Bob Casey Says Video of George Floyd’s Death Had the Same ‘Impact’ as 9/11

To Senator Bob Casey, just one event over the past quarter century has had as great an impact on the United States as the death of George Floyd: the 9/11 attacks, in which 2,977 Americans were murdered.

The Pennsylvania Democrat made the surprising comparison in June 2020, amid protests over Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police.

“I’m not sure there’s been a video that has had more impact on the American people in recent American history,” Casey said. “I can’t think of one that’s even close, maybe all the way back to 9/11, that had that kind of impact on people’s thinking.”

Casey praised the protests that followed Floyd’s death for “help[ing] us pass legislation and make change” to what he called “systemic racism throughout our criminal justice system.”

Those remarks could come back to haunt Casey in his bid for reelection. {snip}

{snip}

Casey has said he opposes the movement to defund police, but he has touted groups like Black Lives Matter, which support anti-police initiatives. After Floyd’s death, Casey introduced the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, which lowered the threshold by which police can be prosecuted. “We must end police brutality and systematic racism in policing,” Casey said.

In August 2020, Casey praised the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, and other sports leagues for boycotting games over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wis. Blake, who is black, was shot after brandishing a knife during an arrest for violating a restraining order. Blake had a warrant out for his arrest for third-degree sexual assault.

{snip}