Statement on Minnesota Legislator’s Prisoner Rape Tweet
- September 12, 2017
Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., September 12, 2017 — JDI condemns a recent tweet by Minnesota state legislator Pat Garofalo calling for protestors to be sexually assaulted behind bars. Posted Sunday night, the Republican legislator expressed his wish that members of antifa who clashed with police in Portland, Oregon, should be detained and given “alone time with Bubba in Appalachia.” Garofalo’s tweet ended with the hashtag “EffectiveRehabilitation.”
“Representative Garofalo’s comments are totally irresponsible and send the dangerous message that sexual assault is an appropriate, and even funny, form of punishment,” said Lovisa Stannow, JDI’s Executive Director. “As an elected official, he should know that prisoner rape is a devastating crime that shatters countless lives, including in his home state.”
JDI calls on Representative Garofalo to apologize for his insensitive and misguided tweet, and urges Minnesota House Speaker of House, Kurt Daudt, and Majority Leader, Joyce Peppin, to condemn his comments.
“The government has an absolute duty to ensure the safety and dignity of the people it locks up. When our elected officials reject this duty, or demean the very people whose safety is in their hands, they put lives in danger,” said Stannow.
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Just Detention International is a health and human rights organization that seeks to end sexual abuse in all forms of detention.