OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Jay Inslee was visibly emotional Monday afternoon after he read a quote from the late Robert Kennedy on the night Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated April 4, 1968.
The moment came during Inslee’s closing comments at a news conference after protests and riots were held across the state and country over the weekend over the death of George Floyd while in police custody.
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Inslee said he remembered the night King was assassinated and said his dad had to tell him the news.
He noted an inspiration to him was the leadership Kennedy showed when he spoke later that night.
Inslee then read the following quote from Kennedy:
“What we need in the United States is not division. What we need in the United States is not hatred. What we need in the United States is not violence or lawlessness, but love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country …”
Inslee fought off tears after reading the quote before saying, “I’m sorry. My dad cried that night and so did I. I miss him.”
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