have been a humongous lapse in judgment,” the spokesperson said. “The Lion of Judah Armed Forces in no way advocates anything of this nature.”