Fact Check: Did Sheriff Clarke Call Black Lives Matter 'Hate Group,' Terrorists?

MILWAUKEE, WI -- Milwaukee County Sheriff Clarke isn't known for going soft on Black Lives Matter in comments made available to the public.

Patch.com wanted to investigate claims that the oft-outspoken Sheriff has been extremely hard on the group, specifically claims whether he called Black Lives Matter a hate group, and terrorists. PolitiFact fact-checked claims that Clarke had said these things and found them to be true.

CLAIM: Sheriff Clarke called Black Lives Matter a hate group.

• A July 2016 opinion column for FoxNews.com, written by Clarke, he refers to the group as a "hate group" twice.
• "I wish the Southern Poverty Law Center would add them (Black Lives Matter) to the list of hate groups in America … this hateful ideology of Black Lives Matter." -- Fox News’ "America’s News HQ," July 31, 2016
• "Black Lives Matter are purveyors of hate. It is a hateful, violent ideology." -- Fox News’ "Hannity" show, July 17, 2016

CLAIM: Sheriff Clarke has called Black Lives Matter "Black Lies Matter."

• There have been many occasions in which Sheriff Clarke called the group Black Lies Matter, including in his 2017 memoir "Cop Under Fire."
• According to PolitiFact, Clarke also called them Black Lies Matter on CNN and Fox.

CLAIM: Sheriff Clarke refers to Black Lives Matter as a terrorist movement.

PolitiFact found two occasions in Sheriff Clarke's book:

• Black Lives Matter does not "care about black lives. They care about their own radical ideology of terrorism: anarchy."

• "In the five days surrounding the Dallas shooting -- which was the worst police massacre since 9/11, by the way -- there was even more Black LIES Matter-inspired violence (four attacks on police are listed)….Let me guess. You’d never heard of these incidents. That’s because the media protect and lie about this insidious terror organization."

CLAIM: Sheriff Clarke likened Black Lives Matter to ISIS

• "We have several forces internal and external attacking our rule of law: ISIS, Black Lives Matter, Occupy Wall Street – just the most recent iterations of the elements who brand themselves as unique but seek the same revolutionary aim: take down the West …"

Article image by Spencer Platt via Getty Images