Buttigieg backs black leaders after Indiana event disrupted

HENNIKER, N.H. — Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is applauding African American leaders in his home city for “speaking their truth” after a protester disrupted an event held to demonstrate black support for the mayor in South Bend, Ind.

African American leaders held an event Wednesday night to dispute the notion that Buttigieg lacks support from the black community in South Bend, the South Bend Tribune reported. Video shows a protester interrupting speaker Sharon McBride as he shouts, “Who chose these people as black leaders?” He then takes the microphone and yells repeatedly, “This is a farce!”

The man was wearing a T-shirt that said “Black Lives Matter South Bend,” the newspaper reported.

Buttigieg has faced continued questions about his ability to appeal to African-American voters, a key constituency of the Democratic primary electorate, as he maintains a spot in the top tier of the primary field. Tensions in South Bend flared over the summer after the shooting death of an African American man by a white police officer, presenting Buttigieg with some of the toughest moments of his White House campaign.

Speaking to reporters after a campaign event Thursday in Henniker, N.H., Buttigieg seemed to indicate that the protester may have been affiliated with one of his 2020 rivals.

“We can’t control if somebody from another campaign comes and disrupts it,” Buttigieg said.

“Most importantly, there was a lot of folks speaking their truth,” Buttigieg continued. “And we’re going to continue to make sure we’re elevating South Bend voices because the African Americans who know me best in our community are often the best to speak to both who I am and what we’ve done together.”

Whether the man involved in the disruption was actually linked to another campaign wasn’t clear.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/36bSpVp