Media ‘projects narrative about fascistic BLM’: William Barr

US Attorney-General William Barr claims ‘partisan’ reports of ‘peaceful’ BLM demonstrators’ are wide of the mark.

BLM protesters in Austin, Texas. Picture: Getty Images.

The media is “projecting a narrative” about unrest in cities across America which defies “objective truth”, President Trump’s Attorney-General has claimed.

William Barr claimed that in the most unruly cities reports of “peaceful demonstrators” were wide of the mark and protesters were “rushing the police” and “throwing rocks”.

Mr Barr, 70, told Fox News: “They are projecting a narrative. When the word ‘narrative’ came into currency I knew we were in trouble, because the word narrative suggests that there’s no objective truth. There’s no real story of what happened, it’s just everyone has their own narrative.”

Mr Barr told Mark Levin, a conservative champion of Mr Trump, that American media was “a partisan press, largely”.

Attorney-General William Barr. Picture: AFP.

Mr Trump’s appointment of Mr Barr last year reassured some establishment Republicans because of his high-powered legal career and the fact that he was previously Attorney-General for George Bush Sr. But he has drawn ire from Democrats for his expansive view of presidential authority and his willingness to engage in partisan political combat.

Mr Barr claimed Black Lives Matter was made up of “Bolsheviks” who want “some form of socialism [or] communism”. He said: “They are a revolutionary group … their tactics are fascistic”.

He claimed that the Democratic Party’s leftward shift in recent years meant they had “pulled away from the umbrella of classical liberal values that have undergirded” the US and instead made a “secular religion” out of seeking “complete political victory”.

Mr Barr’s intervention came two weeks after a fractious hearing before the House of Representatives in which he denied accusations that he was doing the president’s bidding by intervening in high-profile cases and sending federal agents into cities to quell unrest.

He came under fire from Democrats for sending federal officers to disperse demonstrations in Portland, Oregon, where protesters have spoken out against racism and police brutality, and a group of them attacked a federal courthouse.

On Monday, the president tweeted: “Portland, which is out of control, should finally, after almost 3 months, bring in the National Guard. The Mayor and Governor are putting people’s lives at risk. They will be held responsible. The Guard is ready to act immediately!”

Portland, which is out of control, should finally, after almost 3 months, bring in the National Guard. The Mayor and Governor are putting people’s lives at risk. They will be held responsible. The Guard is ready to act immediately. The Courthouse is secured by Homeland!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 10, 2020

Protests sprung up around the country after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May.

Mr Barr said that the police had been maligned and targeted for violent attacks, and argued that greater attention should be paid to a recent surge in violence in some cities that had led to numerous deaths of black people.

He said he believed systemic racism existed, but that the “best example” was in education, with state schools failing inner-city youths. He said greater school choice, a policy endorsed by Mr Trump, was a solution. “I believe black lives matter, but I believe all black lives matter … it’s not just a matter of protecting their safety from physical harm, it’s also providing economic opportunity, which this administration has done.”

The Times