Bill Barr: Statement on Rioting by Radicals and Agitators

"[T]he voices of peaceful protest are being hijacked by violent, radical elements."

The Antifa thugs have been engaged in these tactics for years. They wore face coverings long before the pandemic. They're thugs.

It was encouraging to hear Attorney General Bill Barr acknowledge that peaceful voices protesting the death of George Floyd have been hijacked by violent anarchists.

pic.twitter.com/qD52HYuvpH

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 31, 2020

ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR: Unfortunately, with the rioting that is occurring in many of our cities around the country, the voices of peaceful protest are being hijacked by violent, radical elements. Groups of outside radicals and agitators are exploiting the situation to pursue their own separate and violent agenda. In many places, it appears the violence is planned, organized, and driven by anarchic and Left extremist groups, far Left extremist groups, using Antifa-like tactics, many of whom travel from outside the state to promote the violence.

We must have law and order on our streets and in our communities, and it is the responsibility of the local and state leadership in the first instance to halt this violence.

The Department of Justice, including the FBI, the U.S. Marshals, the ATF, the DEA, and our 93 United States Attorneys’ offices, U.S Attorneys' offices around the country are supporting these local efforts, will continue to support them, and take all action necessary to enforce federal law. In that regard, it is a federal crime to cross state lines or to use interstate facilities to incite or participate in violent rioting. And we will enforce those laws.

It's disturbing that multimillionaire athletes, celebrities, and Democrat politicians serve as useful idiots for these violent, far Left radicals, promoting their anarchic agenda.

As always, these radical groups were poised to pounce, enlisting peaceful protesters, even children, to engage in violent tactics.

If you watch one video about these protests please let this be it. This made me cry.
I have said since day one that this is nothing but a ploy by white liberals, which will destroy another generation of black youth. These #AntifaTerrorists are targeting black kids & neighborhoods pic.twitter.com/F5eykXOw8X

— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) May 31, 2020

Once again, the media are failing. They should put much greater focus on this aspect of the riots.

The past few days should be a wake-up call for the nation.

Antifa-like terrorism must be identified and extinguished.

This organized rioting, the fires and looting, is what true divisiveness looks like.