San Francisco DA Brooke Jenkins addresses deleted tweet calling weekend protest a "pro-Hamas rally"
SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins on Monday posted on social media to address a previously deleted tweet that called a weekend demonstration in San Francisco voicing support for Palestine a "pro-Hamas rally."
Jenkins had originally posted Sunday evening about graffiti found on Market Street windows threatening violence against Israel. The graffiti was spray painted following a Saturday afternoon protest by people supporting Palestinians as the Israeli military prepares for a ground invasion of Gaza in response to the Oct. 7th attack on Jerusalem by Hamas.
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"This weekend a pro-Hamas rally was held downtown, where "Death 2 Israel", amongst other hateful rhetoric was graffitied across buildings," the post said. Jenkins went on to say that the identities of the suspected vandals were unknown "and are assumed to have been associated with the protest."
By Monday morning, that tweet had been deleted from the platform. Shortly before noon, Jenkins posted a tweet thread to discuss her reasons behind deleting the post.
"Last night, I issued a tweet regarding and condemning antisemetic graffiti that occurred in our city. Early this morning, members of the Muslim and Arab community reached out to me expressing concerns about the tweet and how it may be interpreted," the post read. "I listened & understand their concerns & as a result, deleted the tweet. I do not support violence. The clearly antisemitic graffiti has no place in SF & we must be mindful that a person who chooses to engage in hateful acts is not representative of an entire community/faith."
Jenkins went on to stress the importance of acknowledging that "these types of acts have the potential to lead to retaliation or an escalation in hateful conduct."
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"This is a time when we must all come together to stand against hate and violence of all kinds," she wrote, noting the increase in incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia in the U.S., California and now in San Francisco since the shocking surprise attack on Jerusalem by Hamas on Oct. 7.
"As the District Attorney of San Francisco, I have an obligation to ensure that those who commit hate crimes are held accountable and pledge to do so to the fullest extent of the law," the post added.
Jenkins closed her thread by saying, "I believe we must use this time as a catalyst for engaging in a meaningful discourse and understanding as a city and a nation for how we can end suffering during this difficult time."
On Monday morning, Mayor London Breed posted about the graffiti on the same platform. While she said she supports peaceful protests, she added that "on Saturday protestors vandalized buildings with disgusting calls to violence."
Breed also posted before and after photos of where the graffiti had been painted on the windows at a Bank of America branch on Market Street.
So far, San Francisco police have not offered any comment on the investigation or confirmed whether they suspected that the vandals were protestors who participated in Saturday afternoon's pro-Palestine demonstration.