Pennsylvania politicians respond to Charlottesville violence

Pennsylvania politicians on Monday responded to the violence in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend that was related to three deaths and more than three dozen injuries.

Protests organized by white supremacists drew counter demonstrations, according to McClatchy. A woman was killed after a car plowed into counterprotesters, and two Virginia State Police troopers died as a helicopter, which had been involved in monitoring the protests, crashed.

The events that unfolded in Charlottesville were horrific, U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson said in a statement

“While freedom of speech is a protected right in this country, violence is certainly not,” Thompson, R-Howard Township, said. “Hate groups should heed this as a warning. The people, united, will always stand in face of adversity and continue to strengthen the ties that bind us together as Americans.”

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and his advisory commissions on African American Affairs, Asian Pacific American Affairs and Latino Affairs and the Pennsylvania Commission for Women condemned the “hatred and bigotry of white supremacists” over the weekend.

“Let’s be clear: White nationalists are racists and the hateful beliefs that these groups espouse are un-American,” the governor said in a statement. “In America, no one group is supreme — but rather we are equal — no matter our race, gender or religion.”

The United States will always be a nation built by people of diverse backgrounds who are united by shared freedoms and rights, he said, adding that the country is stronger for that.

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., also spoke out, tweeting on Saturday: “The racism, hate and violence seen in #Charlottesville are vile and unacceptable.”

“Sen. Toomey is disgusted by white nationalists, white supremacists and neo-Nazis,” a statement from Toomey’s press office said.

He believes the racism and hate spread by these groups has no place in society, the statement said.

His counterpart, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., called what happened in Charlottesville a domestic terror attack.

“We must continuously confront and condemn the racist ideology that white nationalist groups promote,” he said in a statement.

He also had strong words for the president, saying that it shouldn’t have taken Donald Trump 48 hours to directly condemn white nationalists.

“The president said the right things today, but now we must hold him accountable to do the right things when it comes to equal justice under law,” Casey said.

Trump on Monday afternoon denounced the KKK, neo-Nazis and white supremacists, calling the hate groups “repugnant,” according to the Associated Press.

This story was originally published August 14, 2017 at 10:05 PM with the headline "Pennsylvania politicians respond to Charlottesville violence."