Nancy Pelosi condemned "antifa," saying there was no excuse for violence in a statement Tuesday that called out the leftist militant groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
The House Minority Leader was referring to violent protests in Berkeley, California, over the weekend in which several people were injured after a group of black-clad anarchists stormed the peaceful procession.
"Our democracy has no room for inciting violence or endangering the public, no matter the ideology of those who commit such acts," Pelosi said in her statement. "The violent actions of people calling themselves antifa in Berkeley this weekend deserve unequivocal condemnation, and the perpetrators should be arrested and prosecuted."
The clash at Berkley resulted in six injuries and 13 arrests after black-clad antifa members broke through police barricades and attacked the right-wing protesters at the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park, The Washington Times reported.
Pelosi had remained silent on the protests until Tuesday.
"In California, as across all of our great nation, we have deep reverence for the Constitutional right to peaceful dissent and free speech," she said in her statement. "Non-violence is fundamental to that right. Let us use this sad event to reaffirm that we must never fight hate with hate, and to remember the values of peace, openness and justice that represent the best of America."
A Twitter account identifying itself with the Berkley antifa group responded to Pelosi's comments by posting an image with the statement "no regrets, no apologies, 100% anti-fasctist."
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