WASHINGTON, D.C. — Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, issued the following statement Thursday responding to reports that Parkland, Florida shooter Nikolas Cruz was affiliated with a white nationalist group:
“This administration has failed to confront the growing tide of white supremacy in our country. Their words and their policies have emboldened white nationalists at every turn. Reports indicate that Nikolas Cruz belonged to a white nationalist militia and received paramilitary training through them prior to Wednesday’s tragic shooting. These reports, if true, mean that Cruz was radicalized right here on American soil. Now is the time to confront the violence arising from the growing white supremacist movement that is striking terror in communities and tearing away at the fabric of our country. We express our deepest sympathies to the victims of the Parkland, Florida shooting; we can honor them by fully confronting the white nationalist movement intensifying across our country.”
About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law:
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. Now in its 55th year, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is continuing its quest to “Move America Toward Justice.” The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and voting rights.