JUST IN: Italian-American Group Demands Tim Walz Step Down From Kamala’s Ticket

The Italian American Civil Rights League has issued a stern demand for Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) to withdraw as Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, citing alleged racist remarks toward Italian Americans. IACRL board member and Trump delegate Mike Crispi released a scathing letter on X, accusing Walz of discriminatory behavior.

In 2020, amidst nationwide protests and riots following George Floyd’s death, rioters in Minnesota dismantled a statue on the state Capitol grounds. Initially erected in 1931 to address discrimination against Italian Americans, the statue was targeted during the heightened scrutiny of racial relations in June 2020. Walz reacted by stating that those who removed the statue had “legitimate concerns.” The statue was later relocated to storage.

The Italian American Civil Rights League (IACRL), based in New York City and a supporter of former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, vehemently criticized Walz for his leniency towards the rioters who destroyed the Christopher Columbus statue.

Mike Crispi Speaking in Toms River, New Jersey

“Tim Walz did nothing to stop radical vandals from targeting the most prominent symbol of Italian- American culture in a flagrant hate crime,” Crispi said. “He knew they were coming and he did nothing to protect the statue.” According to Crispi, under Walz’s watch, chaos ensued as two individuals lost their lives, a police station was torched, and the state suffered damages worth hundreds of millions.

BREAKING: Tim Walz is an enemy of the Italian American Community.

He has a long history of being in favor of erasing our culture. He strongly has supported the removal of Christopher Columbus statues.

We will call it for what it is: racism. @TheIACRL demands he drops out. pic.twitter.com/VBCtpNYbaM

— Mike Crispi (@MikeCrispi) August 8, 2024

“His record as Governor in Minnesota is the most disgraceful record of any governor in the last decade,” Crispi added. “From allowing rioters to pillage and plunder to standing-down when the mob came for the Columbus statue, Walz allowed the North Star State to become an exemplar of cultural Marxism run amok.” Crispi further explained that private emails from Walz’s staff shed light on the underlying motives.

“In order to placate indigenous activists and other anti-Italian-American sympathizers, Walz and his cronies colluded to keep the statue down,” Crispi said. “They hate the Western tradition that made America great and they will do anything to undermine it and destroy our country from within.”

Among the protest activities, the removal of statues became symbolic, highlighted by incidents in Richmond and Boston where statues of Columbus were attacked and damaged. On June 10, Mike Forcia of the American Indian Movement, after declaring intentions on social media, led a group in Minnesota to pull down a statue despite prior warnings and discussions with state officials about legal repercussions and alternative methods for removal. The group successfully toppled the statue without arrests, even as State Patrol observed without intervening. Michael Forcia was later charged and sentenced to community service, with repair costs for the statue estimated at over $154,000.

“It was an act of civil disobedience that we need to make sure people feel that there is a proper outlet to address what are legitimate concerns around what they view as a genocidal monument that they have to walk through in their democracy,” Walz said at the time according to The New York Post.

During their current campaign tour in key battleground states, Kamala Harris and Walz have criticized Trump’s policies, particularly highlighting their differences on labor issues. After their stop in Michigan, they planned to continue their campaign in Arizona on Thursday.

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