Actress Alyssa Milano criticized for 'MAGA hat is the new white hood' tweet

WASHINGTON -- Actress Alyssa Milano is facing a backlash on social media after comparing the red "Make America Great Again" hat worn by supporters of President Donald Trump to the hood worn by members of the Ku Klux Klan.

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"The red MAGA hat is the new white hood," Milano tweeted. "Without white boys being able to empathize with other people, humanity will continue to destroy itself. #FirstThoughtsWhenIWakeUp."

The 46-year-old tweeted the message on Sunday after a viral encounter between a group of Catholic high school students and a Native American elder on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Some of the students were wearing MAGA hats.

Videos later surfaced, revealing new details of what led up the clash. Students were verbally attacked by a different group of demonstrators at the Lincoln Memorial.

Twitter users are now asking Milano to apologize.

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One person wrote, "Way to blow something completely out of proportion in order to continue your irrational hatred of all things trump."

While another tweeted, "Apologize and back down."

"I'm a Latino that thinks it's unbelievable that all these liberals are trying to imply that being white is the problem in this country," said another Twitter user.

Milano followed up on Twitter Monday, saying "Let's not forget-this entire event happened because a group of boys went on a school-sanctioned trip to protest against a woman's right to her own body and reproductive healthcare. It is not debatable that bigotry was at play from the start."