WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has said that "both sides" are to blame for violence at the Charlottesville, Virginia, "Unite the Right" rally last weekend, naming the "alt-left" as equally responsible for the violence as the "alt-right."

And then he doubled down.

"Before I make a statement, I like to know the facts," Trump told reporters.

He said the "Unite the Right" rally had a permit while the counter-protesters did not, and that he witnessed video showing both sides as aggressors in the violence.

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"What about the alt-left that came charging at the, as you say, the alt-right?" he asked. "[The alt-left] came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs. Do they have any problem? I think they do."

He specifically has condemned white nationalists, white supremacists, neo-Nazis and James Field, who drove the car that killed one and injured 19 at the rally.

"Police State USA: How Orwell's Nightmare Is Becoming Our Reality" chronicles how America has arrived at the point of being a de facto police state, and what led to an out-of-control government that increasingly ignores the Constitution. Order today!

But Trump noted that not all attendees were violent or belonged to these groups.

"You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name," Trump said.

There were "very fine people on both sides," Trump added.

While video evidence shows "Antifa" and other counter-protesters engaging in aggressive violence against the permitted rally, which was to oppose the removal of the Lee statue, some Republican lawmakers immediately leapt to the defense of those in the "alt-left."

This video shows both sides engaging in street violence, but only the "alt-left" attacks Adam Richard, the cameraman.

Editor's Note: Video contains offensive language:

Richard claims he is a Trump supporter who went simply to cover the rally, not to support either side, and that he witnessed aggressive violence from the "alt-left."

"Antifa tries to steal the cane of an elderly member of the [alt-right] group. Then some fat slob cheap-shots the old man and starts pounding. I try to pull him off, and am rewarded for my concern of the elderly by getting attacked by two Antifa members," Richard reports.

Sen. Marco Rubio's comment simply was that the violence by the "alt-left" is "justified" because of "hatred."

When entire movement built on anger & hatred towards people different than you,it justifies & ultimately leads to violence against them 3/6 — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) August 15, 2017

This is the same logic "alt-left" groups like Antifa use to justify violence against Republicans and conservative speakers.

We must be clear. White supremacy is repulsive. This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity. — Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) August 15, 2017

House Speaker Paul Ryan said that "there can be no moral ambiguity."

No, not the same. One side is racist, bigoted, Nazi. The other opposes racism and bigotry. Morally different universes. — Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) August 16, 2017

And Mitt Romney echoed Ryan's statement, also coming to the defense of the violent "alt-left" groups as people who simply "oppose racism and bigotry."

Mitt Romney loves these guys! https://t.co/dKF234fqsc — Scott Greer (@ScottMGreer) August 16, 2017

The side that merely "opposes racism & bigotry" violently attacked nice GOP rally attendees, wives & kids in Chicago, San Jose, DC, etc https://t.co/eJmjVHAw3Y — Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) August 16, 2017

The question that is raised is whether the "alt-left" was opposing racism and bigotry when its terrorist threats shut-down the Oregon Rose Parade with announcements of looming attacks on Republicans.

More Republicans endorse communist violence https://t.co/8t1fAYV9to — Scott Greer (@ScottMGreer) August 16, 2017

Sen. John McCain also came to the defense of the "alt-left," and was blasted by Daily Caller editor Scott Greer.

I like my fascists the old-fashioned way; dead, hanging from lamp-posts as we liberate their victims. — Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) August 12, 2017

It's not virtue-signalling; it's virtue to oppose both the lunatic proto-fascist Trump AND the chance he elects HRC. https://t.co/lMYUuRxPc6 — Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) February 27, 2016

Rick Wilson called for "fascists" to be lynched.

Some conservatives came to Trump's defense, blaming the unrest and division on leftists.

"Until this current era of leftism, everyone was able to appreciate that a large segment of this country had fairly recent ancestors who fought bravely on both sides of the terrible war," writes Daniel Horowitz, author of "Stolen Sovereignty: How to Stop Unelected Judges from Transforming America."

"Yes, the leadership of the South clearly pushed the war in large part to promote slavery, but the average soldier in gray, like my wife's great-great-grandfather, was as poor as can be, didn't own any slaves, and fought bravely for his cause. It was those soldiers in gray who were honored by the monument in Durham, which was vandalized by communist and anarchist protesters."

Related stories:

Setup? Man behind white-supremacist rally supported Obama

Leftist violence goes mainstream in America

Black leader: Where were cops during Charlottesville 'mayhem'?

Related columns:

The alt-left vs. the alt-right by Joseph Farah

Understanding Charlottesville: Antifa and agitprop by Jack Cashill

Elites got a two-fer in Charlottesville chaos by Scott Lively

When liberals club people, it's with love in their hearts by Ann Couter

David Duke still matters -- who knew? by Larry Elder

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 26-year-old son, Yair Netanyahu, also denounced Antifa and BLM as "thugs."

"The thugs of Antifa and BLM who hate my country (and American too in my view) just as much are getting stronger and stronger and becoming super dominant in American universities and public life," Netanyahu wrote on his Facebook page after the violence in Charlottesville, Haaretz reports.

Three people were charged with felonies after tearing down the Confederate monument in Durham, North Carolina, this week.

Dante Strobina, 35, Ngoc Tran, 24, and Takiyah Thompson, 22, were arrested and charged with "felony participation in a riot with property damage in excess of 1,500, felony inciting others to riot where there is property damage in excess of 1,500, misdemeanor disorderly conduct by injury to statue, and misdemeanor damage to real property," WITN reports.

"Police State USA: How Orwell's Nightmare Is Becoming Our Reality" chronicles how America has arrived at the point of being a de facto police state, and what led to an out-of-control government that increasingly ignores the Constitution. Order today!