WASHINGTON (AP) — Under pressure from Democratic Party leaders to denounce ugly violence by his supporters, Sen. Bernie Sanders instead struck back with a defiant statement Tuesday that dismissed complaints from Nevada Democrats as "nonsense" and asserted that his backers were not being treated with "fairness and respect."
It followed chaos at the Nevada Democratic Party Saturday night, where Sanders' supporters threw chairs, shouted down speakers and harassed the state party chair with death threats. Gravely alarmed, Democrats pressed Sanders to forcefully denounce it. But the dispute stands as the most public rift yet between the Sanders camp and other Democrats, and may undermine the party's attempt to maintain a unified front as frustration mounts among Hillary Clinton supporters that Sanders is continuing his campaign with no clear path to victory.
"Our campaign of course believes in non-violent change and it goes without saying that I condemn any and all forms of violence, including the personal harassment of individuals," Sanders said. But far from apologizing for anything his supporters did, Sanders repeated, in detail, their complaints that they were railroaded in the delegate process Saturday night, something Democratic officials deny. "The Democratic leadership used its power to prevent a fair and transparent process from taking place," he said. ...
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