According to the Kansas City Star, Brennan Gilmore tweeted the snapshot of his 97-year-old grandfather, John Middlemas of Willard, Missouri, early Sunday. By Monday morning, it had been shared more than 100,000 times.
My grandpa is a 97 year-old WWII vet & Missouri farmer who wanted to join w/ those who #TakeaKnee: "those kids have every right to protest." pic.twitter.com/LurCj7SLUB
— Brennan Gilmore (@brennanmgilmore) September 24, 2017
"Those kids have every right to protest," Middlemas said, according to Gilmore's tweet.
Gilmore added: "Grandpa has been an ally to the civil rights movement for many years. He's an amazing man always on the side of justice."
Grandpa has been an ally to the civil rights movement for many years. He's an amazing man always on the side of justice.
— Brennan Gilmore (@brennanmgilmore) September 24, 2017
In an interview with the Springfield News-Leader, Middlemas said he wanted to promote peace.
"I wanted to communicate what I always told to my grandkids and everybody else: When they'd go to bed at night, we'd tell the kids we wanted to be like Jesus," he said, adding, "I'm trying to say that you have to love everybody. ... We don't kill people. We want to make people live."
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