Prepare for anarchy, warns Johnson County official. ‘Racist,’ says Kansas City mayor
Johnson County Commissioner Mike Brown told his constituents to buy firearms and prepare for a “coming war,” in a weekend Facebook post that painted a dystopian picture of an impending anarchist uprising.
His rhetoric has led to widespread criticism, including from Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas who on Monday said the “gross distortions” in the post were “racist” and “reckless.”
Brown, who is up for reelection in November, used the hashtags “All Lives Matter” and “Blue Lives Matter” as he described violence, “burning churches,” “looting stores” and a chaotic end to law and order — which he said he considered beats of a “war drum.” Many condemned Brown for the call to arms, saying he was inciting violence.
Much of his commentary echoed that of President Donald Trump’s recent campaign message. Trump has said a Joe Biden presidency would “give free rein to violent anarchists” and threaten the safety of middle-class suburbia. Biden has countered with, “This happens to be Donald Trump’s America.”
Brown told his supporters to arm themselves and prepare for conflict with the Left. Many argued that Brown was heightening social unrest.
Brown told his constituents that, “they all believe you are simply too scared to do anything about it and they believe it damages Donald Trump. And that right there is the only goal of all of this — but it’s not working.”
“They’ve overplayed their hand. They’ve gone way too far and now it’s too late to get it back. And that is causing panic on the Left which will lead to a ramping up of more chaos, so prepare yourself; prepare to vote, prepare to support candidates who carry your message, buy a firearm and ammunition and take a class now to learn how to safely use it to defend yourself and your property, know what’s happening around you at all times.”
Brown accused Lucas, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, former President Barack Obama and other Democratic leaders of staying “silent” — another campaign theme of Trump, who falsely accused Biden of not condemning violence after protests over a white police officer killing George Floyd, an unarmed Black man.
“They are weak. They are not leaders,” Brown said of the Democrats.
Lucas responded in a tweet Monday morning.
“At a time when heated rhetoric rarely surprises me, I have to admit shock in seeing something like this from a local elected. Gross distortions; encouraging constituents to prepare for armed war w/ political opponents? This is reckless. This is racist. This is wrong. Just stop,” Lucas wrote.
Brown wrote the post following the shooting of two sheriff’s deputies in California. While many said that Brown’s post was encouraging others to turn to violence, in an email to The Star, Brown argued that he was “only speaking out against violence and calling on other electeds, community leaders and citizens to do the same.”
“If others too want to curb the chance of violence then they too need to speak up and speak out against it. Their silence and the actions of those committing these crimes makes them complicit. Most folks would agree the night-after-night criminal actions of some and the ensuing deafening silence from many electeds is wholly unacceptable. I spoke up because someone needed to do it. Officers being ambushed, livelihoods wrecked, life savings depleted and myriad of other struggles is all unacceptable.”
But Lucas argued, in a tweet, that “conflating anarchy and war, as the elected (Brown) does, with people looking for better treatment of Black Americans in the criminal justice system is a racist trope used for years to undermine a message, builds race-based hatred and begets more violence.
“Not to mention when you contend armed conflict is essential to push back against the current movement for racial equality, I see huge concern about one’s willingness to hear out the experience of Black people in America. I wish he’d welcome a conversation rather than war,” Lucas said.
Brown ended his post with a clear message:
“I’d rather fight and die than live in their dictated world. And right now I’ve got my own war drum — and I’m waiting for the other side to give me reason to pound on it. And I will. Say when. Don’t tread on me.”
The post has reignited an effort to have Brown removed from office, with more than 2,000 people signing a Change.org petition as of Monday morning.
Brown, 51, was elected in 2016 to represent the 6th District, which covers parts of western and southern Johnson County. He is running for reelection in November, facing challenger Shirley Allenbrand, 63, who has argued she will take a different approach if elected.
“I don’t think we should have leadership that creates chaos on our commission,” Allenbrand said in a previous interview with The Star. “And I feel like sometimes that’s being done. And that ends up misrepresenting our constituents. I don’t think we should make it a political agenda. It should be about what is good for our county.”
Johnson County commissioners are elected on nonpartisan ballots.
During his term, Brown has come under fire multiple times for his Facebook posts. In March, for example, he wrote that the COVID-19 pandemic is a “political stunt” and told constituents to “get a grip.”
A couple of years ago, several women spoke at a Board of Commissioners meeting, criticizing Brown for posting a photo that depicted the Statue of Liberty with text that read, “So there I was minding my own business and a Democrat starts climbing all over me and touching me inappropriately.” It included the MeToo hashtag. Brown posted it after a woman protesting the separation of migrant families climbed the base of the Statue of Liberty and was taken into custody.
In recent months, Brown has sparred with other commissioners and public health officials over COVID-19 restrictions and the mask mandate. Last week, he said he plans to make a motion at every weekly meeting to end the mandate until residents are no longer required to wear face coverings in public — despite the county continuing to report surging cases.
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 11:29 AM.
