As if we needed anyone else weighing in on the current situation in Milwaukee, WI, the national minister of defense for the People’s New Black Panther Party is speaking out.

Babu Omowale said there is a ‘war against black people’ as ‘we’re the ones being murdered’ after 23-year-old Sylville Smith was shot and killed by police after he refused to drop his handgun loaded with 23 rounds when ordered by police.

Founded in 2014 as an off-shoot of the New Black Panther Party for Self Defense, the People’s New Black Panther Party is a militant black separatist group described by many as ‘a hate group whose leaders have encouraged violence against whites, Jews, and law enforcement officers’.

Responding to the backlash in Milwaukee that rocked the Dairy State over the weekend, Omowale also suggested the violent protests were protected by the Second Amendment.

In an on air interview, he said: “What you see is people lashing out and fighting against the system.”

“As it is said in the Second Amendment, you know. So this is not new. The people in this country have always defended themselves against tyranny. So I can’t liken this to a civil war.”

“Is it a war? Yes, it is. It’s a war against black people because we’re the ones being murdered. We’re the ones being killed. So there’s been a war against us. But is it a civil war? I can’t say that that’s the case.”

“Second Amendment rights are to defend against tyranny. When respect for the badge and law enforcement is gone, you get anarchy and that’s what we’re seeing in Milwaukee right now,” Maj Toure, founder of Black Guns Matter said earlier today.

“I’d like to see the officer’s bodycam video, but Mayor Barrett and Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn say they’ve each viewed it and confirmed Smith was reaching for his gun. The bottom line is, that officer had every right to do what he had to do to make it home safely to his family,” Toure concluded.

Omowale also claimed the Smith case was yet another example of black men ‘being murdered’ and the ‘same old that is happening around the country’.

But in Milwaukee, Smith’s father Patrick said he takes partial responsibility for his son’s death, telling reporters, “When they see the wrong role model, this is what you get.” 

“Being on the street, doing things of the street life: Entertaining, drug dealing and pimping and they’re looking at their dad like ‘he’s doing all these things’.”

“I got out of jail two months ago, but I’ve been going back and forth in jail and they see those things so I’d like to apologize to my kids because this is the role model they look up to.”