“Even if people loot, so what? Burn it to the ground, you know, if that’s what it’s going to take to fix our nation.”
Those are the words of Kim Olson, a Texas Democrat running to take the North Texas-based 24th Congressional District from Republican hands. Olson uttered the response in answer to a question about defunding the police.
As the Washington Examiner, who broke the story, reported:
“What the hell you got snipers on the roof for in a peaceful march? Even if people loot, so what? Burn it to the ground, you know, if that’s what it’s going to take to fix our nation,” retired Air Force Col. Kim Olson said during a live digital event on Tuesday, shown in a clip obtained by the Washington Examiner.
“I don’t think people want me to say that,” added Olson, a Democratic candidate in Texas’s 24th Congressional District, which covers much of the suburban area in between Fort Worth and Dallas.
Olson, 62, made the comment during a several-minute answer to a question about what she thought about far-left calls to disband or defund police departments.
Following the Examiner’s publication of her remarks, Olson’s campaign claims they were taken out of context. Her full remarks can be viewed here.
Here’s what three voters in her district had to say:
The True Texas Project’s Julie McCarty, who is a CD 24 voter herself, cast doubt on the veracity of Olson’s claims she was taken out of context.
“Kim Olson’s campaign is trying to walk back her statement and claims it was taken the wrong way, but how do you take ‘burn it to the ground’ the wrong way?” asked McCarty.
“She’s speaking directly to her voters in that statement, which is good news for our district. I have a hard time thinking the majority of CD 24 voters want our community ‘burned to the ground,’” she added.
Fred McCarty, the husband of Julie McCarty and an activist in his own right, said Olson’s statements reveal how hostile many in government have become to the public and that the effort to appease mobs will never be successful.
“The fact Kim Olson is a retired Air Force colonel is more evidence that every inch of government is infested with individuals hostile to the people they’re supposed to serve,” he said. “Kim Olson is attempting to appease a mob who can never be appeased and further revealing how she and other individuals who call for us to surrender should never be elected to any office.”
Davin Bernstein, a citizen of Coppell and another voter in CD 24, said Olson’s statements were “appalling.”
“It’s appalling that any candidate for Congress would even joke about promoting lawlessness ‘to fix this nation.’ And she wasn’t joking,” said Bernstein. “I’ve watched the video, and she realized how ludicrous her statement was after saying it. There are things we can do better as a nation, but allowing thugs to threaten people during rioting and looting is hardly the direction we should be headed.”
A military veteran and failed candidate for agriculture commissioner, Olson is in a runoff election against Democrat Candace Valenzuela for the opportunity to run against Republican Beth Van Duyne, the former mayor of Irving and HUD administrator who easily secured the Republican nomination to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Kenny Marchant (R–Coppell) in the March primary election.
The state’s 24th Congressional District covers much of the suburban area between the cities of Dallas and Fort Worth and includes a portion of Denton County as well. Once considered a safe Republican district, Democrats have made strong gains and are expected to contest the seat in the November election.
