Vernon Jones on Juneteenth: Remember Democrats ‘Wanted Slavery,’ Republicans ‘Died to Free’ Them

Ahead of the Juneteenth anniversary of the emancipation of U.S. slaves, former state Rep. Vernon Jones, a conservative Democrat-turned-Republican running for Congress in Georgia, called out Democrats for their historical support of slavery, while recognizing the role of Republicans who sacrificed their lives to end the institution.

In a video posted to Twitter on Saturday marking Juneteenth, Jones called on voters to “go out” to vote and “take back the country” in his congressional runoff this week, before highlighting the role of Democrats and Republicans in the history of slavery in the U.S. 

“I had to pause for the cause because right now as we are about to celebrate Juneteenth,” he began in the slightly-over-one minute clip which garnered over thirty thousand views as of Sunday morning.