WH Official Apologizes for Past Tweets Comparing Police to ‘Slave Patrols’

Newly appointed White House communications director Tyler Cherry apologized for several past tweets, including one in which he likened police to “slave patrols.”

Tyler Cherry was at the center of a heated social media debate last week after old posts resurfaced alleging extreme rhetoric. Promoted She will serve as deputy director of communications for the Biden administration. Newsweek:

The controversy erupted shortly after the Politico report. report Cherry was promoted from his position as head of communications at the Home Office. Screenshots of tweets dating back to 2014 and 2015 have been circulating online, containing strong criticism of law enforcement and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and statements in support of anti-Israel organizations.

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In one 2015 tweet, allegedly posted during the unrest following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, Cherry allegedly wrote, “I pray for Baltimore, but I pray even harder for an end to a capitalist police state motivated by explicit and implicit racial bias.”

Another post from the same period reportedly said, “It’s time to remember that modern policing is a direct evolution of slave patrols and lynch mobs.”

Tyler Cherry, Michael Vasquez, and Jamie Citron attend the Pride Celebration hosted by the U.S. Vice President and Mr. Emhoff in collaboration with GLAAD, in Washington, DC on June 28, 2023. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images via GLAAD)

Tweets from before April 2022 have been deleted from Tyler Cherry’s account, so the authenticity of the screenshots circulating couldn’t be independently verified, but Cherry himself appeared to confirm that they were real.