A prominent Black Lives Matter leader likened the United States to "terrorists" in an interview Tuesday night.
Fox News host Martha MacCallum asked Hawk Newsome, president and cofounder of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, to respond to recent calls to label Black Lives Matter, a radical leftist group, as a domestic terror organization. In response, Newsome implied that the American government terrorizes other countries.
"OK, so when America goes and steals diamonds and oils, who's calling us terrorists?" Newsome asked. "When the American government goes and pillages different countries, who's calling us terrorists?"
In recent months, the Black Lives Matter organization has led racial justice and anti-police protests, which have turned violent in some major cities—leading former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani (R.) to urge President Donald Trump to label Black Lives Matter as a domestic terrorist organization on Monday.
Newsome later said that the American government, as well as banks and insurance companies, owes black Americans reparations.
"If you want to do something about reparations, cut the check," Newsome said. "And we're not talking about going in everyday Americans' pockets. We're talking about banks like Brown Brothers Harriman. ... We're talking about the American government that was founded on the backs of slaves, and the American government owes us reparations."
Newsome refused to condemn riots and looting and instead said that white supremacy focuses on "criticizing the oppressed and worshiping the oppressors."
Three self-proclaimed Marxists founded Black Lives Matter in 2013, and the organization's current platform includes defunding the police, abolishing the nuclear family, and engaging "comrades" who "practice justice, liberation, and peace." The organization has been involved in anti-police protests this summer. In cities like Chicago, Portland, and Seattle, these protests have often devolved into looting, riots, and violence.