The DUP has insisted it consistently condemns sectarian behaviour, following demands for Ian Paisley to speak out about attacks in Co Antrim.
Speaking after the latest attack on a Catholic family in the village of Ahoghill, Ballymena DUP mayor Tommy Nicholls said he "whole-heartedly" condemned it.
"Roman Catholics have done nothing and deserve to live in peace the way they have been doing for years," he said.
Blaming "idiots" and "a few mindless thugs" for the violence, Mr Nicholls claimed their actions had "taken the limelight away from the IRA".
He also accused the SDLP of using the loyalist campaign to score political points.
Earlier, SDLP leader Mark Durkan had questioned the silence of North Antrim MP Ian Paisley over "naked sectarian aggression" in his constituency.
"This is extraordinary hypocrisy from the man who never hesitates to point the finger whenever others use violence," he said.
"It is time both the British government and Ian Paisley took their heads out of the sand and had a look at what is going on about them."
However, a DUP spokesman said the party leader had been holidaying for several weeks and had therefore been unable to comment.
The DUP's Ian Paisley jnr has spoken in defence of his father, who he said had been the victim of a media campaign.
The North Antrim assembly member said he had been contacted by a number of Catholics ordered to leave Ahoghill by loyalist paramilitaries but had been asked to keep meetings private.
Meanwhile, Church of Ireland primate Archbishop Robin Eames has spoken out against sectarian violence across the north, saying it had "no justification or excuse".
"Innocent people and families are facing danger to their lives simply because of their religion or political identity," he said.
