Top Biden campaign adviser Symone Sanders said Tuesday that Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden will not visit Kenosha because he does not want to disrupt the “peaceful nature” of the demonstrations there.
The fourth largest city in Wisconsin, Kenosha has become a magnet for protests and street violence in the aftermath of city police shooting Jacob Blake during a domestic disturbance. Two people were killed during the ensuing violent protests.
As President Trump heads to the city on Tuesday, Ms. Sanders told CNN that Mr. Biden wants to return to Wisconsin too, but he does not want to disturb the protesters.
“Look he doesn’t want to do anything that would create a tussle, if you will, on the ground,” Ms. Sanders told CNN. “He doesn’t want to do anything to upset, kind of as you noted in your opening, the peaceful nature of what is currently happening in Kenosha but also throughout the state at large.”
Ms. Sanders said Mr. Trump has incited violence and told CNN she thought the president would fan the flames and “pour gasoline on what is already a very tense situation.”
Mr. Trump dispatched nearly 1,000 National Guard troops and 200 federal law-enforcement agents to better restore order following the violent unrest in Kenosha.
Since August 24, the Kenosha Police Department said Sunday it arrested people from 44 different cities participating in civil unrest and damage in Kenosha. The police said that 102 of the 175 people arrested as of Sunday afternoon listed addresses outside of Kenosha.
