May 31, 2020 Contact: Kevin Tatulyan       FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  412.458.0068 PITTSBURGH – Allegheny County Republican Chairman Sam DeMarco today issued the following statement regarding yesterday's protest and the violence that accompanied it.. First and foremost, we would like to extend our condolences to the family of George Floyd. No amount of money, penalty, or justice can ever bring him back or ease the pain of his loss, and for that, we pray for his family and loved ones. Like you, we were extremely disturbed by the horrific act that ultimately took his life. We are confident that Minnesota prosecutors including Attorney General Keith Ellison, will properly and faithfully prosecute the police officer(s) responsible.   We vehemently condemn racism in all its forms. Racism has no place in America. Our party was founded on the abolition of slavery and we continue to this day to advance all peoples through equality at birth. Having said that, we cannot legislate the hate out of someone’s heart. We can only show mutual love, compassion, and understanding with the hopes that these people witness this and heal themselves.   We believe in the 1st Amendment right for people to petition their government for redress of grievances, to freely speak, and to peaceably assemble. We stand with those who have exercised this right in every city across our nation.   We will not, however, tolerate the hate-filled actions and rhetoric of those belonging to supposedly “anti-fascist,” “anti-racist” groups. These groups consist of rabble rousers who want to stoke the flames as a means to bring about their political agenda, whether it be anarchy or socialism. We applaud the President's decision to designate Antifa a terrorist organization.   As you saw, the statue of Mario Lemieux was spray-painted with the hammer and sickle. PPG Paints Arena was defaced with revolutionary themes. Police cars were torched. Stores were looted. Highways were blocked. a KDKA Cameraman was attacked and beaten. Were these actions part of the peaceful demonstration to protest the horrendous murder of George Floyd? No.   As the riots were happening, Democratic Socialists of America groups, including Pittsburgh’s, were tweeting about providing bailout funds for these domestic terrorists. Twin Cities DSA actively tweeted for supplies that could be used to help the rioters. Antifa orchestrated violent riots across the nation which put these cities on high alert. All while the media negligently failed to cover these two groups.   We stand with the family of George Floyd. We stand with the 99.9% of police officers who perform their jobs heroically and dutifully on a daily basis. We stand with those who seek redress of injustices. But we will never stand with those who co-opt seeking justice with seeking socialist revolution. We call on conservatives, liberals, and independents alike to call these groups out and tolerate them no more. We also call on our justice system to bring justice not only to the Floyd family, but also to the domestic terrorists who are burning down our cities. ###