Author: Sam Buisman

Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney challenges local activist groups to publicly denounce Tuesday night's violence. 

According to Channel3000, in a Wednesday night press conference, Mahoney directly called upon Freedom, Inc. and Urban Triage, two Madison non-profits which have had a major role in organizing the city's George Floyd protests, to condemn the violence and property damage seen during Tuesday night's demonstrations. While other city officials have made similar statements deploring Tuesday's destruction, Mahoney is the first to implicate that these groups share in its culpability.

“I call on them today to publicly disparage these acts of violence because it is their silence and failure to denounce these extreme acts of violence which endanger the lives of the people they advocate for and the children of these families impacted by these issues,” said Mahoney during the press conference. 

According to WKOW, Urban Triage Communications Director April Kigeya responded to Mahoney's charge by arguing that his and the city's outrage are misplaced. 

WKOW quoted her as saying “While we did not take part in the events that occurred last night, I would urge people to show the same outrage and disapproval when Black and brown bodies are shot & killed, as when property such as statues are taken down.” 

This spat between Mahoney and the two non-profits may heighten already simmering tensions between the police and organized activists in Madison, which were reinvigorated by what activists saw as a mishandling of Sunday's hit-and-run and the Tuesday arrest of Devonere Johnson. 

At press time, neither Freedom, Inc. nor Urban Triage have commented on Tuesday night's protest in any capacity on their websites or social media pages.