Attorney General Jeff Sessions attempted to clear the air at an event in Boston on Thursday.

| Charles Krupa/AP Photo Sessions says he should have handled ‘Lock her up!’ chant differently

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he should have mentioned that people are innocent until proved guilty before echoing a group of conservative high school students chanting “Lock her up!” earlier this week.

Sessions caught some flak for chuckling at and repeating the teens’ chant during his speech at the Turning Point USA High School Leadership Summit. The attorney general attempted to clear the air at an event in Boston on Thursday.


“I met with a group of enthusiastic high school students and they spontaneously broke into that chant. I perhaps should’ve taken a moment to advise them of the fact,” Sessions said. “You’re presumed innocent until a case is made.”

Sessions had been encouraging the conservative group of high schoolers not to back down from their ideals, and to “Go get ’em” when the chant broke out. The common refrain is a reference to Hillary Clinton, and a federal investigation into her private email server, that became a rallying cry for President Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign. The FBI found no criminal wrongdoing in the Clinton investigation.

Although the presidential race is over and Clinton is no longer Trump’s opponent, the “Lock her up!” chant remains popular at Trump rallies and other conservative events.