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Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick of Texas on Friday called the protesters assembled in Dallas the night before “hypocrites” for expecting police protection from the sniper fire while they were protesting police violence.

“All those protesters last night, they ran the other way expecting the men and women in blue to turn around and protect them,” Mr. Patrick told Fox News. “What hypocrites!”

Mr. Patrick also blamed protesters for creating volatile situations like the one in Dallas the night before, which ended with five law enforcement officers dead and seven officers and two civilians wounded.

“And I understand the First Amendment, I understand freedom of speech, and I defend it,” he said. “It is in our Constitution, it is in our soul, but you can’t go out on social media and mainstream media and everywhere else and say that the police are racist, that the police are hateful, the police are killers.”

He added: “Too many in the general public who aren’t criminals but have a big mouth are creating situations like we saw last night.”

In the interview, he also suggested that the police might stop protecting citizens if the violence and the harsh language against them does not abate.

“I do blame people on social media with their hatred toward police,” he said, adding, “I do blame former Black Lives Matter protests — last night was peaceful, but others have not been.”

“This has to stop,” he said.

The remarks came not long after Gov. Greg Abbott wrote an open letter to all Texans strongly defending the police but also calling for unity.

“In the coming days, there will be those who foment distrust and fan the flames of dissension,” Mr. Abbott wrote. “To come together – that would be the greatest rebuke to those who seek to tear us apart.”