Congress votes to call on Trump to
denounce hate groups
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[September 13, 2017]
By Alex Dobuzinskis
(Reuters) - The U.S. Congress passed a
resolution late on Tuesday calling on President Donald Trump to condemn
hate groups after Trump was criticized for his response to the violence
at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a month ago.
The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously adopted the resolution,
U.S. Representative Gerry Connolly, a Democrat from Virginia, said in a
statement. The Senate approved the measure on Monday.
"Tonight, the House of Representatives spoke in one unified voice to
unequivocally condemn the shameful and hate-filled acts of violence
carried out by the KKK (Ku Klux Klan), white nationalists, white
supremacists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville," Connolly said.
The joint resolution, passed with the support of both Republicans and
Democrats, will go to Trump for his signature.
Representatives for the White House did not respond immediately to an
email seeking comment.
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The Congressional resolution calls on Trump to condemn hate groups and
what it describes as the growing prevalence of extremists who support
anti-Semitism, xenophobia and white supremacy.
It also urges Attorney General Jeff Sessions to investigate acts of
violence and intimidation by white nationalists, neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux
Klan and similar groups.
Trump alienated fellow Republicans, corporate leaders and U.S. allies
and rattled markets last month with comments about the violence in
Charlottesville, where white nationalists and neo-Nazis clashed with
anti-racism activists on Aug. 12.
One woman, Heather Heyer, was killed and several people were wounded
when a suspected white nationalist crashed his car into anti-racist
demonstrators.
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![](../images/091317pics/news_a3.jpg)
Members of the Ku Klux Klan face counter-protesters as they rally in
support of Confederate monuments in Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.
on July 8, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
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The Congressional resolution calls Heyer's death a "domestic
terrorist attack." James Alex Fields, a 20-year-old Ohio man who
authorities say drove into Heyer and other protesters, has been
charged with second-degree murder and other criminal counts.
On Aug. 12, Trump denounced hatred and violence "on many sides," a
comment that drew sharp criticism from across the political spectrum
for not condemning white nationalists.
White nationalists had gathered in Charlottesville to protest
against the planned removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee, who led
the pro-slavery Confederacy's army during the U.S. Civil War. Trump
defended Confederate monuments last month.
At a rally in Phoenix on Aug. 22, Trump accused television networks
of ignoring his calls for unity in the aftermath of the violence in
Charlottesville.
"I didn't say I love you because you're black, or I love you because
you're white," Trump said at the rally. "I love all the people of
our country."
The resolution also acknowledged the deaths of two Virginia State
Police officers whose helicopter crashed as they patrolled the
Charlottesville protest.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Paul Tait)
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