President Biden’s top spokesperson has condemned the violence in the Pacific Northwest.
During Monday’s briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted that the president stands against violence of any kind “in the strongest possible terms,” after being asked why the country hasn’t “heard anything directly from” Biden regarding the clashes.
“Peaceful protests are a cornerstone of our democracy, but smashing windows is not protesting and neither is looting, and actions like these are totally unacceptable, and anyone who committed a crime should be prosecuted to the fullest extent,” she said. “Our team is, of course, monitoring it very closely.”
Psaki also dodged a follow-up question on whether businesses affected by both COVID-19 and the riots would be getting targeted government relief.
Far-left protesters in the Pacific Northwest, specifically in Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, have continued their monthslong nightly battle with law enforcement since last year. The clashes began in the summer following the death of George Floyd, a black man whose death in the custody of a white police officer in Minnesota sparked nationwide demonstrations.
On Wednesday night, hours after Biden was sworn into office, left-wing groups marched through the streets of Portland and Seattle seemingly in protest against the new Democratic administration.
In the months before the election, conservatives sought to pair Biden and the rest of the Democratic Party to the unrest. Following days of civil unrest and rioting in various cities this summer and early fall, Biden spoke out against left-wing violence and urged peaceful solutions to those angry about the death of Floyd.
“Yes, I do [condemn] violence, no matter who it is,” the president said on the campaign trail in September, where he also rebuked former President Donald Trump for not condemning “the far-right folks coming out and protesting and using violence.”
