The White House on Tuesday condemned “death to America” chants that surfaced online from a recent rally in Dearborn, Mich., protesting Israel’s war in Gaza.
Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre replied, “yes” when asked if President Biden condemns the comments in the chants, which were captured on video by some attendees.
“Peaceful protests are something that the president has also been very clear that, its important to give folks space to peacefully protest. But any type of violent rhetoric, we are going to denounce,” she said.
Dearborn mayor Abdullah Hammoud (D) has also denounced the chants, sharing in a statement on X that “Dearborn is a city of proud Americans.”
The chants, which also included “Death to Israel,” took place at a rally on Friday to mark the International Day of Al-Quds, according to The Detroit News. Fox2 reported that the chants came from members of the audience at the rally.
Dearborn, a Detroit suburb where Arab Americans make up the majority of the population, was under increased security in February after an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal called the city “America’s jihad capital.” Biden called out the “anti-Arab hate” against Dearborn at the time.
When questioned by Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich about whether Biden is concerned if Dearborn faces a risk of becoming a hot bed for homegrown threats, Jean-Pierre reiterated that the White House denounces violence.
“I don’t have any intelligence to share with you on that, obviously that’s something we’re always very vigilant about,” she said.
She added, “obviously, we will condemn any, any violent rhetoric.”
