Dupage Policy Journal

Critics are mounting against the DuPage Democratic Party after one of its leaders posted an insensitive comment about what's been called a domestic terrorism incident in Kenosha, WI. 

Mary Lemanski, who was until recently the social media director for the DuPage Democrats, took to Twitter to compare the actions of the driver in the Kenosha incident to Kyle Rittenhouse, who was recently acquitted in a murder trial in which he killed two rioters last year.

“We are sad to see yet another DuPage Democratic Party leader making national news for all the wrong reasons,” Safe Suburbs USA founder Kevin Coyne said in a Facebook post. “This one suggesting that innocent parade-goers being injured (going as far as to say 'even kids') was somehow 'karma' for the Rittenhouse verdict.”

Coyne’s comments come after Lemanski tweeted, “It was probably self defense" in regard to the attack that killed five and injured 40 in Kenosha.

“This is the same group that just last year had a county board candidate step down for posting jokes about an officer being injured during a riot,” Coyne said. “It’s the same group that last year saw one of its honored committeewomen arrested for allegedly biting an officer during her DUI arrest.”

Coyne, a former Naperville City Council member, and Safe Suburbs provide campaign support for “law and order” candidates.  

“We cannot have safe communities if we are led by anti-police, anti-law-and-order radicals,” he said. “Our PAC will look hard to find and support strong law-and-order candidates and we will continue to call out those officials and candidates whom we believe place their own radical political agendas over the safety of our kids.”

The suspected driver of the vehicle is alleged to be Darrell Edward Brooks, who, according to reports, has a lengthy criminal background. Brooks has reportedly been arrested at least 25 times and is an “admitted child sex trafficker” in addition to a registered sex offender and domestic abuse perpetrator. Many have been calling the act domestic terror after Facebook comments were discovered in which Brooks discusses killing white people. 

At the time of the incident, he was wanted in Milwaukee on a felony charge. 

Lemanski was listed as “DuPage Dems Difference Maker” on the official DuPage Democratic Party website. 

That listing has since been removed but is available here.