WASHINGTON – Today, the Congressional Black Caucus released the following statement on the white supremacists violence that occurred today in Charlottesville, Va.:
“Since the campaign, President Trump has encouraged and emboldened the type of racism and violence we saw today in Charlottesville, Va. This is a president after all who has two white supremacists working for him in the White House – Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller. For these reasons, we weren't surprised President Trump couldn't bring himself to say the words "white supremacy,” "white supremacists," and “domestic terrorism” when he addressed the nation this afternoon, and that he instead chose to use racially coded dog whistles like ‘law and order’ and false equivalencies like ‘many sides.’
“Where is Attorney General Sessions? Instead of suppressing votes and dismantling affirmative action, he should be working with the Department of Homeland Security to investigate today's crimes. Where is the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security? The CBC urged Chairman McCaul months ago to investigate this sort of domestic terrorism; now, we urge him to do this once again and to hold a hearing immediately. As 49 members who represent and are part of a community who has for centuries been victimized by white supremacists, we strongly condemn what happened today in Charlottesville. We also condemn the Administration's poor response to it.”
