Pence invites Trump activist who called George Floyd ‘horrible’ to meeting

Black conservative activist Candace Owens was included in Vice President Mike Pence‘s roundtable on race relations Thursday, despite being criticized for calling George Floyd a ‘horrible human being.’ 

Pence tweeted out that he had met with some black Americans, explaining that the group had disussed ‘ how we can move our Nation forward in the wake of the tragic death of George Floyd and the protests and rioting that have ensued.’ 

Pence did not tag Owens in the picture, but did tag three black conservatives: Heritage Foundation President Kay Cole James, Center for Urban Renewal and Education founder Star Parker and Elroy Sailor, who previously served on the Trump transition team. 

A DailyMail.com request for comment and more details about the meeting went unreturned. 

A source close to Owens, 31, confirmed to DailyMail.com that she was present for the meeting and she’s clearly visible in the photograph. 

On Wednesday, Owens appeared on Facebook Live and explained the problem she had with people holding up Floyd as a ‘martyr.’ 

‘We are unique in that we are the only people that fight and scream and demand support and justice for the people in our community who are up to no good,’ she said of black America. 

She said that no Jewish person, or Hispanic person, or white person would embrace someone who had done ‘five stints in prison.’ 

‘George Floyd was not an amazing person,’ she told viewers. 

‘As soon as this video hit the internet, I did just basic searches,’ Owens went on. 

What she found was Floyd’s criminal record and his arrest and autopsy report. 

‘First and foremost George Floyd, at the time of his arrest, was high on fentanyl and methamphetamine,’ Owens said. 

Owens also mentioned a 2007 robbery that Floyd was involved in that involved a pregnant victim and Floyd holding a gun to her abdomen. 

‘And this was the biggest instant I had that made me realize this is a horrible human being, that I’m not going to pretend is a good person,’ she said.  

She said her criticism was in no way defending what the lead officer Derek Chauvin did, by kneeing Floyd in the neck, until he was unresponsive. 

‘But why are we pretending that this criminal should be upheld as a citizen, as a martyr, or black America?’ she asked. 

Following her attendance at Thursday’s White House round table, she sent out a tweet to her 2.2 million followers which stated: ‘Black lives only matter to white liberals, every 4 years, ahead of an election. I’m so sorry to those of you that thought otherwise.’ 

Owens, the communications director for Turning Point USA, a pro-Trump youth group led by Charlie Kirk, has become a household name on the right for her controversial takes. 

She’s been utilized by Republicans on Capitol Hill as a witness on Democrat-led panels, like one in September 2019 on white supremacy.  

Back in April, the controversial pundit revealed she was considering running for office. 

‘I’m now honestly considering running for office. Never had any desire to previously, but something changed in me last night. Had a conversation with my husband and I think it’s a plan,’ she wrote on Twitter.

She did not specify where and when she will run.  

Owens was born in Stamford, Connecticut and is a current resident of New York. 

She once interned at Vogue and dropped out of the University of Rhode Island, where she was studying journalism. 

The controversial pundit initially held liberal views and was critical of President Trump, before changing her political beliefs ‘overnight’. 

‘I became a conservative overnight … I realized that liberals were actually the racists. Liberals were actually the trolls,’ she stated in 2018. 

Owens is married to Oxford graduate George Farmer, the son of  Lord Farmer, a Baron and former treasurer of the British Conservative Party. 

Owens is frequently in the headlines for insert herself in the culture wars. 

In 2018,  she tried to give Kanye West too much credit for being part of her new ‘Blexit’ moment – the ‘black exit’ from the Democratic Party. 

Owens had announced at an event in Washington in October 2018 that West had designed the ‘Blexit’ t-shirts she was giving out. 

That boast pressured West – who had previously paid a trip to see Trump in the Oval Office – to back out of politics for awhile. 

‘I never wanted any association with Blexit,’ West said in a tweet. ‘I have nothing to do with it.’ 

Meanwhile, she hit out at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle last year, after the former Suits star broke down on trip to South Africa claiming she had found royal life difficult. 

‘Using African children as a backdrop to complain about your over-privileged life is offensive,’ Owens said of the American-born Duchess. 

She also took aim at Prince Harry, saying: ‘Invoking your own mother’s tragic death to demand the press stop calling out your hypocritical wife is downright disgusting. 

‘We will not let you use George as a prop’: Rev. Al Sharpton lays into Trump’s bible photo-op ‘agenda’ at memorial for George Floyd as Minneapolis mayor sobs uncontrollably at gold coffin

Civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton attacked President Donald Trump’s agenda, vowed not to let people use George Floyd as prop and declared it was time for black people to demand ‘get your knee off our necks’ during his fiery eulogy for the man whose death at the hands of police has sparked global protests. 

Hollywood celebrities, musicians and politicians gathered in front of the Floyd’s golden casket on Thursday at a sanctuary at North Central University in the first of a series of memorials set for three cities over the next six days. 

The service took place as a judge less than a mile away set bail at $1 million each for three of the four fired Minneapolis police officers charged with aiding and abetting murder in Floyd’s death. Floyd died on May 25 after white police officer Derek Chauvin, who has been charged with murder, put his knee on Floyd’s neck for several minutes as he lay handcuffed on the pavement, gasping that he couldn’t breathe.

Floyd’s memorial drew the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and members of Congress, including Reps. Ilhan Omar, Sheila Jackson-Lee and Ayana Pressley. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey took a knee in front Floyd’s casket and sobbed before the service got underway. Among the celebrities in attendance were T.I., Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish and Marsai Martin.  

During his fierce eulogy, Rev Sharpton criticized President Trump’s rhetoric and handling of the protests that have stemmed from Floyd’s death, including how he staged a photo op outside a Washington DC church with a Bible earlier this week. 

‘I’ve never seen anyone hold a bible like that (and) I’ve been preaching since I was a little boy. If he’s watching us today, I’d like him to open that Bible and reach Ecclesiastes 3: ‘To every season, there is a time.’ I’d like him to understand what time it is,’ Sharpton said. 

‘We cannot use Bibles as a prop. For those that have agendas that are not about justice, this family will not let you use George as a prop. Let us stand for what is right.’  

At one point during the service, mourners stood in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds to mark the fatal length of time the officer held his knee to Floyd’s neck. 

‘George Floyd’s story has been the story of black folks. Because ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed to be is because you kept your knee on our neck,’ Sharpton said. 

‘What happened to Floyd happens every day in this country, in education, in health services, and in every area of American life. It’s time for us to stand up in George’s name and say, ‘Get your knee off our necks!’  he added.