Left-wing activists protesting a campaign event for Republican Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee interrupted a moment of silence held in honor of the victims of the shooting attack in a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania synagogue over the weekend. Thirteen people were shot, 11 of them fatally, when 46-year-old Baldwin, Pennsylvania resident Robert Bowers ran into the Tree of Life synagogue and opened fire on congregants. Bowers later shot and wounded four police officers, before he was wounded and taken into custody. Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, who is running for Senator Bob Corker’s Senate seat next month, held a campaign event in Nashville Sunday evening featuring Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina). During the campaign event, a moment of silence was observed in honor of the Pittsburgh shooting victims. A group of left-wing activists, however, interrupted the moment of silence, using the momentary quiet to accuse Blackburn of being a “white supremacist”. “Let’s take a moment and remember those that lost their lives in Pittsburgh and express our gratitude for the law enforcement who responded so beautifully,” said Blackburn. “A moment of silence.” Within seconds, a protester shouted out “Marsha Blackburn is a white supremacist.” As hecklers interrupted the moment of silence, Blackburn supporters began chanting “USA, USA”. Other protesters chanted “Black Lives Matter”, as security guards and later police intervened and removed the demonstrators. Local media outlets reported that at least four protesters were arrested during the rally. “I have never in my life heard of people interrupting a moment of silence so they could have a protest,” said Rep. Blackburn. “I think that is despicable.” After the Blackburn campaign event, the Democratic candidate, former Governor Phil Bredesen, released a statement through a campaign spokesperson condemning the protesters, while accusing the Blackburn campaign of sending its own activists to interrupt his rallies. “It is time to turn down the partisan rhetoric and start acting as Americans and Tennesseans first and partisans second. This is happening from both sides – it is a shame that people disrupted Congresswoman Blackburn’s event and it is a shame that Congresswoman Blackburn’s campaign staffers have been proudly screaming at 37 of Governor Bredesen’s events.”
