The Kansas Democratic Party has called for its state attorney general candidate to step aside, amid outcry over a poster in her law office depicting superhero Wonder Woman lassoing a police officer.
Attorney Sarah Swain is the only Democrat running for attorney general in the state but has come under fire from the Kansas State Troopers Association and other police groups over an image intended to advertise her law firm that shows DC Comics character Wonder Woman with her lasso around the neck of a police officer.
"At a time when public servants in Kansas are giving their lives to protect the public at an alarming rate, we will not allow the senseless, divisive actions of an obnoxious few to succeed," the Troopers Association said in a Facebook post Sunday, two days after two Kansas sheriff's deputies were shot dead accompanying an inmate to court.
The KS Troopers Association shared this photo posted at Attorney General Candidate Sarah Swain's law office. KSTA says it promotes violence toward officers. Swain says she's seen less-than-honest officers, and this depicts a superhero wielding a lasso of truth. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/JhsWQLGVZE
— Brittni Thomason (@BrittniThomason) June 19, 2018
On Monday the Kansas Democratic Party called for Swain to end her campaign.
"Promotion of violence against law enforcement officers disqualifies Ms. Swain from serving as Kansas' chief law enforcement officer. We strongly condemn and reject any depiction of violence against law enforcement, including the image from Ms. Swain's law firm. We did not recruit or encourage Ms. Swain to run for Attorney General, nor have we had any contact with her since she filed. The Party has reached out to her seeking an explanation of her past posts, but she has not responded," Ethan Corson, the party's spokesman, told The Kansas City Star.
Swain has not commented on whether she intends to step down, but said in a statement Tuesday that the poster, which has hung inside the door of her law office for several years, had been misinterpreted.
"It shows a female superhero wielding a lasso of truth and using the lasso to force the truth from the mouth of a police officer, a metaphor for the rigors of cross-examination, which forms the cornerstone of a zealous defense. I understand that this picture has been misconstrued by many as advocating for violence against the police, and for that I apologize. I am not anti-law enforcement; I am pro-truth. And I do not condone violence in any form," Swain said.
If Swain bows to pressure and ends her campaign, incumbent Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt will run unopposed in November.
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