burger caret-down caret-right Shape Copy close Group 19 Group 16 Group 17 document-add Material/Icons white/Edit or Create Combined Shape Shape Group 10 Group 4 Page 1 Group 7 Fill 1 Group Group 31 Group 21 Copy Combined Shape Shape

MoveOn: Trump’s Attempt to Scapegoat Progressive Activists Profoundly Dishonest

Statement from Ilya Sheyman, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action:

“Like so much of what Donald Trump says, his attempt to scapegoat progressive activists and MoveOn.org for violence at his cancelled rally in Chicago is profoundly dishonest and untrue.

“MoveOn proudly supported University of Illinois at Chicago students and local organizers in their courageous nonviolent protest outside the event. We helped student leaders by printing signs and recruiting MoveOn members to attend the student-led protest.

“But let’s be clear about one thing, the protest Friday night was a direct result of the violence that has occurred at Trump rallies and that has been repeatedly encouraged by Trump himself from the stage. There is only one person to blame for the chaotic and often violent nature of Trump rallies: Donald J. Trump. This sort of violence does not happen at Sanders, Cruz, Clinton, Rubio, or Kasich events, despite the fact that there are often protests at their events.

“Unlike Republican leaders, we will not back down or be cowed in the face of a fascist bully like Donald Trump. For as long as Donald Trump is a presidential candidate, MoveOn members will continue to call out and nonviolently protest his racist, bigoted, misogynistic, xenophobic, and violent behavior. While such vitriol may help him win a plurality of votes in a Republican primary, our country is better than the shameful, dangerous, and bigoted rhetoric that has been the hallmark of the Trump campaign. Trump and those who peddle hate and incite violence have no place in our politics and most certainly do not belong in the White House.

“Love and democracy must prevail over violence and hate.”