A Washington, D.C., grandmother who gained national attention for defending President Donald Trump at a White House Black History Month event shared a powerful message for residents of crime-plagued cities on Thursday. Forlesia Cook appeared on "Hannity" to urge Americans to abandon partisan loyalty in favor of safety and common-sense reform. "Stop voting for party," Cook said. "Vote for causes, vote for those that you see are making changes, the right changes that are keeping us safe."
Cook’s passion stems from a personal tragedy that she says the current administration is finally taking seriously. In 2017, her 22-year-old grandson, Marty William McMillan Jr., was shot multiple times and his body was dumped on a Maryland highway after he went to meet a girl he met on a dating site. Cook and her family spent months searching for him, ultimately finding only his remains in early 2018.
During Wednesday's White House celebration, Cook stood on stage with the president and shut down critics who frequently label him as a racist. "I love him. I don’t want to hear nothing you got to say about that racist stuff," she declared to a cheering crowd. She told viewers on network television to "back up off him" and let the president do his job of restoring order to the nation's capital.
Cook has been a vocal supporter of the administration's decision to deploy the National Guard to patrol D.C. streets to combat the soaring crime rates. She testified before Congress in late 2025, detailing how her daughter essentially had to solve Marty’s murder because the local judicial system was so flawed. The grandmother noted that it was the Trump team that finally took a sincere interest in her grandson's case to ensure laws were changed.
While liberal strategists continue to claim Trump's rhetoric is "disruptive," Cook argued that his "Operation Metro Surge" is the only thing keeping many communities from falling into total chaos. She challenged her critics to see things from her perspective as a grieving relative who spent nine months looking for her grandson’s bones. "Will you look at it different if it was your loved one that's murdered, and you didn't get justice?" she asked.
The killer in her grandson's case was eventually sentenced to 16 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter, a deal Cook’s family found inadequate. She believes the Trump administration’s focus on "biological truth" and law and order is the only way to ensure future victims receive real justice. For Cook, the choice is clear: "When I vote for someone, I vote for the issues. I vote for the causes; I stand up for the causes, and we need to get over parties and races."