Donald Trump

NY, NJ Officials Use Fiery Rhetoric to Condemn Charlottesville Violence

Protesters marched and rallied in Manhattan Sunday, and elected officials and religious leaders in New York and New Jersey used fiery rhetoric to condemn white supremacism after clashes in Virginia and to rebuke President Donald Trump's response to the violence.

Three people died in Charlottesville Saturday: one person was killed when a car rammed into a crowd peacefully protesting the white supremacists and two Virginia state troopers monitoring the rally died when their helicopter crashed. 

The rally was believed to be the biggest gathering of white nationalists in a decade. 

Mayor Bill de Blasio, speaking before the Dominican Day Parade Sunday, called the violence "act of domestic terrorism. Period." 

He criticized Trump's reaction to the violence. 

"This is a president who clearly speaks in blunt terms on many, many topics, but unfortunately, we’ve seen him hold back when it comes to right wing terror," de Blasio said. 

Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a strongly worded statement condemning the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., criticized President Donald Trump for "failing to name the Neo-Nazi, white supremacist, Alt-Right hate for what it is: not only the cause of the horrific violence in Virginia, but the evil enemy of our Nation’s hope and promise." 

Trump had condemned "this egregious display of bigotry, hatred and violence on many sides." 

Booker also urged people to "rise to meet the urgent demands of our moment in history.

New York Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, a Democrat, tweeted: "White supremacy and neo-Nazism have no place in America. Domestic terrorism like this cannot be tolerated."

Protesters also marched from Union Square to Trump Tower. The afternoon march was planned by Black Lives Matter and Refuse Fascism. 

Leaders from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths also spoke out at an interfaith service in Harlem.

The religious leaders were especially critical of Trump's statement that he condemned "this egregious display of bigotry, hatred and violence on many sides," which didn't specifically name white nationalists. 

"Mr. President, you can't tamp down the fires of hate with one hand while stoking them with the other," said Rabbi Joshua Davidson of Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan.

Imam Al-Hajj Talib 'Abdur-Rashid, the spiritual leader of The Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood in Harlem, drew parallels to those who condemn radical Islamic terrorism. 

"They need to express the same concern about radicalization of white Christian males in America," he said. 

The Rev. Calvin Butts of the Abyssinian Baptist Church compared what is happening in the United States to Nazi Germany and accused the president of leading the nation down that road. 

"In the name of Almighty God, resign!" Butts said, which was met with a standing ovation from the congregation. 

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