The St. Paul police sergeant widely criticized for a Facebook comment encouraging drivers to run over marchers on Martin Luther King Jr. Day apparently posted similar comments two months earlier.
Sgt. Jeffrey Rothecker issued a statement Wednesday admitting to writing "Run them over. Keep traffic flowing and don't slow down for any of these idiots who try and block the street" regarding the King Day march seeking justice for two men shot by police.
Rothecker apologized, saying he was "extremely sorry" and that the post was "insensitive and wrong." He did not mention a previous exchange he allegedly had that is now making the rounds on Twitter.
Becky Zosia Dernbach, communications director for Minnesota Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (MNNOC), posted a screen shot on Twitter of the Nov. 16 exchange between Communities United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) and "JM Roth," with the same user name and photo as the MLK Day post. The exchange occurred on the MNNOC Facebook page.
Dernbach said the remarks referred to protesters' Nov. 16 shutdown of Interstate 94.
"They should've ran them over," JM Roth posted. "Obviously their parents never taught them not to play on the highway. If drivers would've just kept driving, any idiot that wants to walk onto the highway and risk getting hit, it's their fault and not that of the driver. F BLM [Black Lives Matter], Community United Against Police Brutality (CUAPB) and any others that support what they are doing."
CUAPB responds: "You have no idea what you are talking about. CUAPB has not endorsed this action nor did we participate. We believe in actions that target decisionmakers, not innocent motorists. Nonetheless, the real crime is what happened to Jamar Clark."
JM Roth responds to CUAPB: "Really, because you were out blocking streets last night right along with BLM [Black Lives Matter]. You're also great at blocking peoples (sic) right to free speech on your FB page, especially people who have proved you wrong in the past."