President Condemns ‘Alt-Left’ For Violence In Charlottesville, Firmly Places Blame On ‘Both Sides’

President Trump appeared in the lobby of his building to discuss his infrastructure plan as reporters fired repeated questions at him. Trump condemned the “alt-left” for what he said was their role in the weekend’s display of violence in Charlottesville. Trump responded to a reporter that asked what he thought about the protesters’ actions in the “Unite The Right” rally.

“What about the alt left that came charging at, as you say, at the alt right? Do they have any guilt? What about the fact that they came charging with clubs in their hands swinging clubs?”

Trump then firmly placed blame on “both sides.” There were protesters who were rumored to be linked to a “violent anti-racist” movement called “Antifa,” which is short for anti-fascist or Anti-Fascist Action.

“And you had people, and I’m not talking about neo-Nazis and the white nationalists because they should be condemned totally, you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists, and the press has treated them absolutely unfairly.”

President Trump also indicated that calls to remove Confederate-era symbols across the country should be well thought out as this could lead to the demise of statues which depict former slave-owning presidents such as Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Trump asked if the nation’s two Founding Fathers will be the next to be taken down.

Trump added that the removal of the Confederate-era statues would, in essence, be changing history, according to the Washington Examiner.

“You’re changing history. You’re changing culture.”

Many elected officials on both sides of the aisle have called for cities and states across the country to remove Confederate monuments.

“George Washington was a slave owner. Was George Washington a slave owner? So, will George Washington now lose his status? Are we going to take down statues to George Washington?… How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think of Thomas Jefferson? You like him? OK good. Are we going to take down his statue? Because he was a major slave owner. Are we going to take down his statue?”

Dozens of protesters have also started fighting to tear down the statue of General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson in Charleston, West Virginia, according to The Hill.

“They were there to protest the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee,” he continued. “This week it’s Robert E. Lee. I noticed that Stonewall Jackson is coming down. I wonder is it George Washington next week and is it, Thomas Jefferson, the week after? You know, you really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?”

There are many who are not happy that a series of other cities have said that they would remove statues of Confederate soldiers and leaders.

Demonstrators in Durham, North Carolina, tore down a statue of a Confederate soldier on Monday night. In Gainesville, Florida, workers hired by the Daughters of the Confederacy chipped away at a Confederate soldier’s statue, loaded their Confederate-era statue quietly on a truck, and drove away with little protests.

In Baltimore, Mayor Catherine Pugh said she’s ready to tear down all of her city’s Confederate statues, and the city council voted to have them destroyed. San Antonio, Texas, lawmakers are looking ahead to removing a statue from a prominent downtown park.

Trump: "This week it's Robert E. Lee…is it George Washington next week?…Where does it stop?" https://t.co/0Zrx5VxPLb pic.twitter.com/8IjUlTleG0

— New York Post (@nypost) August 15, 2017

President Trump asserted that the “other side” charged into the rally without a permit and were very violent.

“You had a group on the other side that came charging in without a permit and they were very, very violent… I think there is blame on both sides. You look at both sides. I think there is blame on both sides. I have no doubt about it.”

The “Unite The Right” rally transformed into a violent scene with passionate protesters wielding combat shields and wooden sticks from broken flags, and participating in massive fights that left people injured and bloodied.

There were also several reports of urine being tossed at reporters, and the air was said to be filled with pepper spray, mace, and tear gas.

President Trump was criticized for failing to condemn the white supremacists and not calling the rioters by that name, after saying there was violence on “many sides.”

‘Alt-Left’ Condemned For Violent Protests At ‘Unite The Right’ Rally

Unapologetic Trump supporters Diamond and Silk shared some choice words against both white nationalist groups and leftist radicals rumored to be linked to a “violent anti-racist” movement called “Antifa,” which is short for anti-fascist or Anti-Fascist Action, during Fox & Friends.

“The president cannot be one-sided. He has to look at everything that’s going on… I didn’t like the white nationalists, the KKK, the neo-Nazis, David Duke, but I also didn’t like Black Lives Matter and Antifa.”

The movement’s secrecy makes cataloging its activities difficult. However, since Trump was elected, Antifa has had explosive growth. According to NYC Antifa, the group’s Twitter following nearly quadrupled in the first three weeks of January alone, and by the summer, their following exceeded 15,000.

Antifa is heavily composed of anarchists who place little faith in the state. According to the Atlantic, they consider the state to be complicit in fascism and racism.

According to the Atlantic, if those who Antifa deems as racists and fascists manage to assemble, Antifa’s members try to break up their gatherings, including by force.

Trump is not the only one to condemn others in the Charlottesville rally violence. Vehement Trump supporters and other right-leaning conservatives have come out to disavow violent leftist radicals and the racial tension that took place at the “Unite The Right” rally last Saturday.

However, Richard Spencer, who coined the term “alt-right” and helped assembled the “Unite The Right Rally” in Charlottesville, sees Antifa’s counter-protests and attacks as an assault on their right to freely assemble.

Richard Spencer clashes with police after the "Unite the Right" rally was declared an unlawful gathering https://t.co/rmV8eo2T0f pic.twitter.com/1XPGGg2N9I

— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) August 12, 2017

After Virginia Governor McAuliffe declared a state of emergency, a speeding Dodge Challenger accelerated and slammed into dozens of protesters. A 32-year-old woman, who has been identified as Heather Heyer, was killed, and 19 others were reported to be injured. James Alex Fields Jr., 20, of Ohio, was the person arrested and is charged with one count of second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding, and one count of hit and run, according to NBC News.

In addition to Heather’s death, two Virginia state troopers were killed in a tragic helicopter crash seven miles from the “Unite The Right” rally. Before the fatal crash, the troopers were helping law enforcement officers monitor the white nationalist rally in the area, according to Fox News.

[Featured Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]