Brutal fact-check debunks anti-Harris attack ad featuring witness for George Floyd’s killer

16 September 2024

Retired Minneapolis police officer Scott Creighton was among the witnesses for the defense when Derek Chauvin was on trial following the June 2020 murder of George Floyd.

Four years after Floyd's death, Creighton is being featured in an ad from Preserve America PAC — a pro-Donald Trump group. Creighton vigorously attacks 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris in the ad, which the Washington Post's Glenn Kessler fact-checks in his September 16 column.

In the ad, Creighton says of Harris, "Four years ago, in this alley, rioters threw a brick at my face and knocked out my teeth. Why? Because I was a police officer. And what did Kamala Harris do? While America's cities were burning, Kamala was defending peaceful protests. She raised millions to help bail rioters out of jail. And supported defunding our police, making us all less safe. Kamala Harris is dangerous."

But according to Kessler, Creighton "ignores that Harris condemned the riots, even as she said people had a right to peacefully protest."

Creighton, Kessler emphasizes, glosses over the fact that Harris was quite forceful in her condemnation of violent rioters in August 2020.

Former prosecutor Harris, then a U.S. senator, said, "It's no wonder people are taking to the streets, and I support them. We must always defend peaceful protest and peaceful protesters. We should not confuse them with those looting and committing acts of violence."

When riots took place in Portland, Oregon, Kessler notes, Harris tweeted, "I join @JoeBiden in condemning this violence. This cannot — and must not — be who we are. Americans deserve a president who will heal our country and bring people together — not fan the flames of hate and division."

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Creighton's claim that Harris "raised millions to help bail rioters out of jail," according to Kessler, "cannot be verified."

Harris, Kessler points out, supported a group called the Minneapolis Freedom Fund, which raised bail money for nonviolent Floyd protesters.

Glenn Kessler's full Washington Post column is available at this link (subscription required).

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