Attorney General William Barr said Saturday that violence in many places around the country appears to have been planned and carried out by “far-left extremist groups using Antifa-like tactics” in the wake of riots over the death of George Floyd.
“Unfortunately with the rioting that is occurring in many of our cities around the country, the voices of peaceful protests are being hijacked by violent radical elements. Groups of outside radical agitators are exploiting the situation to pursue their own separate and violent agenda,” Barr said in a press conference at the Department of Justice:
Attorney General William Barr gives a statement amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd https://t.co/0x8tHbwS8f pic.twitter.com/mUlASV5E2y
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 30, 2020
“In many places, it appears the violence is planned, organized, and driven by anarchic and leftist extremist groups, far-left extremist groups using Antifa-like tactics, many of whom traveled outside the state to promote the violence,” Barr continued.
Barr’s comments come shortly after President Donald Trump fingered leftist groups, such as Antifa, for widespread rioting and looting.
“It’s ANTIFA and the Radical Left. Don’t lay the blame on others!” the president tweeted: