Dem senator: Women's March protests were 'peaceful without exception

A Democratic senator said the protests that sprung up across the country in opposition to President Trump and his policies have been "peaceful without exception."

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) made the statement Thursday during an MSNBC town hall titled "Power and the Presidency" at American University in Washington, D.C. The event focused on the Jan. 21 Women's March and the future of the First Amendment under a Trump presidency. MSNBC's Chris Matthews hosted the town hall, which Murphy and Janaye Ingram, organizer of the Women's March, both attended.

One participant asked about Trump's tweet in which he floated the possibility of cutting off federal funds to public colleges and universities that discourage free speech and engage in violence. The tweet came in response to Wednesday's riots at the University of California-Berkeley, where alt-Right activist Milo Yiannopoulos was scheduled to speak that evening.

"If U.C. Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view - NO FEDERAL FUNDS?" Trump tweeted Thursday.

"I'm just wondering if you think he would actually do that and what would happen to other universities that followed suit," the participant asked Ingram and Murphy at Thursday night's town hall.

Ingram replied, "Obviously we don't support that. Do we support First Amendment rights to protest and to gather peacefully? Absolutely. We don't believe in violence and so that's where we stand." Matthews then turned to Murphy and asked for his answer.

"The president's got to understand what he can and what he can't do. He can't decide which universities get money and which don't," Murphy said.

Then, going back to one of Ingram's earlier points about the anti-Trump marches, the Connecticut senator endeavored to make one thing "clear."

"The marches that happened all over the country, they were peaceful without exception and when there's a deviation, we call them out," Murphy said.

But as TheBlaze previously reported, not every Women's March was entirely peaceful.

In Washington, D.C., for example, at least one pro-life participant said someone spit on her. The same woman said she was told by someone that they hoped she was "raped and needed an abortion."

These disgusting details came after pro-life activists were initially told they weren't allowed to participate in the Women's March, even as organizers welcomed sex workers.

(H/T: Right Scoop)