Trump aide: ‘Protester’s death was act of terrorism’
THE death of an anti-fascist protester in Charlottesville was declared an act of terrorism last night by Donald Trump’s national security adviser.
Lt-gen HR Mcmaster, said: “It meets the definition of terrorism. What terrorism is, is the use of violence to incite terror and fear, and of course it was terrorism.”
His comments came as the US President was under fire from all sides over his response to racist violence in the Virginia town.
Both Democrats and Republicans suggested he had failed to denounce white supremacists strongly enough.
After pitched battles raged, a suspected extremist ploughed a car into anti-fascist demonstrators leading to the death of legal worker Heather Heyer, 32, and injuring 19 other people.
In an initial statement Mr Trump blamed “many sides” for the violence, sparking an outpouring of condemnation.
Anthony Scaramucci, his own former communications director, said Mr Trump should have been “much harsher as it related to the white supremacists”.
Mr Scaramucci added: “With the moral authority of the presidency you have to call that stuff out.”
Joe Biden, the former vice president, said: “There is only one side.” And Barack Obama, the former president, published quotes from Nelson Mandela on social media.
THE White House scrambled yesterday to deflect a political row over Donald Trump’s equivocal condemnation of violence at a white supremacist rally, insisting his statement included “neonazis and all extremist groups”, while Theresa May said the UK stood with the US against “racism and hatred”.
However, the US spin appeared to do little to counter growing criticism that the president was trying to shield white nationalists who helped propel him to power.
A day earlier, protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, ended violently when a car ploughed into a group of anti-racist counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old legal worker. She was in a group rallying against members of the Ku Klux Klan and other hard-right organisations who gathered in protest at the city’s decision to remove a statue commemorating Robert E Lee, a storied Civil War general who fought on the Confederate side.
James Alex Fields Jr, 20, has been charged with second-degree murder.
As the local mayor condemned her death as an act of “terrorism” and politicians of all sides denounced neo-nazi thugs, Mr Trump chose instead to condemn violence which he said was caused by “many sides”.
“Hate and the division must stop, and must stop right now,” he said, while on a working vacation at his New Jersey golf club. “We have to come together as Americans with love for our nation and … true affection for each other.”
His words provoked a wave of outrage. Critics said his vague wording appeared to suggest a moral equivalence between the actions of peaceful protesters and those of far-right groups, some of whom flew swastikas and had supported his election.
Meanwhile, neo-nazi websites filled with comments applauding the statement. “Trump comments were good. He didn’t attack us. He just said the nation should come together,” said one Trump supporter on Dailystormer.com.
A White House spokesman tried to defuse the anger, saying: “The president said very strongly in his statement yesterday that he condemns all forms of violence, bigotry, and hatred, and of course that includes white supremacists, KKK, neo-nazi, and all extremist groups. He called for national unity and bringing all Americans together.”
Concerns remain that Mr Trump is quick to condemn violent jihadist groups as Islamic terrorists but reluctant to address the ideology behind home-grown, white extremists.
In contrast, the British Prime Minister wrote on Twitter: “Our thoughts and prayers are with Charlottesville. The UK stands with the US against racism, hatred and violence.”
Michael Signer, the mayor of Charlottesville, described Ms Heyer as the victim of “a terrorist attack with a car used as a weapon”.
He added that it was clear that blame lay with Mr Trump and a divisive election campaign that inflamed racial prejudices last year.
“I think they made a choice in that campaign,” he told NBC News. “A very regrettable one, to really go to people’s prejudices, to go to the gutter.”
Some of Mr Trump’s closest family and advisers went further than the president. “There should be no place in society for racism, white supremacy and neo-nazis,” Ivanka, his daughter, tweeted. HR Mcmaster, the president’s national security adviser, said: “Anytime that you commit an attack against people to incite fear, it is terrorism.”
The bitter row is a reminder of the divisive legacy of the Civil War.
Symbols such as the Confederate battle flag divide the nation between those who see it as a symbol of slavery and modern-day racism, and those who say removing it from public view denies its rightful place in history.