Kshawma Sawant blasts 'RIP Barbara Bush' tweet, drawing intense criticism on social media



SEATTLE – Seattle City councilmember Kshawma Sawant found herself in the middle of a controversy yet again Wednesday, this time following a tweet about the late Barbara Bush.

Responding to a tweet from Women’s March organizers that said “Rest in peace and power, Barbara Bush,” Sawant teed off on the organization.

“This is terrible,” wrote Sawant, who is a member of the Socialist party. “@womensmarch organizers have helped lead historic protests since Trump's election but this tweet shows how, without a political compass, even well-meaning progressives can end up giving cover to ruling class & ultimately undermining struggles against oppression.”

Response to the tweet was overwhelmingly negative. Bush died Tuesday at the age of 92.







Sawant’s rhetoric has brought her trouble in the past. Two Seattle police officers sued her for defamation after she called them murderers for shooting and killing a black man named Che Taylor. The shooting was later ruled justified.

A man named Carl Haglund sued her and the city after she called him a “slumlord.”

Sawant's office didn't respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon. Dana Robinson, the spokesperson for the City Council as a whole, said she hadn't spoken with Sawant about the tweet and therefore couldn't speak to Sawant's intent.