North Carolina Senate candidate Cheri Beasley (D) brushed off the violence that was produced during the many BLM and Antifa riots that took place in 2020 as a distraction during a virtual town hall in the fall of that year.
The cost of the BLM and Antifa riots that took place throughout 2020 was estimated to be around $2 billion, with dozens of people being killed in the chaos.
Beasley, who recently served as North Carolina's Supreme Court chief justice, said many of the protests that took place around country in 2020 after George Floyd's death "have been really fruitful. I think our conversations across the board are very different."
"So the protesting has been helpful. I’m sorry that there’s been an effort to be divisive around it because I believe the protests have been—offered an opportunity to allow people to really think differently. It's not supposed to be easy," she continued, adding that, "I understand that folks are concerned about violence and all of that, but that’s a dis-detraction in my mind around what the real issues are."
Beasley highlighted how people who are peacefully protesting have a right to do so. During a press conference on June 2, 2020, Beasley said while it is "shocking to see our workplaces, businesses and community spaces damaged" the country "must recognize the legitimate pain and weight of years of disparate treatment that fuels these demonstrations. We must be willing to hear that message, even when we are saddened by the way it is delivered.
"We must decry the failures of justice and equity just as forcefully as we decry violence. It is not enough to say to protesters 'go home and follow the rules.' It’s not that simple. We must hear each other," Beasley explained.