Source: Reuters
U.S. SEPTEMBER 9, 2020 / 2:46 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO
A Trump security chief acknowledges role of white supremacist extremists in U.S. urban violence
Mark Hosenball
3 MIN READ
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trumps acting homeland security chief on Wednesday acknowledged that white supremacist extremists played a role in this years urban violence in the United States, a revision of the administrations public descriptions of the political motivations of violent protesters.
In what was billed as a 2020 State of the Homeland speech, acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf initially attributed violence in Portland, Oregon in particular to violent opportunists and went on to describe how protesters had attacked federal officers with sledge-hammers, pipes, fireworks, homemade bombs and other weapons.
Wolf also attributed violence to both white supremacist extremists and anarchist extremists, mentioning white supremacists first, in a speech livestreamed on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) website.
In contrast, a July 16 DHS press release attributed dozens of incidents of violence in Portland near government buildings to violent anarchists. However, the U.S. Attorneys office in Portland, which has prosecuted dozens of people for riot-related offences, has largely avoided attributing political motives to them.
-snip-
Read more:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-homeland-supremacists/a-trump-security-chief-acknowledges-role-of-white-supremacist-extremists-in-u-s-urban-violence-idUSKBN26031F