Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has weighed in on the violence incurred over the weekend at a white supremacist rally in Virginia, saying in a statement that hate speech and violence « are not welcome in Michigan. »
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has weighed in on the violence incurred over the weekend at a white supremacist rally in Virginia, saying in a statement that hate speech and violence « are not welcome in Michigan. »
Snyder said in a statement released Monday afternoon that the hatred and violence that played out in the country on Saturday and Sunday would only beget more violence, and encouraged unity and cooperation.
« Unity and cooperation have shown how much we can accomplish when we respect our neighbors, embrace our differences and focus our energy on how we can all move forward and prosper together, » he said.
Snyder’s comments came shortly after President Donald Trump gave a statement Monday at the White House to announce the Department of Civil Rights was opening an investigation into the matter. He also referred to the KKK, neo-Nazis and white supremacists as « criminals and thugs. »
« Racism is evil, » Trump said during his remarks. « We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred bigotry and violence. It has no place in America. »
Trump was criticized over the weekend for his initial remarks that « many sides » were to blame for what happened without singling out white supremacists or other groups involved in the events.
U. S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Flint Twp., said on Twitter Monday that the president « should not have to be publicly shamed into condemning neo-Nazis and white supremacists. »
The President of the United States should not have to be publicly shamed into condemning neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel also denounced the actions of white supremacists in Charlottesville, telling attendees at a roundtable in Detroit that « white supremacy, neo-Nazi, KKK and hate speech and bigotry are not welcome and does not have a home in the Republican Party. »
One woman was killed and another 19 people were injured over the weekend when a vehicle was rammed into a gathering of peaceful protesters opposing the « Unite the Right » rally.
The gathering was scheduled in response to a decision to remove a statute of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a city park. Demonstrations devolved into brawling, moving the Virginia governor to declare a state of emergency.
Demonstrators gathered in cities throughout Michigan to protest the racism shown at the Charlottesville gathering, as well as support victims of the violence.
Hundreds gather in Ann Arbor after Virginia’s deadly white nationalist rally
RNC chair Ronna Romney McDaniel says bigotry unacceptable in Republican Party
