U.S. Attorney General William Barr on Thursday said that a extremist groups including Antifa are largely responsible for ongoing riots in many cities. There is evidence “foreign actors” are involved.
“As I told the governors on Monday, we understand the distinction between three different sets of actors here,” Barr told a press conference. “The large preponderance of those who are protesting are peaceful demonstrators who are exercising their First Amendment rights.
“At some demonstrations, however, there are groups that exploit the opportunity to engage in such crimes as looting,” he continued. “And finally, at some demonstrations, there are extremist agitators who are hijacking the protests to pursue their own separate and violent agenda. (Barr’s full presser can be viewed below).
AG BARR: “We have evidence that Antifa and other similar extremist groups as well as actors of a variety of different political persuasions have been involved in instigating and participating in the violent activity. We are also seeing foreign actors playing all sides..” pic.twitter.com/c0NKFU3mdY
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) June 4, 2020
“We have evidence that Antifa and other similar extremist groups, as well as actors of a variety of different political persuasions, have been involved in instigating and participating in the violent activity,” Barr noted further. “We are also seeing foreign actors playing all sides to exacerbate the violence.”
The AG said that the Justice Department was continuing efforts to restore order.
When pressed for specifics, Barr noted that the DoJ and other intelligence agencies have identified a “witch’s brew of a lot of extremist organizations” that are involved in fomenting violence at protests.
The AG noted that Antifa is just one such group, but that there are several others that are also provoking violence.
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