“A prominent Republican candidate for Virginia governor said that the guilty verdict against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin this week made her ‘sick’ and that jurors didn’t acquit because they feared a violent backlash. ‘Friends, today’s verdict makes me sick,’ state Sen. Amanda F. Chase (Chesterfield) told a gathering in King William County on Tuesday shortly after a jury found Chauvin guilty of murder and manslaughter in the killing of George Floyd. ‘I am so concerned about our law enforcement right now quitting. And you should be, too.’ Her comments, captured in a video Chase posted to Facebook, drew rebukes from state and national Democratic groups. American Bridge 21st Century, a liberal super PAC, circulated video of Chase’s remarks on Twitter, drawing about 150,000 views” the Washington Post reports.

“Before noon Wednesday, a least one of the five Democrats running for governor was trying to raise money off Chase’s remarks. ‘Virginia left Amanda Chase’s bigoted ideas in the 20th century,’ state Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan (D-Richmond) said in a fundraising appeal that accused Chase of espousing ‘blatantly racist ideas.’ But Chase, a self-described ‘Trump in heels’ who prides herself on provocative statements, stood by her remarks. ‘I’m concerned that the decision was politically motivated more to prevent civil unrest than to serve justice,’ she later said in a written statement. ‘The decision made today sends a clear message to law enforcement; the justice system doesn’t have your back.’ With those remarks, Chase has lined up well to the right of some of her party’s most conservative leaders, including Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). A Trump loyalist, Jordan would not say explicitly whether he agreed with the verdict but told CNN: ‘The justice system works. I said last summer that what happened to George Floyd was as wrong as wrong can be, and the justice system will work and that’s what we saw happened.'”