Jacob Blake’s mother on Tuesday denounced the violent rioting that has rocked Kenosha since her son was shot, and said that she and her husband were praying for police officers.
Blake’s mother Julia Jackson also apologized to President Trump for missing a presidential phone call that was made following her heartfelt remarks at a news conference earlier Tuesday.
In an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon, Jackson expressed disgust with the rioting, calling it “not acceptable.”
“My family and I are very hurt. And quite frankly disgusted,” she told Lemon. “And as his mother, please don’t burn up property and cause havoc and tear your own homes down in my son’s name. You shouldn’t do it, people shouldn’t do it anyway, but to use my child or any other mother or father’s child—our tragedy—to react in that manner, it’s just not acceptable,” she said.
Jackson, who was accompanied by the family’s attorney Benjamin Crump on the Skype call, pointed out that the ongoing violence was not helping her son or anyone else who has suffered from alleged police brutality.
When asked by Lemon whether she had a message for any politicians, including Trump, Jackson took the opportunity to apologize to “our President Trump” on behalf of a family member who had said something that was “not kind.”
“She is hurting, and I do apologize for that,” she said. “That does not reflect our behavior.”
Jackson added with a smile, “for President Trump, I’m sorry I missed your call because had I not missed your call, maybe the comments that you made would have been different, and I’m not mad at you at all. I have the most respect for you as the leader of our country.”
Jacob Blake’s mom on violence in Kenosha: "My family and I are very hurt. And quite frankly disgusted. And as his mother, please don’t burn up property and cause havoc and tear your own homes down in my son’s name. You shouldn’t do it. … it’s just not acceptable.” pic.twitter.com/T00Fg5MOvj
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) August 26, 2020
President Trump has not yet commented on the case, but Donald Trump Jr retweeted independent journalist Andy Ngo on Monday after he called attention to Blake’s criminal history.
Jacob Blake, the man shot by police in Kenosha, Wisc., has a history of assaulting police. He also has past charges for domestic abuse & a sex crime. There's a warrent for his arrest. BLM rioters are currently destroying the city to avenge the shooting. https://t.co/BErLeJdPwj pic.twitter.com/JhHcbis5kf
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) August 24, 2020
Blake, who was shot seven times in the back, has a long road ahead of him, The Daily Mail reported.
Three of the younger Blake’s sons – aged three, five and eight – were in the car at the time of the shooting, Crump said. It was the eight-year-old’s birthday, he added.
Lawyers for the family also described the extent of Blake’s injuries revealing he now has holes in stomach and is currently undergoing surgery.
‘He had a bullet go through some of all his spinal cord. He has holes in his stomach, he had to have nearly his entire colon, small intestines removed, damage to kidney and liver, and was shot in the arm,’ Attorney Patrick Salvi said.
‘Jacob has a long road ahead of him. Not going to be his last surgery. Long road to recovery. We are going to hope and pray for as good as a recovery as we can get. Jacob is going to fight hard.’
The legal team plans to file a civil lawsuit against the police department over the shooting. Police have said little about what happened, other than that they were responding to a domestic dispute.
The Wisconsin Department of Justice is investigating the shooting.