Attorney General Jeff Sessions told a Chicago audience that groups like Black Lives Matter, Antifa and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are responsible for increased violence in Chicago.

Speaking at a conference in North Chicago, Sessions said "There's a clear lesson here: if you want more shootings, more death, listen to the ACLU, Antifa, Black Lives Matter and groups who do not know the reality of policing... If you want public safety, then listen to the police professionals who have been studying this for 35 years."

WATCH: AG Sessions discussing Chicago gun violence: "There’s a clear lesson here: if you want more shootings, more death, listen to the ACLU, Antifa, Black Lives Matter, who are – who do not know the reality of policing." pic.twitter.com/z7gfHRTuXe — MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 19, 2018

Citing a March study from the University of Utah which showed a correlation between Chicago's murder rate and a dip in stop-and-frisk police methods, Sessions said "The professors found that the increased crime cost a staggering $1.5 billion and noted that 78 percent of its victims were African-American and 16 percent were Latino," adding "Ninety-four percent of the victims were minorities."

The professors called this "the ACLU effect" said Sessions, who added "As former U.S. Attorney Zachary Fardon put it, 'cops stopped making stops and kids started shooting more.'"

Last year the DOJ found that Chicago's increase in violent crimes were "broadly debated and inarguably complex," and that the Chicago Police Department did a poor job of policing itself because of "systems that have allowed CPD officers who violate the law to escape accountability."

Read the study Sessions cited here: