St. Louis mayor blasted for broadcasting names and addresses of ‘defund the police’ protesters
THE St. Louis mayor has been blasted for broadcasting the names and addresses of protesters calling to defund the police.
Democratic Mayor Lyda Krewson read the personal info of some of the demonstrators during a Facebook live event on Friday, reported.
In the now-deleted video, Krewson was speaking about a meeting she had with demonstrators outside the , City Hall earlier that day.
The mayor then began reading letters from demonstrators that outlined suggestions – and rattled off some of their first and last names, KSDK reported.
She even gave the streets – and in some cases, the exact addresses – of where the demonstrators live.
Many of the protesters were asking to give no funding to police at all.
There were at least 10 instances where Krewson read the full name and address of an activist, the reported.
Krewson's actions were met with swift backlash.
The ACLU of released a statement, condemning Krewson's reading aloud of demonstrators' personal information.
"To be clear, it is shocking and misguided for Mayor Lyda Krewson of St. Louis, to broadcast the addresses of those who dare to express a different viewpoint on an issue of public concern," the ACLU wrote.
"It serves no apparent purpose beyond intimidation."
St. Louis alderwomen Megan Ellyia Green and Cara Spencer both also condemned the actions.
"Hey @LydaKrewson. So not cool to doxx my constituents who support #DefundThePolice on your FB live today," Green tweeted.
"It’s a move designed to silence dissent, and it’s dangerous. #DoBetter," Green added.
Spencer tweeted: "No leader should resort to intimidation of the residents they were elected to represent. Period."
A calling for Krewson's resignation following the incident has gained more than 24,000 signatures.
"On June 26th Lyda directly endangered the lives of protesters by releasing their names and addresses," the petition said.
On Friday, Krewson released an apology on Twitter.
"I’d like to apologize for identifying individuals who presented letters to me at City Hall today," Krewson tweeted.
"This was during one of my Facebook updates as I was answering routine questions. Never did I intend to harm anyone or cause distress.
"The update is removed and again, I apologize," she added.
The mayor's actions came amid ongoing protests following the death of .
Demonstrators across the nation have shown support for the Black Lives Matter movement, as they call for an end to systemic racism.
Many protesters have called for a defunding of the police, as they encourage more funds to go toward community-based resources.
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As demonstrators continue to call for the defunding, .
Baltimore, ; Hartford, ; Portland, ; Philadelphia, ; and Seattle, ; have all made moves to cut police funds.
NYC also vowed to make "substantial" cuts to the NYPD.