Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defends idea of prosecuting protesters
CNN
By Aleena Fayaz, CNN
(CNN) — Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday defended President Donald Trump’s suggestion that protesters could be prosecuted for racketeering, as the administration continues to preview a plan to crack down on left-wing groups it claims are inciting violence.
Trump on Monday suggested that protesters who interrupted his dinner at a restaurant in downtown DC last week could face charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, claiming that one of the protesters involved was a “paid agitator.”
“I’ve asked (Attorney General Pam Bondi) to look into that in terms of RICO, bringing RICO cases,” Trump said, speaking from the Oval Office.“They should be put in jail, what they’re doing to this country is really subversive.”
In an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday, Blanche doubled down on the idea of “potential investigations” for individuals protesting the president.
“So is it, again, sheer happenstance that individuals show up at a restaurant where the president is trying to enjoy dinner in Washington, DC, and accost him with vile words and vile anger? And meanwhile, he’s simply trying to have dinner. Does it mean it’s just completely random that they showed up? Maybe,” Blanche said on “The Source.” “But to the extent that it’s part of an organized effort to inflict harm and terror and damage to the United States, there’s potential, potential investigations there.”
Pressed by Collins on whether the protesters were inflicting harm by shouting at the president, Blanche said, “I mean, honestly, so you’re asking whether there’s damage done by four individuals screaming and yelling at the president of our United States while he’s trying to have dinner? That can’t be a serious question.”
Trump last week made his first foray to an outside eatery in the district since taking office in January, asserting that his administration’s crackdown on crime was instrumental in his decision to dine out. He was joined by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Upon entering Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab, Trump was met with applause from diners. The president remarked to the group gathered in the dining room that DC is “a safe city” and that they should “enjoy” themselves.
As Trump was sitting down to dine, however, he was approached by protesters chanting “Free DC” and “Free Palestine.”
In video obtained by CNN, a handful of protesters begin chanting, “Free DC, free Palestine, Trump is the Hitler of our time” as the president makes his way through the dining room. The demonstrators are booed by others dining in the restaurant, and the president ultimately came within a few feet of the protesters before the video ends.
CNN witnessed the protesters being removed from the venue as they continued to chant.
Blanche argued Tuesday the notion of prosecuting protesters did not apply to “peaceful” individuals.
“There’s nothing wrong with peaceful protest, and nobody has ever said so,” Blanche said. “Of all the people in this country, President Trump knows exactly what it’s like to have people protest against him. But what he’s talking about and what the administration is talking about is organized efforts by individuals who are not present at the protest, but they’re funding these protests, and they’re not protests, they’re inflicting damage and harm.”
Blanche’s defense of the idea of prosecuting the protesters comes as a host of administration officials have signaled in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination that they’ll be targeting what they claim is a coordinated left-wing effort to incite violence.
The president on Monday said that he’d consider naming far-left anti-fascism group Antifa as domestic terrorists, although it wasn’t clear who or what exactly Trump would designate as Antifa is a loosely organized movement without a distinct leader, membership lists or structure.
Trump has also raised the possibility of revoking tax-exempt status for liberal non-profits, and his attorney general and senior adviser have raised the prospect of criminal charges against groups or individuals who are allegedly targeting conservatives.
Attorney General Pamela Bondi pledged earlier in the week to go after anyone who was targeting individuals with “hate speech,” but appeared to walk back the comments in a Tuesday post on X, saying, “Hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence is NOT protected by the First Amendment.”
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Kevin Liptak, Adam Cancryn, Donald Judd, Kristen Holmes, and Samantha Waldenberg contributed to this report.
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