Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisc., condemned the actions of the National Policy Institute, whose supporters saluted Hitler and yelled "Hail Trump!" during a weekend speech by its founder — but said Tuesday the violence committed by protesters against President-elect Donald Trump's victory was just as abhorrent.
"This is a horrible group — and I don't share the values or the view point," the Wisconsin Republican told Jim Sciutto on CNN, referring to the institute, the alt-right group founded in 2009 by Richard Spencer.
Spencer saluted more than 200 people with the "Hail Trump" sign before beginning his speech Saturday at Ronald Reagan Building in Washington at the institute's annual conference, The Atlantic reported.
Video of Spencer's speech at the white nationalist group's meeting went viral over the weekend.
Trump disavowed the group Tuesday — telling The New York Times "of course I disavow and condemn them."
Regarding the Trump protesters, Duffy said "you have people taking to the streets and damaging property and pulling people out of cars and beating them up and little girls getting beaten up in school.
"This was violence on American streets, so there's different kind of activities by each group, but both need to be condemned."
Demonstrations in such cities as New York, Los Angeles, and Portland, Ore., have led to more than 200 arrests.
Protesters in Portland smashed car windows and lit fires in the city's streets, according to news reports.
"It's one thing to stand on the sidewalk," Duffy told Sciutto. "That's the American way of protests.
"But when you get violent and damage property and hurt people, that's completely different.
"Both groups deserve to be called out."
"Again, I don't equate one or the other," Duffy said. "It's two groups that should be condemned — and President [Barack] Obama did not condemn the ones that were taking to the streets and hurting people and property."