An American Islamic group is slamming comments from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggesting that pro-Palestinian protesters at events with President Biden are "connected to Russia," calling them "delusional" and "downright authoritarian."
The sharp criticism from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) comes after Pelosi made an appearance on CNN Sunday, when she also argued that calls for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas were part of "Mr. Putin's message" and that the protesters’ financing the demonstrations should be investigated by the FBI.
"They are in front of my house all the time. I have a feeling for what feelings they have," Pelosi said. "But we have to think about what we’re doing. And what we have to do is try to stop the suffering in Gaza. This is women and children, people who don’t have a place to go, so let’s address that. But for them to call for a cease-fire is Mr. Putin’s message."
"Make no mistake, this is directly connected to what he would like to see. Same thing with Ukraine. It’s about Putin’s message. I think some of these protesters are spontaneous, and organic and sincere," Pelosi added. "Some, I think, are connected to Russia and I say that having looked at this for a long time."
NANCY PELOSI SUGGESTS GAZA PROTESTERS ARE ‘CONNECTED TO RUSSIA’ AND SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED
CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad later released a statement saying, "We are deeply disturbed by Former House Speaker Pelosi’s comments.
"Rep. Pelosi’s claim that some of the Americans protesting for a Gaza ceasefire are working with Vladmir Putin sounds delusional and her call for the FBI to investigate those protesters without any evidence is downright authoritarian," he said.
"Hundreds of thousands of Americans, including many young people, progressive activists, and Jewish, Muslim, Palestinian, and Black Americans, have been protesting to call for a cease-fire in Gaza. Millions more Americans support a cease-fire, including the majority of Democrats, according to mainstream surveys," Awad added.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Pelosi’s office for a response to CAIR’s statement, but they did not immediately respond.
Awad drew criticism in December over what the White House called "shocking, antisemitic statements" following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks. Addressing an audience of American Muslims for Palestine, he said he "was happy to see" Palestinians break out of Gaza into Israel.
Fox News’ Hanna Penreck contributed to this report.
