Sen. Sullivan calls out neo-Nazis and critics abound

Television crews roll with a memorial to Heather Heyer as a backdrop in Charlottesville on Aug. 14, 2017. Heyer was killed counterprotesting a white nationalist rally.
Television crews roll with a memorial to Heather Heyer as a backdrop in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 14, 2017. Heyer was killed counterprotesting a white nationalist rally. (Creative Commons photo by Bob Mical)

After violence broke out in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend, both of Alaska’s U.S. senators condemned the violent “Unite the Right” demonstrations.

Sen. Dan Sullivan issued a strongly worded statement that singled out the alt-right and their allies.

Hundreds of Facebook users added their own comments to his post. Some thanked Sullivan for specifically calling out far-right groups. But quite a few defended the white supremacists, or complained Sullivan should have allotted equal blame to counterprotesters on the left.

Of over 100 comments that appeared on Sullivan’s post, just over half criticized the senator for condemning only the neo-Nazi side. Nearly all of the comments appear to have come from Alaskans.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski also weighed in on Facebook on Sunday.

Murkowski did not specifically name-check the alt-right or neo-Nazis. Comments on her post were more mixed.

Alaska Public Media

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