Maxine Waters: Flag-Burning Protesters Furthered ‘Their Own Agenda’

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) issued a statement Saturday responding to the counter-protesters who burned an American flag outside her Los Angeles, California, office Thursday, saying they were advancing “their own agendas.”

Waters warned the counter-protesters—who were part of a “black power” group—to “steer clear” of the area on Thursday because of a planned protest by the far-right group called the “Oath Keepers.”

“Many people from within the community heeded my advice and steered clear of the event, but there were groups of individuals who felt compelled to participate and show their support for me despite my request,” Waters announced Saturday.

The California Democrat added that the group of non-peaceful demonstrators, some of whom were not even members of her district, showed up “not so much in support of me, but to seek press attention in furtherance of their own agendas.”

The Oath Keepers announced they would be protesting outside Waters’ Los Angeles office on Thursday, but decided not to show up to the demonstration site “to ensure peace.”

The group reportedly called Waters a “protest terrorist inciter.”

The counter-protesters that showed up instead decided to burn an American flag in the street while shouting, “America was never great!”

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The California Democrat suggested in June that the public should harass members of the Trump administration in public places to protest their policies.

“If you see anybody from that [Trump] Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out, and you create a crowd, and you push back on them, and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere,” she told a crowd of supporters.

Waters doubled down on her comments in a press conference, despite statements from congressional Democratic leaders calling her rhetoric “unacceptable.”