Mitt Romney joins Black Lives Matter protests in Washington, D.C.

@MittRomney/Twitter

Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) joined nearly 1,000 protestors in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, in response to the death of George Floyd. He became the first GOP member to march.

"We need a voice against racism. We need many voices against racism and against brutality. And we need to stand up and say black lives matter," he told an NBC reporter.

.@SenatorRomney marching in front of the WH: “We need a voice against racism, we need many voices against racism and against brutality. And we need to stand up and say black lives matter.” (w/ @alivitali) pic.twitter.com/rGrXvM6wty

— Haley Talbot (@haleytalbotnbc) June 7, 2020

In addition, Romney told a Washington Post reporter that he was participating in the march “to make sure that people understand that black lives matter.”

“Peaceful protests underscore the urgency of addressing injustices,” Romney added. “But violence drowns the message of the protestors and mocks the principals of justice.”

.@MittRomney is marching with a group of nearly 1,000 Christians to the White House. Here he is on video saying why he’s walking: “... to make sure that people understand that Black Lives Matter” https://t.co/KCxJNchCMs pic.twitter.com/Za0Am2WL8g

— Hannah Natanson (@hannah_natanson) June 7, 2020

The senator also posted photos on his Twitter of the march with the caption “Black Lives Mattter.” An aide to Romney told CNN that his trip to march with an evangelical group of 1,000 to 1,500 people near the Capitol was “spontaneous” and that he was in Washington, D.C., and had planned to march on Sunday.