Hillary Clinton was confronted by two Black Lives Matter activists Wednesday evening during a fundraiser in South Carolina, who sought to bring her to task about controversial statements made in 1996 about youth in gangs as part of a bid to shine light on the inconsistencies of her stance on civil rights.
"We want you to apologize for mass incarceration," Ashley Williams said at the Charleston, S.C., event, according to CNN. "I'm not a 'super predator,' Hillary Clinton."
Williams, who along with a colleague paid $500 to attend the Clinton event, was referring to statements made in New Hampshire during Bill Clinton's 1996 presidential re-election campaign, defending his 1994 crime bill which advocated for tougher policing of gang members.
"But we also have to have an organized effort against gangs, just as in a previous generation we had an organized effort against the mob," she said in Keene, N.H, at the time, according to the Washington Times.
"We need to take these people on. They are often connected to big drug cartels. They are not just gangs of kids anymore. They are often the kinds of kids that are called 'super-predators. No conscience, no empathy. We can talk about why then ended up that way, but first we have to bring them to heel," Clinton had said.
Though the bill was intended to protect at-risk youth, it wound up leading to an increase in mass incarceration that mostly affected black communities, according to The Blaze.
Calling Clinton out on her words, as well as the Clinton legacy on crime, Williams demanded an apology from Clinton for her role in black mass incarceration. Clinon responded by saying, "Well, can I talk? And then maybe you can listen to what I say."
To which Williams interjected, "You owe black people an apology - explain it to us."
"Nobody's ever asked me before. You're the first person to ask me. And I'm happy to address it," Clinton said. After the exchange, the Secret Service escorted Williams out of the event for repeatedly interrupting.
The development comes as Clinton seeks to solidify her support among black voters within South Carolina ahead of Saturday's primary. Though polls shows her leading Bernie Sanders in the state among those voters, her standing among black people nationwide appears to be mixed. On one hand, there was the previous confrontation between her and Black Lives Matter activists at a rally in Atlanta, but on the other, she has already received an endorsement from the Congressional Black Caucus.
Watch the confrontation:
