Press Secretary Jen Psaki would not condemn Antifa when directly asked and refused to classify them as domestic terrorists.
A reporter asked Psaki, "The riots is Portland, [Ore.], and the violence in Portland recently, there was some discussion earlier about the January 6 rioters being reviewed by the DNI [Director of National Intelligence] as domestic, violent extremists. Are the rioters in Portland also being viewed through the same lens or is that something different as the White House sees it?"
Psaki dodged the question, saying "I think you and I talked about this yesterday and conveyed that all violence happening around the country will be reviewed as a part of the tasking that was done by that national security team, but I don't have anything to preview on it."
Psaki was asked by press a few days ago about how the militant, Antifa demonstrators who vandalized and broke into the Democratic Party of Oregon headquarters.
"Well certainly we had our team on the ground," Psaki said. "Our national security team, even before 12:01, early in the morning on Inauguration Day because we wanted to be able to monitor events happening across the country and any unrest that was resulting from the last couple of weeks.
"I haven't spoke with him specifically about those events but it is something out national security team, Liz Sherwood-Randall, is closely monitoring of course, but if we have an additional update I'm happy to provide it to you."
Those who staged the Capitol Hill riot on Jan. 6 were roundly decried as domestic terrorists. In response to the few hours of condemnable rioting, 25,000 National Guard troops were called to Washington, DC from around the country, and many of them have been ordered to stay through March.
Riots began in Portland shortly after the death of George Floyd in police custody on May 25, and persisted for more than 100 days. Federal agents were called in to the city to protect the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse, which was the site of protests, riots, and arson. This move to have federal agents protect federal property from lawless rioters was widely decried by Democrat lawmakers as fascistic and authoritarian.
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