Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is facing widespread scrutiny after suggesting that some Palestinian protesters may have links to Russia and has urged the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to investigate them.
Pelosi said that they need to be thinking about what the supposed Russian-linked demonstrators were doing. She added that they also need to be prepared with ways to stop the suffering in Gaza.
However, she said that the protesters calling for a ceasefire were simply Russian President Vladimir Putin's message. During her remarks, on Sunday, she said that this is all directly connected to what the Kremlin leader wants to see.
Pelosi's comments came during a time when pro-Palestine protesters were demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. These have repeatedly interrupted United States President Joe Biden's events as well as her own recent one that was held in Seattle.
She argued that while some of the protesters were "spontaneous and organic and sincere," others were connected to Russia. Pelosi noted that her claim is based on having looked at the situation for a long time now, as per CNN.
When asked whether or not she believes that some pro-Palestinian protesters were planted by Russia, Pelosi said, "I don't think they're plants." She added that there needs to be further investigation into the matter and expressed her desire for the FBI to take the issue.
Following her remarks, the head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Nihad Awad, quickly criticized her. He said that the organization was "deeply disturbed" and called the former House speaker's suggestion that the FBI investigate the protesters "downright authoritarian."
In a statement, Awad said that they were deeply disturbed by Pelosi's remarks, adding that the claim that some pro-Palestine protesters were working with Putin sounded delusional. He added that the former House speaker's comments once again showed the negative impact of decades of dehumanization of the Palestinian people.
The protesters who disrupted Pelosi's Seattle event on Thursday called for a ceasefire and to "lift the siege on Gaza now." They also interrupted the former House speaker's speech by yelling, "Stop the genocide," according to the Rolling Stone.
Calling for Ceasefire in Gaza
On the other hand, one of the events held by Biden that pro-Palestine protesters disrupted was one that was focused on abortion rights. The demonstrators interrupted the president's speech at least a dozen times, demanding a ceasefire in war-torn Gaza, prompting officials to remove them from the venue.
During the Democratic leader's speech in Charleston's Mother Emanuel AME Church as well as at a United Auto Workers event last week, pro-Palestine protesters took a stand. Biden said that the demonstrators "feel deeply" about Gaza.
Awad said that instead of Pelosi and others baselessly smearing pro-Palestine Americans as Russian collaborators, officials should respect the will of the people by calling for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's genocidal war on the people of Gaza to end.
Many progressive activists and voters who support a ceasefire in Gaza have previously warned President Biden that his current approach to the war could threaten his re-election changes. They argued that it could also cost the Democratic Party support at the ballot box in November, said the New York Times.
