A Georgia law enforcement officer refused to kneel for protesters at a Black Lives Matter rally in Hartwell, Georgia on Sunday.
Instead, Georgia State Trooper O’Neal Saddler was recorded telling a female protester that he only kneels “for one person, and that’s God.”
The video, which was first posted to Facebook by Ni’Rubyan Photography, was shared Saturday on Twitter by Students for Trump President Ryan Fournier.
This is Georgia State Trooper O’Neal Saddler.
He was asked to kneel today, and this was his response.
God Bless him! ???????? pic.twitter.com/DZOGg6qnFn
— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) June 7, 2020
“I was supposed to be out of town this weekend with my wife,” Saddler was seen telling a female protester after she apparently asked him to kneel. “I took off today, this weekend, but I’m out here just to make sure y’all are safe. Don’t go there with respect, okay? I have much respect, but I only kneel for one person, and that’s God.” (RELATED: ‘Bullies And Cowards And Marxists’: Former NFL Player Burgess Owens Blasts Drew Brees Critics)
While police kneeling or marching with protesters as an act of solidarity has become commonplace as protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis Police Department custody continue to spread across the country, some protesters consider it a “PR stunt” that does not help their movement.