Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) defended the right to protest in a Friday video, crediting nonviolent protests for much of the progress American society has made historically.

Sanders made his stance clear in a post to X amid reports of pro-Palestinian protests across the country, with some resulting in on-campus encampments. From the beginning of these protests, the senator has condemned antisemitic chants and themes as “disgusting and stupid” but also maintained the students participating in nonviolent ways should be left alone.