Comments made by the Acting Prime Minister comparing 2020’s Black Lives Matter protests to the storming of the US Capitol by Trump supporters last week are “ignorant”, says an Amnesty International spokesperson.
Five people died in the insurrection which occurred after a Trump rally held in Washington DC where the outgoing president repeated unfounded claims of election fraud.
Speaking on Tuesday, Mr McCormack told reporters “all lives matter” and doubled down on comments made in which he compared the protests.
“I appreciate there are a lot of people out there who are being a bit bleeding heart about this, and who are confecting outrage, but they should know that those lives matter to. All lives matter.”
Amnesty International’s Human Rights Lead Nolan Hunter says the motives behind the Black Lives Matter protests were simple to understand.
McCormack has also faced criticism from the Aboriginal Legal Service, which described the comments as a “disappointment”.
