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Biden once ripped 'antisemitic bile' but now faces own 'Charlottesville moment'

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President Biden cast the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, and his framing of former President Trump’s response, as the impetus for his 2020 White House run – but Biden now faces his own “Charlottesville moment.”

Biden has repeatedly and emphatically condemned the riots in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 for spewing “antisemitic bile,” even saying the protests motivated his run for the White House last election cycle.

“In that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I had ever seen in my lifetime,” Biden said in 2019 of the riots when announcing his run for the White House against then-President Trump. 

Flash forward to 2024, antisemitism is running rampant on the campuses of some of the country’s most elite universities, including protesters on Columbia’s campus saying Jewish students were Hamas’ “next targets” amid ongoing protests. 

FETTERMAN ‘NOT WRONG’ TO COMPARE COLUMBIA PROTESTS TO CHARLOTTESVILLE, CNN HOST SAYS

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President Biden speaks to the National Action Network convention remotely from the South Court Auditorium of the White House, April 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“Al-Qassam you make us proud, kill another soldier now,” protesters on the Ivy League campus chanted over the weekend, referring to the military wing of the terrorist organization Hamas. 

They also chanted: “We say justice, you say how. Burn Tel Aviv to the ground” and “Hamas we love you. We support your rockets, too.”

The protests in Charlottesville in 2017, which played out across two days in August of that year, included White nationalists descending on the city who were met by hundreds of counter-protesters. The protests devolved into violence, including three deaths and dozens of injuries stemming from a car plowing through people and other attacks.  

IVY LEAGUE ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS’ PROTESTS SPIRAL INTO ‘ACTUAL TERROR ORGANIZATION,’ PROFESSOR WARNS

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The protests were condemned by both Republicans and Democrats as a hateful display of bigotry, including Trump at the time, who said in a statement that such protests and violence have “no place in America.” 

"welcome to the people's university" sign at Columbia protest

Anti-Israel agitators construct an encampment on Columbia University’s campus in New York City on Monday, April 22, 2024. (Peter Gerber for Fox News Digital)

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence on many sides, on many sides,” Trump said in August of that year. Trump added days later in a press conference that he condemned the “egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence” and came under fire from Democrats for his remarks that there was “blame on both sides” and “very fine people, on both sides.”

DEARBORN ACTIVISTS’ PUSH TO BAIL ON BIDEN SPREADS TO OTHER KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES

Donald Trump at a rally

Former President Trump at a rally in Arizona. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Biden pointed to Trump’s comments as helping motivate him to run for the presidency. 

“With those words, the president of the United States assigned a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it,” Biden said in 2019 when announcing his candidacy. 

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anti-Israel protesters demonstrate outside of Columbia University’s campus

Anti-Israel protesters demonstrate outside of Columbia University’s campus in New York City on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Peter Gerber for Fox News Digital)

Biden has repeatedly pointed to Charlottesville as a moment of shame for the nation, including on the fourth anniversary, when the White House released a statement saying the rally was a “battle for the soul of America was laid bare for all to see.” 

MICHIGAN ARABS AND MUSLIM COMMUNITY WORK TO BEAT BIDEN IN 2024 RACE: BIDEN ‘THINKS WE’RE BLUFFING’

“The forces of hate and violence were summoned from the shadows as Neo-Nazis, Klansmen, and white supremacists descended on a historic American city. With torches in their hands and veins bulging from their necks, they spewed the same antisemitic bile that was heard in Germany in the 1930s and with the same beatings and bigotry we saw in Jim Crow America for nearly a century,” he said. Though Biden has repeatedly cited Charlottesville, he has come under criticism, as recently as five months ago, for not visiting the city following the protests. 

“Charlottesville, Virginia,” were even the first two words Biden uttered when announcing his run for the White House. 

alt-right rally in Charlottesville, Va.

Members of the Patriot Front march across Memorial Bridge in front of the Lincoln Memorial on Dec. 4, 2021, in Washington, D.C. The group broke off from the White nationalist group Vanguard America after the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Biden is now facing his own “Charlottesville moment,” as protests rage on college campuses stretching from Yale to the University of California, Berkeley, as anti-Israel students set up encampments while demanding their schools completely divest from Israel.

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Protests had spread across the nation in October of last year, when Hamas launched its first attacks against Israel, sparking war. They have since intensified, including this month. 

anti-Israel protest in NYC in Feb. 2024

Protests at Columbia University and other schools have intensified since October. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

A Columbia professor told Fox Digital over the weekend that anti-Israel campus groups have morphed into becoming an “actual terror organization,” citing the protester who was seen holding a sign reading, “Al-Qasam’s (sic) next targets” that pointed toward Jewish students. A rabbi on Columbia’s campus has warned Jewish students to leave campus due to the antisemitism. 

“The events of the last few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy,” Rabbi Elie Buechler wrote to students over the weekend. “It deeply pains me to say that I would strongly recommend you return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality in and around campus has dramatically improved.”

BIDEN CRUSHED FOR EQUIVOCATING ON ANTISEMITIC PROTESTS: ‘VERY FINE PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES’ MOMENT

More than 100 protesters were arrested on Columbia’s campus last week, while dozens more were arrested on Yale’s and NYU’s campus this week. 

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Biden on Monday reiterated his condemnation of the violent protests, while facing criticisms online that his remarks echoed what Trump said in 2017 of the Charlottesville riots. 

“I condemn the antisemitic protests. That’s why I have set up a program to deal with that. I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians,” Biden told reporters Monday. 

man at Unite the Right rally wields flagpole as weapon

Clashes at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Aug. 12, 2017. (Evelyn Hockstein/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“This sure sounds like he’s ACTUALLY saying there are very fine people on both sides,” OutKick founder Clay Travis said.

ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS COULD ‘ESCALATE,’ TURN MORE EXTREME TO GET BIDEN’S ATTENTION, REPORT WARNS 

“Joe Biden condemned what he called the ‘antisemitic bile’ of right-wing marchers in Charlottesville, Virginia, and called it a ‘defining moment’ for America. Today we’re witnessing Charlottesville happening on the campus of Columbia University but Biden is silent. This is a defining moment for this presidency. Will he keep pandering to the antisemitic left or confront it the way he did the antisemitic right?” Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen tweeted

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Anti-Israel agitators block road outside Yale

Anti-Israel agitators block roadways outside of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, on Monday, April 22, 2024. The protests are continuing after a week of demonstrations calling on the university to divest from military weapons manufacturers. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)

American Spectator writer Nate Hochman noted, “I’m old enough to remember when ‘good people on both sides’ was evil and racist.”

WHITE HOUSE CONDEMNS ‘BLATANTLY ANTISEMITIC’ PROTESTS AS AGITATORS ENGULF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

The Federalist’s editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway wrote, “President Biden says there are good people on both sides of October 7.”

Earlier this month, Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who has openly supported Israel and condemned members of his own party for not doing the same, compared the protests unfolding on college campuses to Charlottesville. 

NYPD officers patrol as pro-Palestine students demonstrate on Columbia University’s campus

Anti-Israel demonstrators on Columbia University’s campus in New York City on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (Peter Gerber for Fox News Digital)

“I fully agree with the White House – these ‘protests’ are antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous. Add some tiki torches and it’s Charlottesville for these Jewish students,” Fetterman tweeted as the Columbia protests intensified over the weekend. 

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Israel has become a lightning rod for the Democratic Party since October, with the party’s progressive faction, such as members of the Squad, coming under fierce condemnation from the Jewish community and conservatives for not taking harder stances against Hamas. Biden is even facing an “​​Abandon Biden” movement in battleground states such as Michigan and Wisconsin, stemming from the president’s support of Israel during its war in Gaza. The movement calls Israel’s actions “genocide.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Biden campaign and the White House for comment on the matter Tuesday, but did not receive a response from either.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report. 



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Southeast

Fox Nation premieres 'Surviving a Serial Killer' with Harris Faulkner

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17-year-old Lisa McVey’s life hung by a thread, seemingly doomed to fall victim to serial killer Bobby Joe Long, until her brutal 26-hour brush with death ended in a miraculous escape from his clutches. Now she has the chance to tell the tale in a new Fox Nation series.

Harris Faulkner hosts the three-part series, “Surviving a Serial Killer,” walking subscribers through McVey’s 1984 kidnapping, her terrifying hours spent in Long’s possession, her eventual escape and the aftermath of it all.

“I’m 17 years old and in the fight for my life,” McVey, now 57, said. 

POTENTIAL ‘SERIAL KILLER’ ARRESTED IN FLORIDA AFTER ALLEGEDLY KILLING 2 WOMEN, DUMPING BODIES

“Surviving a Serial Killer” tells Lisa McVey’s story of survival. (Fox Nation)

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The terrifying stretch began when Long grabbed her off her bicycle on her ride home after working a double shift at Krispy Kreme.

He tortured and raped her during those 26 hours. Certain she was going to die, she left trails of evidence to make sure there was proof of what happened – including a lock of hair and fingerprints. 

That evidence, combined with her extraordinarily detailed memory, led police to the culprit.

But, at first, no one believed her. 

EASTBOUND STRANGLER: SERIAL KILLER STAYS IN SHADOWS AS BOOGEYMAN WITH NO FACE BUT AT LEAST 4 VICTIMS

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Lisa McVey

Survivor Lisa McVey speaks onstage at the “Surviving Evil With Charisma Carpenter” panel discussion during the Investigation Discovery portion of the 2013 Summer Television Critics Association tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 25, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California.  (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

“Police didn’t believe her. She’d been in and out of the system [foster care], and the grandmother wasn’t fighting for her cause,” Faulkner said, discussing the series on “Outnumbered” last week.

McVey had to fight to be heard, to warn others that someone with the potential – and the willingness – to hurt others was still on the loose.

“I need[ed] somebody… who’s gonna believe me. I say, ‘You’ve got to find this guy. You got to find him. He’s out there. He’s going to hurt other girls,’” she said. 

Desperate for someone, anyone willing to listen to her story, she continued to push law enforcement until she found the one person willing to listen to her.

CALIFORNIA WOMAN SUSPECTS RELATIVE WAS A SERIAL KILLER AFTER UNCOVERING FAMILY SECRETS: ‘IT SHOOK ME’

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Lisa McVey Fox Nation

Lisa McVey recounts her story of survival in the latest Fox Nation series hosted by Harris Faulkner. (Fox Nation)

“So a couple more times, I go down the police station, still feeling like no one’s believing me. They finally summoned Sergeant Larry Pinkerton,” she continued.

Pinkerton also appears in the multi-part series, offering his comments on the 40-year-old case that led to the arrest of Long, who was ultimately executed by the state of Florida for his crimes.

“They realized that this guy had killed women before her. She was the only one who survived. He killed two women after her,” Faulkner said.

In the final part of the series, Faulkner joins McVey as they patrol the streets of Tampa Bay, Florida, hearing McVey share how her faith and understanding of survival have helped her protect others.

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO FOX NATION

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Now a motivational speaker and Sheriff’s Deputy based in the Tampa area, her life remains dedicated to justice and making sure victims are heard.

“Surviving a Serial Killer” begins streaming April 30. To witness McVey’s riveting story in its entirety, sign up for Fox Nation and begin streaming the series.

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Six states sue Biden administration over new Title IX protections for trans athletes in girls' sports

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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman announced on Tuesday that they are leading six states in suing the Department of Education (ED) due to the overhaul of Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act. 

Court documents show that the lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. 

The Biden administration has unveiled new rules aimed at safeguarding LGBTQ+ students and changing the ways in which sexual harassment and assault claims are adjudicated on campus. 

Skrmetti and Coleman are targeting new provisions that are part of a revised Title IX regulation issued by the ED, fulfilling a campaign pledge by President Biden to revamp those issued during the Trump administration.

The Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced on Tuesday that he has led six states in suing the Department of Education (ED) due to the overhaul of Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act.  (Photographer: Jacquelyn Martin/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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BIDEN’S TITLE IX RULES ARE A VICTORY FOR POWERFUL TEACHERS UNIONS FUELING DEM CAMPAIGNS

“The U.S. Department of Education has no authority to let boys into girls’ locker rooms,” Tennessee Attorney General Skrmetti said in a statement. 

“In the decades since its adoption, Title IX has been universally understood to protect the privacy and safety of women in private spaces like locker rooms and bathrooms,” Attorney General Skrmetti said.

“The Biden Administration’s new rule would rip away 50 years of Title IX’s protections for women and put entire generations of young girls at risk. It’s wrong, and we are joining our colleagues in Tennessee to lead this fight for our daughters, granddaughters, nieces and all the women of our Commonwealth,” said Attorney General Coleman.

Missing from the new rule, however, is a policy forbidding schools from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes competing against biological females.

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Under the new rules, sex discrimination includes discrimination based on gender identity as well as sexual orientation. A school must not separate or treat people differently based on sex, except in limited circumstances, under the provisions and critics say that the change will allow locker rooms and bathrooms to be based on gender identity.

Miguel Cardona speaks during interview

The Department of Educaation has unveiled new rules aimed at safeguarding LGBTQ+ students and changing the ways in which sexual harassment and assault claims are adjudicated on campus.  (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

REPUBLICANS ACCUSE BIDEN, SCHUMER OF EMBOLDENING IRAN PRIOR TO ATTACK ON ISRAEL

LGBTQ+ students who face discrimination will be entitled to a response from their school under Title IX, and those failed by their schools can seek recourse from the federal government.

The Department of Education sent Fox News Digital a statement saying that “the Department does not comment on pending litigation.”

“The Department crafted the final Title IX regulations following a rigorous process to give complete effect to the Title IX statutory guarantee that no person experiences sex discrimination in federally-funded education,” the statement reads.

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Photo shows generic locker room in a gym

LGBTQ+ students who face discrimination will be entitled to a response from their school under Title IX, and those failed by their schools can seek recourse from the federal government. (iStock)

“As a condition of receiving federal funds, all federally-funded schools are obligated to comply with these final regulations, and we look forward to working with school communities all across the country to ensure the Title IX guarantee of nondiscrimination in school is every student’s experience.”

Fox News’ Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.



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Top Kentucky Democrat cleared of ethics charges stemming from access to voter rolls

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Former Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes has been cleared of ethics charges stemming from allegations that the one-time Democratic rising star abused her access to voter registration data to benefit herself and fellow Democrats.

Franklin County Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled Monday that Grimes legally accessed the data while “acting in the scope of her public duties” as secretary of state.

“It is unclear how the commission can penalize the commonwealth’s chief election official for having access to voter data, or downloading it to a flash drive when it has failed to identify any illegal or unethical use of such data,” Shepherd said in his order.

DEMOCRATIC MAYOR JOINS KENTUCKY GOP LAWMAKERS TO CELEBRATE STATE FUNDING FOR LOUISVILLE

Grimes had faced a $10,000 fine after the state Executive Branch Ethics Commission said that she committed ethics violations by improperly ordering the downloading and distribution of voter registration data. The judge’s reversal of the commission’s order means Grimes won’t have to pay the fine.

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Jon Salomon, one of Grimes’ attorneys, said Tuesday that the ruling vindicated Grimes.

“Secretary Grimes should have never been investigated for simply doing the job that Kentucky voters twice elected her to do, and the court has appropriately cleared her of all charges,” he said in a statement.

The commission said Tuesday that it is reviewing the matter.

Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes speaks with reporters, Nov. 14, 2019, in Frankfort, Ky. The former Kentucky secretary of state has been cleared of ethics charges stemming from allegations that the one-time Democratic rising star abused her access to voter registration data to benefit herself and fellow Democrats. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)

Grimes was seen as a rising political star when she was first elected secretary of state in 2011. She launched a high-profile challenge against longtime Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2014 but was soundly defeated. She rebounded to win reelection as secretary of state in 2015, when Republicans claimed most statewide offices. The only other Democrat to win that year was Andy Beshear, who was elected attorney general then and is now in his second term as governor.

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The ethics commission’s allegations against Grimes stemmed from activity in 2015 and 2016. Grimes was accused of failing to follow government processes in downloading and sharing voter information.

She was accused of acting unethically by instructing her employees to download voter information onto flash drives while she was running for reelection and sharing voter registration information for state House districts, all without complying with open records rules or collecting fees.

Shepherd ruled that the allegations were “arbitrary and without the support of substantial evidence.” The judge said there is no law or regulation that prohibited her from accessing or sharing the information.

He noted that the long-running matter drew “exhaustive” investigations from the ethics commission and the state attorney general’s office, after which “there was no allegation concerning any substantive violation of any statute or regulation regarding the integrity of the voting rolls.”

Republican Michael Adams succeeded Grimes as Kentucky’s secretary of state. Adams’ office on Tuesday noted the changes made to state law in response to the allegations against his predecessor.

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“Because of the scandals that preceded Secretary Adams in this office, the General Assembly in 2019 limited direct access to the voter file, and our administration has followed the letter and the spirit of the law,” Adams’ spokeswoman, Michon Lindstrom, said in a statement.

The judge also ruled that the ethics commission failed to meet the statute of limitations when bringing the claims against Grimes.

The commission’s charges followed a 2019 series from the Lexington Herald-Leader and ProPublica. The two news organizations published stories on Grimes’ conduct as secretary of state.

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