Bill Barr, the United States of America (USA) Attorney General has blamed the far-left extremists and anarchists for the violent protests against policy brutality in more than a dozen cities. He also warned that the federal law enforcement could take action against them. While local leaders in hard-hit Minneapolis, the epicenter of the protests, said organised white supremacist groups and drug gangs could have had a significant role in setting fires and looting, Barr echoed President Donald Trump’s claim that the left was responsible.
He said, “Unfortunately, with the rioting that is occurring in many of our cities, around the country, the voices of peaceful protest have been hijacked by violent radical elements. In many places, it appears the violence is planned, organised and driven by anarchic and far-left extremist groups using Antifa-like tactics, many of whom travel from outside the state to promote the violence.”
Antifa is a loose-knit group of leftist militants saying they are fighting fascism. The protests in Minneapolis and a dozen more major cities Friday were sparked by the killing of African American George Floyd in the custody of Minneapolis police on Monday. The protests in many places turned violent and have included several nights of fires and looting, with the Minnesota city the hardest hit. Earlier Trump tweeted likewise that protestors were “Antifa and the Radical Left.” “Don’t lay the blame on others!” he said.
President Trump also said that hundreds of protesters who chanted outside the White House late Friday were “professionally managed” and “had little to do with the memory of George Floyd. They were just there to cause trouble,” he tweeted.
