The Justice Department held a press conference Thursday amid nationwide protests over racial inequality and the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Floyd died after being pinned down at the neck by a police officer, prompting massive protests across the country. The now-fired officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder.

Attorney General William Barr said that it is “undeniable that many African Americans lack confidence in our American criminal justice system,” adding, “This must change.”

He called Thursday a “day of mourning,” referring to the memorial for Floyd scheduled for later in the day.

Of video showing the police officers’ conduct when arresting Floyd, Barr said, “It is impossible for any normal human being not to be struck to the heart with horror.”

Barr said the aftermath of Floyd’s death has produced a challenge to the rule of law in the form of “lawlessness, violent rioting, arson, looting of businesses and public property, assaults on law enforcement officers and innocent people.”

“We have evidence that Antifa and other similar extremist groups, as well as actors of a variety of different political persuasions have been involved in instigating and participating in the violent activity,” Barr said. “And we are also seeing foreign actors playing all sides to exacerbate the violence.”

Barr says the government is dealing with a “witches brew of different organizations” fomenting violence.

Barr defended the federal response to the protest in Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C., on Monday, saying demonstrators had thrown projectiles and the group was “becoming increasingly unruly.”

“We asked three times” for the demonstrators to move back one block, he said. When they refused, he said, “We moved our perimeter.”

Barr also defended the large amount of federal law enforcement officers in Washington, saying it was “the federal city” and there was a large scale disturbance that was threatening federal property including federal buildings and monuments.

Barr was joined Thursday by FBI Director Christopher Wray, U.S. Marshals Director Donald Washington, Bureau of Prisons Director Michael Carvajal; Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Acting Director Regina Lombardo; and Drug Enforcement Administration Acting Administrator Timothy Shea.

Wray said he was “appalled and profoundly troubled by the video images” of the events that led to George Floyd’s death.

He said both Floyd’s family, as well as the entire country was “trying to find a way forward.”

“That’s because this is not just about George Floyd,” Wray said. “This is about all of those over the years who have been on justifiably killed or had their rights violated.”

He added, “When law enforcement fails to fulfill its most basic duty to protect and serve its citizens, particularly members of a minority community, it not only tarnishes the badge we all wear, but erodes the trust that so many of us in law enforcement have worked so hard to build.”

The Justice Department leaders reiterated the right of Americans to exercise their First Amendment right to peacefully protest but called out the smaller group of people who have “hijacked” those efforts.

Barr has been leading the federal response to the protests, some of which had been violent. Barr has sent specialized teams of federal agents to help control protests in Washington, D.C., and Miami, and the FBI is setting up command posts in cities across the country.

In D.C., Barr was on the scene Monday night ahead of the largely peaceful protest in Lafayette Square that was broken up by law enforcement. His presence came in advance of President Trump walking over to St. John’s Episcopal Church, where Trump posed with a Bible. The church had been damaged in a fire the night before.

The actions of police, who aggressively cleared the protesters, have been criticized. The U.S. Park Police announced it had assigned to administrative duties two officers who were seen assaulting a TV news crew from Australia.

The Park Police says it “will always support peaceful assembly but cannot tolerate violence to citizens or officers or damage to our nation’s resources that we are entrusted to protect.” It says officers had been assaulted with bottles of frozen water and other projectiles.

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