The social media manager for the Democratic Party in DuPage County was removed from her position after posting tweets on Monday in which she compared the driver of an SUV that plowed into a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee to Kyle Rittenhouse.
“It was probably just self-defense #Wisconsin #Kyle Rittenhouse,” tweeted Mary Lemanski, after the driver killed at least five people and injured at least 48 others, according to police, at the parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Sunday.
Lemanski's sarcastic tweet was a reference to Rittenhouse's acquittal on Friday on charges stemming from the fatal shooting of two men and wounding of a third during unrest in Kenosha, 55 miles south of Waukesha, in August 2020. It was followed by another tweet, in which she wrote: "I'm sad anytime anyone dies. I just believe in Karma and this came around quick on the citizens of Wisconsin.”
Lemanski later deleted the posts.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Lemanski wrote on social media that she'd received threatening messages in response to her tweets. She later acknowledged in a tweet that she made some remarks about the Waukesha tragedy “that were not in good taste” and said she had resigned.
But Ken Mejia-Beal, the chair of the DuPage Democratic Party, said Lemanski was “let go” shortly after he learned of what he called “callous and reprehensible posts.”
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“We don’t applaud or celebrate tragedy,” Meija-Beal said. “This was a tragedy. These were folks that were out at a joyous occasion having a great time at a beautiful and festive time of the year. We, as a party, disavow Mary’s Twitter comments, the sentiment behind them. We are with the victims of this tragedy.”
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