Rep. Dan Crenshaw argued on Fox News on Monday that Democrats’ refusal to condemn, or in some cases even acknowledge, left-wing rioters reveals the party is “the political wing” of antifa.

The video: During an appearance on “The Story With Martha MacCallum,” Crenshaw, a freshman Texas Republican, said the goal of violent protesters in U.S. cities is “power” rather than specific reforms or policy changes.

“I think what we’re seeing is a hostage crisis. You have a lot of violent leftwing mobs, antifa mobs, saying that if you don’t give us power, if you don’t give our political wing – the Democratic party – power, we’re going to keep terrorizing your cities,” he said.

“Now, why do I say their political wing is the Democratic Party? Well, because I find it interesting that Democrats can’t for the life of them condemn antifa and these violent mobs.”

Crenshaw, who fought in Afghanistan as a Navy SEAL, laid out “a pattern” by congressional Democrats of denying knowledge of antifa:

Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York this week called antifa violence in Portland “a myth”;

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee last month said he was unaware of a police-free protest zone that had been established in Seattle several days earlier;

And Rep. Eric Swalwell of California earlier denied knowing anyone in “Antifa.”

The Pelosi factor: Crenshaw singled out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, for repeatedly blaming Donald Trump for the nationwide violence, which the president has sent federal agents to U.S. cities to quell.

Crenshaw also accused Pelosi of saying the riots would not happen if Democrats were in power, though she does not appear to have said so directly.

“So their messaging is coming from different angles, but it is very well coordinated and it is this: They’re going to hold you hostage, hold you, the American people, hostage, until you give them power,” he said.

Crenshaw, who appeared on “Fox and Friends” earlier on Monday to discuss the riots and his new book, has been an outspoken critic of antifa, a loose network of sometimes violent anti-fascist activists.

The Trump administration has also pointed to antifa as a major driver of the unrest.

The president and other conservatives have blamed local Democratic officials for failing to restore law and order and the press for downplaying the problem.

Liberal commentators have countered that the White House and its supporters are exaggerating the scope of the violence and the role of antifa for political reasons.

The Department of Homeland Security on Monday seemed to join Crenshaw in criticizing Democrats’ denials about antifa.

In an implicit rebuke of Nadler, the DHS spokesperson retweeted footage of a federal agent injured in the Portland protests that was posted by Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf.

“This isn’t a myth,” the spokesperson commented.