Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), the chair of the Democratic National Committee, on Tuesday night said that Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) statement responding to reports of violence at the Nevada Democratic Convention was insufficient.
“Unfortunately, the senator’s response was anything but acceptable. It certainly did not condemn his supporters for acting violently or engaging in intimidation tactics and instead added more fuel to the fire,” Wasserman Schultz said on CNN.
She added that Sanders needs to condemn the conduct of his supporters at the convention, according to The Hill.
The Nevada Democratic Party on Tuesday filed a complaint accusing the Sanders campaign of “either ignoring or profiting from the chaos it did much to create and nothing to diminish or mitigate.” Sanders supporters reportedly cause disarray at the state convention and threatened Democratic officials over the convention rules.
Sanders responded to the Nevada Democrats’ complaint in a statement downplaying claims that his supporters acted violently.
“Within the last few days there have been a number of criticisms made against my campaign organization. Party leaders in Nevada, for example, claim that the Sanders campaign has a ‘penchant for violence.’ That is nonsense,” he said in the statement. “Our campaign has held giant rallies all across this country, including in high-crime areas, and there have been zero reports of violence. Our campaign of course believes in non-violent change and it goes without saying that I condemn any and all forms of violence, including the personal harassment of individuals.”
The Nevada Democratic Party then released a statement saying that the Vermont senator’s response was not enough.
“We respect and admire Senator Sanders for his values and leadership in the United States Senate, but the Sanders campaign is continuing to be dishonest about what happened Saturday and is failing to adequately denounce the threats of violence of his supporters,” the statement reads.
