When these sources cannot find a reason to toss blame then it really is a lack of proof.

One of the struggles for politicians and the media in trying to explain the riots that have erupted in organized fashion across the country is their shared desire to heap the blame on far-right groups. A number of leaders have failed as they attempted to pass off the blame of their leadership failings onto outside groups, while the press has grappled with its desire to support the protest but distance responsibility for the violence.

The other issue the media needs to bypass is the obvious presence of Antifa at these riots, as it is a group the press has either supported, protected, or at the least avoided casting responsibility upon over the years. One of the common refrains is that racist fringe alt-right groups are arriving at these protests and instigating the violence, supposedly doing so in order to derail the calls for justice from black organizers and demonstrators.

There have been some problems in getting this narrative to take root. One is the unexpected arrival of Democratic leaders and celebrities who are willing to pony up donations to get arrested rioters bailed out of jail. It does not link up that prominent political leaders from the left would go out of their way to help out violent racists who have been incarcerated. Another challenge to the scripted messaging in the press arrives courtesy of The New York Times, and the normally enthusiastic accusers at The Southern Poverty Law Center.

In a piece wishing to explain what extremist sources could be behind the mounting violence, we have witnessed the paper spoke with a researcher from the SPLC who declares they have found no evidence to support the claims. Howard Graves is a research analyst from the SPLC and he explains that after looking into the evidence from the past week his outfit has not seen enough to have them make the announcement of alt-right racists spearheading the violence.

“I have not seen any clear evidence that white supremacists or militiamen are masking up and going out to burn and loot,” said Graves, alluding to the participants we have witnessed countless times on video committing the violence. Participants who do in fact match descriptions and past witnessed examples of Antifa violence.

What makes this admission all the more relevant is that the SPLC has been known for years as being extremely willing to label mainstream organizations as extremist, or even ‘’hate groups’’. Conservative and Christian organizations such as The Family Research Council, Alliance Defending Freedom, and D. James Kennedy Ministries, among dozens of others.

Just to underscore how far the accusers have been willing to go, for a time the SPLC even designated a town – Amana Colonies – as a location on its ‘’hate map’’. This was based on nothing more than a white supremacist website that stated it held a book club at a restaurant in that township.

So for this reactionary and vindictive outlet to look into the possibility of white supremacists and come up empty it underscores just how scant the proof is behind the claim. This is made all the more glaring when the New York Times — in an atmosphere of enthusiastic blame-throwing undertaken by the press — is willing to print the declaration.

When the favorite hate-group authority used by the media cannot come up with the needed evidence desperately looked for by the press it speaks to just how vacant the claims are that we have been served.