Cruz, ahead of Antifa hearing, describes riots in US cities as ‘organized terror attacks’
Published 1 hour ago
Cruz, ahead of Antifa hearing, describes riots in US cities as ‘organized terror attacks’
'These violent riots are not spontaneous, nor are they mere coincidences,' Cruz says
Adam Shaw
By Adam Shaw | Fox News
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Sen. Cruz: Local officials should be held accountable for 'letting their cities burn'Video
Sen. Cruz: Local officials should be held accountable for 'letting their cities burn'
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is aiming to highlight the role Antifa and like-minded groups are playing in riots across the country, convening a Senate hearing Tuesday on the issue while alleging that radical left-wing groups are engaging in "organized terror attacks" designed to tear down government institutions.
“Across the country, we’re seeing horrific violence, we’re seeing our country torn apart. Violent anarchists and Marxists are exploiting protests to transform them into riots and direct assaults on the lives and safety of their fellow Americans,” Cruz told Fox News in an interview.
SEN CRUZ: DEMOCRATIC POLITICIANS SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR 'LETTING THEIR CITIES BURN'
On Tuesday, Cruz will chair a hearing of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution to investigate groups such as Antifa, which, while active for years, have recently escalated their presence in the wake of George Floyd's death in police custody. The hearing is called "The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble: Protecting Speech by Stopping Anarchist Violence.”
Speakers will include Acting Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, journalist Andy Ngo and law professor Jonathan Turley. It comes after two months of protests and violent riots hit downtown Portland, where rioters have attacked the Hatfield Courthouse and clashed with federal law enforcement protecting it.
As part of his opening statement, Cruz will play a video to the committee that shows peaceful protests led by civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., and contrasts them with the violence committed by Antifa and similar groups.
"These violent riots are not spontaneous, nor are they mere coincidences. Instead, the evidence suggests they are organized terror attacks designed to instill fear and tear down the fundamental institutions of government. This hearing is designed to understand who is driving the violence, who is driving the assaults, who is driving the murders, and what their objective is,” Cruz said.
Law enforcement in Portland were blinded by lasers, assaulted and doxed online. But local and state officials backed the protesters and accused the Trump administration of having escalated the situation with their presence, as well as "kidnapping" protesters. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and DHS came to an agreement late last month on a phased withdrawal for law enforcement, conditional on the courthouse being protected.
But Portland is one of a number of cities that have been hit by unrest amid broader protests, some of them peaceful, since the death of George Floyd in May. Cruz asserts that the violence is not a natural offshoot of peaceful protests against police brutality – and he wants to get to the bottom of who is responsible.
"The hearing will assess who is driving the violence, who is driving the assaults, who is driving the fires, who is driving the explosions, who is driving the murders, why are they doing so, how are they doing so and what do they hope to achieve through violent acts of terror?" he told Fox News.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/antifa-cruz-riots-organized-terror-attacks