All three selectmen from Westport, representing both major parties, signed an Anti-Defamation League petition urging the president to cut ties with extremist groups and take a stronger stance against white supremacy.

First Selectman Jim Marpe says the community has to be vigilant against acts of hatred that can break out anywhere, at any time.

On a local level, Marpe says leaders should be educating children about harmful ideology and making sure that police are trained to properly handle hate crimes.

After President Donald Trump released his third statement on a deadly weekend white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, that blamed "both sides" for the violence, the ADL released a follow-up statement.

The group said that something is "profoundly wrong" when the president of the United States defends the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis.