Transcripts For CSPAN2 Hearing On Protecting Free Speech Preventing Violent Protests Panel 1 20240712

Cruz this subcommittee hearing is called to order. Welcome to the witnesses who are here. The First Amendments first for a reason. It guarantees not only the freedom of speech, but the right of the people peaceably to assemble. Peaceably matters a great deal in that protection. Without our First Amendment rights, rights that protect the countless ways in which people can peaceably express their social and political views, democracy wouldnt work. The right of the people peaceably to assemble and to demand changes to petition their government for grievances is in the very best tradition of america. No history of the United States, no recounting of the unending struggle to live up to our founding promises would be complete without recognition of the peaceful movements that have pushed this nation forward. Abolitionists to the suffragettes, to the countless brave and heroic souls who marched in support of the civil rights movement, peaceable assemblies have moved mountains in this country and they still can. When america saw the horrifying video of a Police Officer killing george floyd, a brutal killing that evoked for many the nations long history of Racial Discrimination and injustice, americans rightly and peaceably assembled to demand justice, justice for every american, regardless of skin color. But what began as legitimate protests against a vile act of abuse, sadly, were soon hijacked by opportunists and violent radicals. By early june, rioters had injured more than 700 Law Enforcement officers across the country and had murdered david dorn, a retired officer who served st. Louis with honor for many years. They also damaged or destroyed countless buildings and businesses. In minneapolis alone, rioters burned Affordable Housing and damaged over 400 businesses. Many of them owned by africanamericans. At a cost of well over 500 million in damages. In philadelphia, police cars were set ablaze. In seattle, rioters who damaged hundreds of buildings, were granted and allowed to set up a socalled autonomous zone by local officials who all too predictably resulted in more crime, including four shootings that cost two young people their lives. The fact is the people who took the streets, because their hearts cried out for justice, have become overshadowed by rioters and looters and those who cynically exploit the protests for their own evil ends. Those rioters arent concerned about Racial Justice. Indeed, they are willing to make the mockery of the peaceful protests to advance their violent objectives. Their actions are profoundly racist, the rioters, as they destroy minority communities, minority businesses, and minority lives across this country. This shouldnt be complicated. Peaceful protests must be protected. Riots must be stopped. No one has the right to assault another person, to firebomb a building, to throw a molotov cocktail into a police car. Thats not exercising a constitutional right. That is terrorizing your fellow citizens. More and more were seeing signs that a significant portion of this violence, of this rioting is not random, its not spontaneous. Rather, it is coordinated and inspired by leftist, anarchist groups, groups like antifa, that will, without shame, exploit a National Tragedy to attack american buildings, american homes, and american lives. This is happening in my home state in austin and in dallas, and its happening across the country. Whether in minneapolis, nevada city, pittsburgh, or toledo, to name a few. But tragically, nowhere more so than in portland, oregon. In portland, antifa and other radicals have thrown metal pipes at dhs officers and use commercial grade lasers to try to blind them, perhaps permanently. They launched mortgagerstyle withrtarstyle attacks commercial grade fireworks. They firebombed a federal courthouse. This is not peaceful protest. This violence speaks for itself. But for good measure and in graffiti on the county courthouse, they wrote, quote, until the police and i. C. E. Are abolished, we will burn this city down piece by piece. They are telling us what their demands are, to shut down and abolish the police. This violence should be universally condemned. All 100 senators ought to come together and say, dont murder your fellow citizens, dont attack Police Officers. Protect each others rights. Instead, of seeing leaders united, we are seeing too many local officials, mayors, and governors who made a cynical decision that its in their partisan interest to turned a blind eye to this violence. To turn a blind eye to the Law Enforcement officers being attacked on a nightly basis and even worse than that, to demonize the Police Officers, to throw out terms like storm troopers and gestapo to to describe federal Law Enforcement officers doing their jobs. Its for that reason i introduced legislation called the reclaim act. The reclaim act provides that if you, as an american, if you are injured, if your property is damaged, if your home is burned to the ground, if your business is looted and destroyed during a riot, as a result of a decision of political leaders to deny you Police Protection, that you have a federal cause of action to sue the municipality or the city that has denied you Police Protection. And has willfully looked the other way whiefle your life was endangered, while your home or business was burned to the ground. Denying fair protection of Law Enforcement is a civil rights violation for any american who is denied. Just days after george floyd was killed, representative john lewis, whose passing the nation just mourned, he said, quote, rioting, looting, and burning is not the way. Organize, demonstrate, sitin, stand up, vote. Representative lewis is exactly right. We all have a right to free speech, and we should protect that right vigorously, but we should also be united in condemning Political Violence and condemning domestic terrorism and understand just what is happening on the ground, what the heroic men and women of Law Enforcement are facing right now. Its helpful to see directly whats occurring, and theres a video that should display this now. Please, show me where it says protests are supposed to be polite and peaceful . We will be able to see the to transform the jangling discourse of this nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. To stand up for freedom together. So let freedom ring. A Passionate Movement for justice is finding itself swept under the feet of rampaging and destructive mobs. We will see what they do. Fire. Spreadmyth that is being only in washington, d. C. 77yearold david dorn was shot to death at the pawnshop he was protected was being looted. Dave underwood was killed. Authorities say it was a targeted attack on Law Enforcement. This is ridiculous. These people are tearing up our livelihoods sen. Cruz senator hirono. Hirono thank you, mr. Chairman. Nobody is condoning violence against anyone, by anyone. This hearing is titled, kwoit, the right of the people peaceably to assemble, protect ing speech by stopping anarchist violence, end quote. But the hearing we should be having is one called the right of the people peaceably to assemble without being beaten up by unidentifiable federal agents. That would address an actual problem lawful protesters are facing and the rest of us are seeing in this country. The murder of george floyd has led to protests across the country and indeed around the world. In response, the federal government has used violence and Excessive Force to break up these protests. We saw this in two wellknown examples in Lafayette Square in d. C. And in portland, oregon. June 1, people were peaceably protesting around Lafayette Square, by the white house, calling for an end to Racial Injustice and police brutality. Suddenly, federal agents, under the direction of attorney general barr, used chemical gas, batons, rubber bullets, riot shields, and flashbang grenades to forcibly disperse the protesters and clear the area. This was done so President Trump could get a photo op in front of st. Johns church. There was no anarchist violence in Lafayette Square. Fact, the only ones using force were federal Law Enforcement agents. Portland is another clear example where federal agents used excessive and indiscriminate force to break up people gathered to peaceably protest. On july 4, unidentified federal agents arrived in portland, outfitted as if for war, wearing camouflage and heavy gear. To justify this unnecessary deployment of federal officers, President Trump and his administration have repeatedly portrayed portland protesters as violent anarchists and members of antifa. But in the past four weeks, what we have actually seen are federal agents beating up on nonviolent protesters, tear gassing them, and shooting them with rubber bullets and other socalled less lethal munitions. We saw federal agents shoot a 26yearold nonviolent protester in the face. With one of these less lethal munitions. And as you can see in the photo here, Donovan Labella suffered skull fractures. He was in icu. He required surgery. We saw federal officers beat a 53yearold navy veteran who approached them to ask why they were not honoring their oath to the constitution. And when Christopher Davis refused to react when federal agents beat him and broke his bones, they pepper sprayed him in the face. We saw federal officers tear gas moms, dads, and veterans who stood as a wall to protect peaceful young protesters. We also saw unidentified federal forces grab Peaceful Protesters off the street and force them into unmarked advance. Vans. One protester described having his hat pulled over his face so he could not see. I am not alone in my deep concern over the federal agent use of force and violence against protesters in portland. The attorney general of oregon has sued the federal government to stop federal agents from using the kind of, quote, secret Police Tactics, where they take people off the street and force them into unmarked advance. State and local officials in oregon have demanded that federal forces leave portland because they have brought violence, not peace. And the inspectors general of the department of Homeland Security and department of justice have decided that the federal officers use of force against protesters in portland were concerning enough to open an investigation. The justice departments Inspector General has also concluded that the federal officers use of force against Peaceful Protesters near Lafayette Square was concerning enough to include in this investigation. Despite these facts, we are having a hearing on protecting Peaceful Protesters from anarchist violence, but what weve seen in portland are Peaceful Protesters in need of protection from federal officers. Lets be clear, once again. No one is condoning any violence by Law Enforcement or by the protesters. But by focusing only on anarchist violence, this subcommittee is furthering President Trumps efforts to distract us from the underlying issues that millions, millions of protesters have been calling on us to address the systemic Racial Injustice in our country. President trump is deliberately trying to undermine the massive protests for Racial Justice by dismissing them as anarchists and antifa. To perpetuate this flair tiff, this narrative, President Trump has ignored evidence that White Supremacists have high hijacked peaceful protests to invoke conflict, such as in minneapolis. He ignored studies showing that White Supremacists have killed at least 329 victims in the past 26 years. While antifascists have killed no one in politically motivated attacks. And he has ignored what some have called the Largest Movement in American History, the millions of people who have marched peacefully in the streets, following the murder of george floyd, demanding change. If this subcommittee wants to protect americans right to peacefully assemble, we should be focused on preventing federal officers from beating up protesters, tear gassing them, and shooting them in the face. Thats the hearing we should be having today. Mr. Chairman, at this time, i would like to show a video that highlights the excessive use of force by federal agents in portland. Thank you. [video clip] hundreds of videos reviewed by the times showed us although protesters were antagonistic, officers responded with disproportionate force. Whoa they blocked the streets with tear gas. Are you ok . They struck protesters with batons. And used flashbangs, pepper ls, and other leslie full less lethal munitions to clear the streets. Their actions often appeared to escalate rather than deescalate matters. In some instances, they attacked when there was no threat. On july 11, protester Jonathan Labella was at the federal courthouse when an officer appears to have fired at his head in retaliation for tossing a dispensed tear gas canister. [beep] labellas mother told local media he suffered skull fractures and needed surgery. [yelling] later that night when field medics came for wounded protester, they were aggressively cleared away. On july 18, a navy veteran was batoned and pepper sprayed in another unprovoked attack. His right hand was broken and he needed surgery. Sometimes members of the press were hit. Ow got shot in the back, obviously. This photographer, Matthew Lewis roland, told the times that a volley of 10 projectiles were fired into his back. This way, this way. In the middle of all this, protesters were detained in ways that alarmed civil rights activists and Homeland Security officials. Can your people identify themselves as Law Enforcement . Law enforcement officers were filmed driving unmarked vehicles in the area surrounded the courthouse. How are we supposed to know who you are . How are we supposed to know you are not civilians kidnapping us . Detained atster was this location nearby. What are you doing . Federal officers wouldnt identify themselves. Use your words. The patches on the right and left sides of their uniforms matched those used by members of the Tactical Unit from customs and border protection. They drove the protester away in an unmarked car. Dhs says federal officers have made 43 arrests since july 4. Sen. Cruz thank you, senator hirono. I will note at the end of that video that is narrated that describes Law Enforcement officers as unidentified while the video shows them with the words police in bright yellow all caps across their chest, so that is a curious way to describe a lawenforcement enforcement officer as unidentified. I would also note that the Ranking Member said nobody is condoning the violence and rioting. And yet nowhere in the opening remarks was even one word condemning it. Condemning the assaults. Condemning the 277 injuries that federal Law Enforcement officers have suffered at the hands of those rioters. Not a word was said about the murder of federal Law Enforcement officer Patrick Underwood. Not a word was said about the murder of retired st. Louis Police Officer david dorn, both of whom are africanamerican, and both of whom were murdered. And we are told we dont condone this. We simply wont say a negative word about this terrorism. The senators from oregon have both asked to come before this committee and given whats transpiring in portland, that seems appropriate courtesy to extend them so we will now recognize both senators from oregon, senator wyden and senator merkley, both who have asked to address the subcommittee. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Can you hear me, mr. Chairman . Sen. Cruz yes. Yes, we can. Mr. Chairman, time is short so i will get right to the question of protecting free speech. First, as the senator from oregon, and a portlander, i want to begin by asking this afternoon, who americans believe is the real threat to our Constitutional Rights. Is it the oregonians who gathered in my hometown, in overwhelmingly peaceful protests for Racial Justice since the murder of george floyd . Or is it the heavily armed secret police who snatched portlanders off the streets in unmarked vans and interrogated them without justification or charges . Is it the wall of moms, the courageous women, like my friend, sharon myron, an Emergency Room Physician and a county commissioner who put themselves in harms way to protect their neighbors . Or is it the unidentifiable federal Paramilitary Forces who, without provocation, batoned and tear gassed both moms and their fellow protesters . Is it the peacefully gathered portlanders who raised their hands in the air and sang the words, hands up, please dont shoot, to the tune of a lullaby . Or is it a duplicitous president who called portlanders oregonians professional anarchists, professional agitators, people who hate our country, and called my hometown a beehive of terrorists . These this argument that americans exercising their right to protest our anarchists, terrorists, and agitators, is bad faith nonsense. Violent conflict was down before President Trump got involved. Portlanders are standing up for justice. Ive seen black lives matter activists in portland and other cities trying mightily to prevent acts of vandalism because, as they point out eloquently, it certainly distracts from their calls for justice and equality. Mr. Chairman, the Associated Press did an analysis of 200 portland arrests, and they found that most who were charged for nonviolent acts did not fit the depiction of an anarchist. They did their analysis, mr. Chairman, on the basis of public records, court documents. I would ask unanimous consent that we could put the Associated Press analysis into the record. Sen. Cruz without objection. Why make these baseless conspiratorial accusations and send in secret police . Donald trump sent in the secret police to create images of chaos for political gain. To air in campaign ads and provide a basis for bad faith discussion. Fortunately in the days federal forces backed off, the chaos has largely stopped in portland, but the president is getting the scenes of violence for the ads that he wanted to and he has threatened further escalation in portland and elsewhere. This nonsense about leftist anarchy also papers over the murders and vandalism committed by far right domestic terrorists. Those murders have been on the rise. Far right criminals have been caught committing acts of vandalism at the black lives matter protests. This baseless talk about leftist anarchy also erases the work done by all those who stood up in peaceful protests to declare black lives matter in the wake of the murder of george floyd. Millions and millions of ,mericans, of all backgrounds participated in protests calling for an end to inequality and violence against black americans. All of this talk about leftist anarchy is a deflection in a nationwide call for justice. If i can just say in closing, portlanders did not feel protected by Donald Trumps secret police forces. I agree there is a serious danger to americans Constitutional Rights at this unique moment in history. It is caused to a great extent by the president and his enablers. Calledl protesters anarchists and sending military forces into american cities. Mr. Chairman, i think perhaps senator merkley is ready now as well. Sen. Cruz thank you, senator wyden. Senator merkley. Ley thank you for convening this. We have heard conflicting stories of portland. Scenes taken from early on after george floyd was murdered, protesters in a very angry state and there were some substantial destruction. But weeks later, that had disappeared, down to a small number of latenight folks and thats when this conversation starts to make the transition to what the federal forces have done. Heres what the scene looked like in portland when the federal troops were arriving. Thousands of people, peacefully holding flowers, dancing, chanting, arguing that we need to have a reform in america so there is equal Public Safety for all, equal justice for all. A wall of moms formed to protect Peaceful Protesters from the federal forces behind them. At about 11 00 p. M. , the federal forces stormed out of the Federal Building and attacked the peaceful demonstration. They were armed with military grade teargas, flashbangs, pepper spray, batons, and they use them all. Picture this, three officers attack 53yearold navy veteran, chris david. Two hit him with tons. Another pepper spray him. He just wanted to talk about officers about why they were arresting protesters without probable cause. Picture this, a young man stands facing the troops holding a radio over his head and officer standing across the street shoots him in the center of his forehead, sending him to the hospital in Critical Condition with a fractured skull. Picture this. Thousands of portlanders from every corner of this city, every walk of life, are assaulted. A disturbing number of them end up with injuries from federal troops and thousands are dealing with the aftereffects of militarygrade tear gas. After attacking the crowd, trumps forces grabbed protestors and threw them in unmarked vans with no specific charges or probable cause. The forces have no agency marking. If they do, its hidden. No unique identifiers. There is no way to hold anyone accountable for outrageous acts. These features, officers with no identity attacking protestors, sweeping some into unmarked vans , are the features of secret Police Tactics from around the world. I never thought an american president would bring such tactics to the streets of america, but trump has. We should pass no secret police in america act to end it if we want to protect Peaceful Assembly in the United States of america. These tactics were not about arresting anarchists. Chris david, Donovan Labella, thousands of Peaceful Protesters were not anarchists. They are citizens who love their constitution and believe in we the people republic we have the responsibility to call for justice, and call they have. They after day, week after week, these americans inspire me and they should inspire you. Have there been incidents of violence and destruction . Yes. I do not condone vandalism and i condemn anyone threatening harm to anyone else. Trumps forces did not arrest a violent view. They attacked the peaceful many. There is a world of difference in that. I encourage you to listen to firsthand witnesses to the violent tactics of trumps forces. I read a lot of them on the floor. Here is another ellen, a former one. Observes,s volunteer im standing there the whole time and trying to Pay Attention and thinking i havent heard anything. They have not told us we have to clear the street. They have not declared a riot. There was nothing. We were gassed and no one gave any warnings. After the gas came pepper bullets and you could hear it. My first thought was, what happened to my helmet . I thought i had a helmet on. It hurt so badly even through the helmet to get shot in the head. Then came the rubber bullets. They shot and broke my foot. The pain was awful. My toes, they split the bone in in my big toe, and the girl on my left, the tear gas cannister was shot directly into her head. All of us here sworn to defend the constitution should condemn the paramilitary attacks on american citizens. It is not acceptable anywhere in the world. It is unbelievable offense against civil rights here on the streets of our democratic republic. President trump first tried this strategy out in d. C. And deployed unmarked forces while attacking peaceful protestors. Across from the white house. Next come he brought the strategy to portland, and then he bragged about using the same tactics against cities with democratic mayors, baltimore, philadelphia, new york city, detroit, chicago and oakland and simultaneously launched an ad saying he is a strong law and order president. President trump is confused. Using secret Police Tactics against peaceful black lives matter protestors doesnt make him but a violent suppressor. President trump retreated, withdrawing his federal agents from portland. The protests since have been peaceful celebrations focused on the message of the b. L. M. Movement. I went and saw it myself this weekend. I spoke at a rally at a chapter of the naacp. I spoke to folks who have been there day after day and week after week. These men and women want our nation to reckon with the systemic racism that remains at the heart of so many of our institutions and which has shaped like in our country for four generations. Closing with this quote. Thurgood marshall once said, i wish i could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories. We must dissent from the indifference. We must dissent from the apathy. We must dissent from the fear, hatred and the mistrust. We must dissent because america can do better. Colleagues, america can do better. America must do better. Senator cruz ok. We will now call forward our first panel. Our first panel consists of two government witnesses. The first is from my home state of texas ms. Erin nealy cox and , second is mr. Ken cuccinelli. Ms. Cox is the District Attorney for district of texas and is the cohead of the department of justices task force on violence violent antigovernment extremists. Prior to her appointment, she was a Senior Adviser at mckinsey and company in the Cyber Security and risk practice. Before that, she was an assistant u. S. Attorney in the office she now leads and served as the chief of staff and senior counsel in the office of legal policy in the u. S. Department of justice. Ms. Cox began her legal career with clerkships for a judge from the u. S. Court of appeals for the 5th district and judge h Barefoot Sanders for the Northern District of texas. She earned j. D. At the Southern Methodist University School of law and her bachelors from the university of texas at austin. Our second witness is mr. Ken cuccinelli, who is the senior official performing the duties of the deputy secretary of the department of Homeland Security. In that role, he oversees the functions of safeguarding the American People and our homeland. Before assuming his current position, mr. Cuccinelli served in the Virginia State senate from 20022010 and from 2010 to 2014, he served as the attorney general of virginia. Before serving the public in these positions, mr. Cuccinelli worked in private legal practice. Mr. Cuccinelli earned a j. D. Missiona. From George George Mason University and a bachelor of science from the university of virginia. I would ask each of the witnesses to please stand. And raise your right hands. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing else. You may be seated, and ms. Cox, we will start with you. Ms. Cox good afternoon, Ranking Member, and committee. Im Erin Nealy Cox and chair of generals advisory committee. Thank you for inviting me to discuss the justice departments effort to counter violent antigovernment extremism. For me, it is a topic that hits close to home. A little over a year ago, a carrying an ar15 rifle opened fire on the Federal Court House in dallas which houses the , federal judiciary and my office and many other offices. It ripped through the morning as we were arriving for work that day. Several prosecutors and others were caught in the midst of the attack and resorted to hiding behind cars and one was pushed into a doorway by an officer just as the bullets whizzed past them both. Our office will be grateful to the officers who engaged the shooter, ending the attack before innocent lives were lost. To this day, we remain raddled by the gunmans antigovernment motives. He chose his location for a reason. A courthouse is one of the essential nodes within the body politic. It is where laws are upheld and justice is metted out to target , and to target a courthouse is to target the core of our lawful society. And dallas is no stranger to assault on the rule of law. Three years prior, a gunman targeting Law Enforcement ambushed police during the black lives matter protest. Five officers were killed. Injured, were including nine officers. This was the deadliest single incident for Law Enforcement in the United States since 9 11. That day in july of 2016 is certainly something etched in our memory. Just as the bullet holes still etched in the Federal Court House from the shooter last year remind us daily that antigovernment fanaticism did not emerge from the 2020 protests. As there are peaceful protests following the tragic events in minneapolis, anarchists exploit this activity as a shield for their violent behavior. Somehow the notion of committing anlence in the name of antigovernment dogma be it , antifa or any of the other ideologies, has been imagining traction. Unlike the lawful protestors through demonstrations they undermine, these antigovernment extremists aim to tear down the rule of law in america, not improve it. In fact, by inciting violence, they are drowning out the voices of the protestors that this country want to hear. We have seen antigovernment violence making headlines all across the nation. Just a few example. In seattle during an anarchist , occupation of the capital hill area, an individual set fire to a police precinct. Thankfully protestors helped to , extinguish the blaze. In portland, an alleged anarchist reportedly attacked a u. S. Marshal and shouting as other deputies had to pull him off. Wall, they had scribbled an acronym for all cops are bastards. In oakland, a violent extremism used a peaceful protest to murder an officer stationed at the federal courthouse, firing directly at the officer and his partner before taking off. In response to this type of violence, attorney general bar r directed a u. S. Attorney for the district of new jersey and me to lead a task force to combat violent, antigovernment extremism. Working in close collaboration, we aim to prosecute. We will follow the evidence and investigating any person or group who plans to commit or commits violence in the name of anarchist ideology. Our goal is to focus on cases where an artists commit federal commite anarchists federal crimes and prevent these acts before they harm americans. Let me be clear with this final point. Adhering to renugnant eyedology is not a crime. Nor is expressing those beliefs. The right to freedom of speech is enshrined in our First Amendment. But committing violence or inciting violence to further that dogma is a criminal act and one we should take seriously. Extremist violence endanger our communities, our Law Enforcement, but as importantly, it interferes with Citizens Rights to speak freely and assemble freely. I look forward to taking your questions. Senator cruz thank you, ms. Cox. Mr. Cuccinelli. Mr. Cuccinelli members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today in the department of Homeland Securitys role in protecting against the continued assaults in the city of portland and more specifically the Federal Court House and the federal Law Enforcement officers there. For more than two months now, federal property and federal Law Enforcement officers in portland have been under assault. In july, it occurred every single night until the end of the month. Violent extremists in portland have perverted the peaceful protests in the aftermath of George Floyds tragic death. As we begin, its important to be Crystal Clear about this. Rioters are not protestors and protesters are not rioters. The two does a grave disservice to the critical place for peaceful protests in our country. Let me be clear. The department fully supports the rights of Peaceful Protesters. We will never abandon our mission to safeguard those precious and hardfought freedoms. But d. H. S. Did not have to expand its presence in portland because of peaceful protestors , and that is why i am sitting before you today. For more than 60 days, the situation in portland has been dashed evolved into nothing more than continuous nightly riots , and lifethreatening violence , targeting Law Enforcement and the institutions they defend under the mandate given to them by congress. These rioters have assaulted federal property, federal officers, local Law Enforcement personnel, and facilities with hammers, lasers, baseball bats, fireworks, molotov cocktails, chemicals, and other weapons. Mr. Chairman, as you well know, congress in 40 u. S. C. 1315 directs the secretary to use dhs Law Enforcement personnel in order to protect federal property and persons on that property. The federal protective service protects over 9,000 facilities every day pursuant to that law. And it is a role that has been performed at the hatfield courthouse since it opened in 1997 and around the country since the beginning of fps in 1971. 40 u. S. C. 115 is pursuant to article 1, section 8, clauses 9, 1, and 18 of the constitution,. Constitution. Contrary to what some may think, you should be pleased to know we do not have the option nor do we ever intend to abandon the mission that congress assigned to us. Some people are more interested in telling the story than in truth have made up a number of lies related to federal officers in portland. Here are some facts for the record and for anyone who still cares about the truth. All d. H. S. Law enforcement personnel in portland are trained in the conduct of appropriate tactics and procedures to conduct our missions while protecting Civil Liberties and promoting Public Safety and the safety of our officers. D. H. S. Law enforcement officers who interact with crowds are all identifiable by their Law Enforcement agency and individually. The use of unmarked vehicles by Law Enforcement is common to avoid potential attacks by criminals on a nightly basis. Violent extremists across the country have intentionally attacked marked Police Vehicles and attempted to set them on fire, including with officers in them. In closing, mr. Chairman, let me affirm to the committee and the American People that d. H. S. Will not back away from our responsibilities to protect federal property, the people using those properties, and our brave Law Enforcement officers. We remain disappointed that select federal, state and local leaders prefer to demonize Law Enforcement while kowtowing to extremists that target Law Enforcement officers for harm or even death. I would remind this committee it was a d. H. S. Law enforcement officer who was first killed in the violence following George Floyds tragic death. Pso Patrick Underwood was gunned down while protecting a Federal Building in a peaceful protest in oakland, california. Mr. Underwood was african america. His partner also suffered three Bullet Wounds and survived. As i sit here, i am unaware of the politicians who have demonized Law Enforcement around the country expressing regret of the death of pso underwood. That speaks volumes. D. H. S. Knows the difference between peaceful protesting and violence and terrorism. This country cannot survive allowing mob rule to replace the rule of law. Those hurling molotov cocktails and explosive in portland are not just attacking a federal courthouse. They are attacking the very foundation that makes the enjoyment of our natural rights possible, the rule of law itself. With that, i am happy to take questions, mr. Chairman. Thank you for both overview, your testimony, and ms. Cox. Art with you, been derivedat has from the violence we have seen . Fbi. Ox i can speak to the since may 28, over 300 domestic terrorist investigations. That does not include any potential civil rights 300ations or crime, but domestic terrorist investigations that have been open since may 28. Senator cruz mr. Cuccinelli, Speaker Pelosi and another senior House Democrat have referred to federal Law Enforcement officers working for the department of Homeland Security as storm troopers and gestapo. Are there any storm troopers or gestapo working for d. H. S. . Mr. Cuccinelli no, mr. Chairman, there are not, and it is extremely negative and hyperbolic, liable, of those individuals on people who are doing their duty as professionally as they can, not just in portland, but around the country, protecting, including those of us in this building. Its very sad to see. Im a former attorney general. I know there are a number of them on this committee. We have all worked with Law Enforcement on an intimate basis, and to see that kind of characterization of people who every day get up they are the only people in america that get up and go to work, and we ask them to put a gun on and stand between us and evil every day , and these folks do it, and they do it professionally, and that includes portland, mr. Chairman. Senator cruz what does it do for officer morale when elected democrats are calling them nazis . Mr. Cuccinelli you know, there is just something out of bounds with that. I dont know these folks get away with it. But when theyre facing an unusual threat in the fps 49 years, since 1971, they have dealt with approximately 900 protests a year on average recently, and yet, in all of those years, in all of those cities, they have never dealt with a situation like portland. I will say they keep one anothers morale up, but many of them are just aghast at the notion that people are using every form of weapon this is a water bottle, frozen, and they are getting thrown at our officers, the simplest things in the world, and pipes, fireworks, chemicals, molotov cocktails, and yet, you continually hear people who know what they are saying about these officers is not true. Even in the introductory video, these are unidentified and you can see who they were working for and each Agency Within the department of Homeland Security and thats true with all the officers who have been interacting with all of these crowds, so they are a little bit they understand that it is politics, but a lot of them its gone way, way too far how they too far, particularly how they go out every day and do their duty. Senator cruz all three Democratic Senators who have spoken this far and use the identical phrase secret police. Mr. Cuccinelli, do you deploy secret police . Does d. H. S. Send secret police out into the world, and is that what is happening in portland . Mr. Cuccinelli we have no troops. We have no secret police. And, senator merkley, i like the flower picture, but he said since the arrangement was made, and he did not characterize it this way with Governor Brown, to bring in state Law Enforcement and police the streets of portland, and they declared a riot. Last night, the local Police Declared a riot. Not the federal but the local police. Cuccinelli, imr. Am looking behind you. I see in bright yellow in all caps, the word police. And we are pretty spread out. How exactly is someone with giant all caps with Police Across their chest, how are they secret police . What am i missing . Mr. Cuccinelli nothing secret about it. It is the internationally recognized identification of Law Enforcement. Senator cruz by the way, they are focusing on unmarked cars. Every Law Enforcement agency of any size or scope uses unmarked vehicles. Is there any reason why Law Enforcement might want to use unmarked vehicles in an active riot . Mr. Cuccinelli well, in other active riots we have seen those marked vehicles targeted with officers in them. Senator cruz and firebombed. Literally lit on fire . Mr. Cuccinelli thats exactly right. Senator cruz senator merkley also said that President Trump withdrew the federal Law Enforcement afterwards and that afterwards, the protests have been peaceful. It, both ofderstand those statements are objectively false. Is it true the president has withdrawn federal officers from portland . Number one. And number two, is it true the protests have been peaceful . Mr. Cuccinelli no, the local Police Last Night declared a riot. Last monday, discussions finally began with Governor Brown to have the state police come in and engage and do the two things that we have been asking them to do for two months and that is engage in cooperative policing, which is always our goal, and, frankly, it exists everywhere portland, and to clear the parks across the street that have formed as a staging ground for those conducting violent assaults. Senator cruz last question, mr. Cuccinelli. In the last six months, how many officer injuries have occurred in portland . Mr. Cuccinelli latest count is 277 injuries. 277 injuries. Mr. Cuccinelli 277 injuries to 140 officers. Senator cruz that is not indicative of a peaceful protest, is it . Mr. Cuccinelli that is why i said peaceful protestors arent rioters and rioters arent peaceful protestors. Senator cruz thank you. Senator hirono . Senator hirono you mentioned in your testimony several times to antigovernment extremists and then went on to mention extremists of all persuasions. That would include White Supremacists and other rightwing groups. Would that include the Boogaloo Boys . It would include the Boogaloo Boys. The task force that im helping to read is aimed squarely at antigovernment violence, so yes, it could be racially motivated with White Supremacists or not. Senator hirono i noted in my opening there have been zero killings by some, but in contrast 329 victims were killed by White Supremacists and other white wing extremists. How much of your resources and time is spent looking at looking at White Supremacists and other rightwing organizations . Ms. Cox as i said, any group regardless of their name, if they are violent and antigovernment, we will be looking at them. If it is a white supremacist that is engaging in gang or drug activity, like we looked at in texas, that would not fall under the purview of our task force. What was that . What would not fall within your task force . Ms. Cox White Supremacy groups that are engaging in antigovernment violence. Senator hirono well, that is the thing. Excuse me. They may not be engaging in antigovernment violence but engaging in other violence such as running over people. Does that not concern you . Ms. Cox i have no objection to classification of the white supremacist groups. We prosecuted those in my district. The only point im making, we are limiting the purview of the task force to violent antigovernment groups, whether they are motivated by race or are just antiLaw Enforcement, antigovernment. Senator hirono antigovernment extremists, to be protesters, i would say that during the vietnam war, thousands and thousands if not millions were deemed antigovernment protestors. So i think that is a dangerous way to think about it. Mr. Cuccinelli, you seem not well, you did not seem to, you described what your organization did in portland was following standard Law Enforcement procedures. So i take it you would not be the dhsd when the ig, ig, looks at the appropriateness of what happened to Christopher Davis, who was beaten by a baton and pepper sprayed in his face while he was standing there and nor would you be terribly what happened to donovan la bella who was shot in the head and had to have surgery. I would think that the i. G. Would look into those kinds of force by people at dhs . You would not be concerned . Because this is all standard Law Enforcement practice . Mr. Cuccinelli we are concerned certainly with anyone at any of these events. Both of the two that you identified are being addressed by the d. O. J. Inspector general. Those do not involve d. H. S. Officers. Senator hirono you would have concerned if doj officers were doing those types of things of violence against Peaceful Protesters. You would have concern. Thats good to know. Aclu supported Court Declarations from multiple journalists, for you, mr. Cuccinelli, that federal agents in portland specifically attacked them even though they were unmistakably marked as press. One journalist described a officer shot him at the chest. Another videographer discussed he had covered conflict zones, including in syria and around the world with isis. With the federal agents in portland, have you instructed d. H. S. They must not target or use force against journalists or those engaged in press activity . Mr. Cuccinelli in portland that was ally, subject of further discussion with just those officers there. All our officers that get training that addresses that subject. But in portland, it was addressed in musters, as well. Senator hirono if something happens as a result of your investigation by targeting journalists . Mr. Cuccinelli we havent targeted journalists. That is not our intention or goal, but we investigate every single use of force. Every single one of them will be reviewed. Usator hirono will you tell what those are . Mr. Cuccinelli when we have them, yes. Senator hirono when . Mr. Coach nelly i am not prepared to give a timeline, because we are working on all of them at the same time. Investigating other tactics, i am hopeful that that investigation will cover all the various incidents that you are also investigating. Thank you, mr. Chairman. And, mr. Ruz cuccinelli, it is common use in the police that it will be a use of force, is that right . Mr. Could you nelly yes, mr. Cuccinelli yes, that is built into our procedures. Senator cruz and of course, there are no such constraints against rioters, terrorists or murderers. Also, on the brief exchange with the press, it is my understanding that some of them are identifying themselves as press. And i just want to be clear that if someone has an identification of press, and they engage in violent conduct and physically assault an officer, they are not immune from the criminal laws if they engage in a violent assault. Is that right . Mr. Cuccinelli thats correct. In portland, there was an incident between local Law Enforcement and press that led to a federal court order that was later extended circumstantially without a similar type of incident in our view to all Law Enforcement , meaning all Law Enforcement as well, and we respected that order. But upon the implementation of that order, as you said, mr. Chairman, suddenly people sprouted wearing all black block and press. Senator cruz you mean the uniforms of these rioters . Mr. Cuccinelli makes it hard to distinguish one from the other. Which is the purpose of wearing that and also to make up for quick changes, so they can change their appearance, as well, some more of them are doing that now, in addition with the press across their front or back, and you can readily watch seattle video, for instance, where they will literally stand in the middle of a gap between police and rioters and right in the middle of the line of the rioters, so they are actively performing a shield function. Now, im not saying the majority of them do this. But once the court singled them out, there is no question that a number of the violent participants in these activities started to try to take advantage of it. Cruz senator hirono . Senator hirono before we get to the next may i introduce a law. This is from the Oregon Attorney germ who submitted a statement and she explained that in portland, the federal agents, quote, use of force becomes even more chilling when taken in the context of the apparent federal mission. Based on federal comment starting with the president himself, and it almost seems like the Excessive Force was point of this exercise and the language that federal authorities used dominate the action of federal officers on the grounds and took that and no evidence they were doing to single out the anarchists. I do ask unanimous consent to enter her statement into the record. Senator cruz the letter will be entered into the record. Without objection. Senator graham . Senator graham thank you. To put this into perspective, to those who accuse the United States of being a totalitarian state, i do not buy it, because i do not remember this in germany. Calling the gestapo in and who you are beating up and why. I dont remember open press of what is going on and talking about the press. These things have been covered. I want to live in america that cops are held accountable. Do both of you agree with that . Yes, sir. Senator graham you wear a gun and badge you have a lot of power and your actions need to be judged and monitored, correct . You both agree with that . Yes. Graham senator graham you want to live in a country where they have got your back . Right . Yes, sir. Senator graham how many people have been prosecuted any prosecutions in the making for the 200 something injuries . Mr. Cuccinelli there are. The exact number, i do not know the exact number of cases. Ms. Cox yes, currently, out of the district of oregon, we have 97 arrests. Senator graham im going to be watching really hard whether or not the people who attacked our officers are prosecuted. And i will join my democratic colleagues to make sure that the ig looks really hard at any excessive use of force. I think most americans are probably where i am at. If a cop is going overboard, we want to know about it and take corrective action. But i think most americans wants to make sure that someone who throws a brick or a bottle of water or anything else at a Police Officer that they have their day in court, too. So i want to put you both on notice that we will hold you accountable for prosecuting those who hurt our cops. Now, if we have done nothing, what would have happened to the cuccinelli, in portland . Mr. Cuccinelli wouldnt be there. Senator graham i challenge anybody to say it different. If we had not intervened, they would have burned the damn thing down. Seattle. Were either of you in seattle, when they took over the town . Did we send anybody in there to help . Mr. Cuccinelli we were not requested. And there was no senator graham they worked it out in seattle after they took over part of the town. Being upset with what happened to mr. Floyd is absolutely all american. Trying to turn it into occupy a society and turn it into a socialist enclave is not. We have a lot going on in this country. I do not want to blend them in. Chicago. I dont know whats happening in chicago, but this is not about mr. Floyd. Young kids are getting killed just outside their house. Somebody needs to do something about it. So my point is that this committee, and i appreciate this, senator cruz, is going to look at all of it. Is all of it means what going on in chicago, and should the federal government help. How many kids have to die every weekend before enough is enough . As to the state police in portland, im glad you are there. I hope it works out. But if you cant take care of it, we will. That is not being totalitarian. That is applying the law that exists in the United States today. It is a federal responsibility to protect federal property. Do you agree with that, mr. Cuccinelli . Mr. Cuccinelli yes. Cox, thereham ms. Are people out there who would kill you because of your race, White Supremacists groups are alive. Do you agree with that . Ms. Cox yes. Senator graham they have existed for some time. Director wray said they are on the rise and i want you to bust their ass. We are not going to live in an america like this. If you are a white supremacist , if you are engaging in violence, i hope you get a knock on your door. I dont want any american, black, white, having to be afraid to live in their own country and be afraid to let their kids go outside and play at night, and cannot go downtown in the major city, so to both of you, thank you for your service. Pass on to those under your charge that we appreciate them. At least i dont consider them gestapo, but let them know that if they get out of line, they will be dealt with. That is what the rule is all about. Thank you for having this hearing. Senator cruz thank you, chairman. Senator durbin. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Violence or violence are not acceptable in the exercise of ones Constitutional Rights. Both peaceful demonstrators and Law Enforcement officers can exercise their authority and are entitled to do that without threat or harm. That is what i believe. For the record, i express my condolences for any law officer life or isis seriously injured in the line of duty, and i regret any peaceful demonstrator who has been killed in the lawful exercise of their Constitutional Rights. Patrick underwood, i regret his passing and his death. Thank you. Senator durbin the chairman started this meeting saying we are talking about the leftists. Patrick underwood was not killed by a leftist. He was killed by a member of an organization known as boogaloo, a right wing, extremist organization. A person has been charged with this crime. It aint just leftist. There are supremacists who are engaged in many places. Tomorrow is the anniversary, mr. Chairman, the one year anniversary, of the mass shooting at the walmart in el paso, texas. The 21yearold white supremacist, and i will not repeat his name, with antiimmigrant views killed 23 , people and injured 23 others. It is the worst racial extremism in American History against hispanicamericans. And classify the f. B. I. And d. H. S. Joined a bulletin and quote, white supremacist poses a threat of lethal violence. White supremacists were responsible for more homicides from 2016 than any other domestic extremist group, right or left, White Supremacists. F. B. I. Director wray told me the majority of domestic terrorism involves White Supremacists. And yet, the Trump Administration has made the , and i believe irresponsible, decision to stop tracking White Supremacists incidents as a separate category of domestic terrorism. Since may, 2019, i have sent three letters to the attorney germ and f. B. I. Director asking what they are doing with this at a time when we should be combatting the growth of white supremacist violence that targets minorities and communities of color. Todays hearing only goes to my concern, that the f. B. I. And d. O. J. Are not taking adequate measures to combat white supremacist violence and minimizing the growing domestic terrorism threat. Instead of focusing on the real threat motivated by White Supremacists, terrorists who have killed americans, the Trump Administration has tried to villify protestors and conflate protesting. Ms. Cox, you are very explicit. In fact, you say it four times in your statement. You say proactive focus on violent extremists is not on membership or particular groups or ideologies or belief but on criminal activity and violence. You say that twice. Do you believe that White Supremacists pose our most significant domestic terrorism threat . Ms. Cox i would agree, senator, that we have a number of investigations that involve white supremacist groups. In fact, before the civil unrest the majority of domestic , terrorist investigations were White Supremacy involved. Senator durbin can you explain why your department has stopped White Supremacy incidents as a separate category of domestic terrorism . Ms. Cox i do not know about that. Senator durbin well, i hope you look into it. Department of Homeland Security has recognized the particular threat by extremists that target racial and religious minorities. The september 2019 strategic framework report on violence while President Trump was the president , it said White Supremacy violence is one of the most potent forces driving domestic terrorism. Mr. Cuccinelli do you agree that supremacist violent extremism is one of the, quote, most porton most potent forces driving domestic terrorism . Mr. Cuccinelli i do. And that is why we have upped it. And it is not correct to say we have ignored it. Senator durbin what have you done in portland . Mr. Cuccinelli you cite one partnersith local which is d. H. S. Has the primary , responsibility for and communicating the information to state and local authorities that we get sometimes from others, and we have increased that effort, not reduced that effort. Senator durbin good. Mr. Cuccinelli, that is what we expect of the ordinary and customary relationship between the federal government and state and local Law Enforcement is not what happened in portland. Can i just ask one last question . Thatox, can you affirm will the dhs personnel be under the control of the department of justice and report to d. O. J. Officials . Ms. Cox my understanding is that operation legend, they are doj Law Enforcement to help reduce the Violent Crime and will be a partner with that effort. Senator durbin there is a genuine concern because of statements made by this present about some wideranging Immigration Enforcement as part of this. Were you aware of any plans to use these dhs officials assigned to operation legend that have been assigned to operation legend for Immigration Enforcement . Ms. Cox im not. That entire initiative is meant to reduce Violent Crime. Senator durbin started in kansas city for that very reason. Did it not . Ms. Cox yes. Senator cruz thank you, senator durbin. Mr. Cuccinelli would you like me to address the federal officials involved in operation legend . Sure, go ahead. Senator durbin if the chairman will allow. Mr. Cuccinelli the investigators who have Extraordinary International gang experience are among the cooperating agents in operation legend, including in chicago where they have made a number of arrests. And that is true in a number of other cities, as well, but thats the engagement. It is not to perform immigration functions insofar as they gathered experience. As you know, senator, ms 13, latin kings, and others span our National Borders which brings the expertise in the picture. That is their role in operation legend, and we are very pleased to be working alongside them to help make our cities safer. Thank you,z senator durbin, and senator durbin referenced el paso and the horrific mass murder there. I was in el paso in the aftermath of that. That viewer lent virulen racist targeted hispanicamericans. I am a hispanicamerican. I consoled the families of victims who were murdered by that bigoted racist, and i would say one of the odd things, our democratic colleagues repeatedly refer to what they call right wing extremists, and they they haveloo boys, or cited or certainly can cite the klan. Unequivocally is what senator graham said. They are bigoted, violent monsters and should be thrown in jail. I unequivocally condemn anyone who engages in violence whether they are right on the left. And, sadly, what is missing is too many in the Democratic Party refuse to condemn antifa, and they refuse to condemn senator hirono has said no one was killed from that side of the aisle. I tell you, i was also in dallas in 2016, when Police Officers were murdered by a radical black lives matter protest. And this shouldnt be a political game. Dont kill people. Dont set police cars on fire. Mr. Cuccinelli, those who are engaged in rioting in portland, right now, the 277 officer injuries that have occurred, whos doing it . Mr. Cuccinelli well, as i said , rioters are not protestors and protestors are not rioters. It is the violent among them who often hide behind the peaceful and use them for a form of protection while using slingshots, using lasers. We have had more eye injuries. And i brought one with me. Availablecommercially laser that you see, and you are seeing them used now in portland to a degree that we have never seen before. If i hold my hand in front of hot by thatit is point in time. This is just a pointer you buy off of amazon and we are seeing some of the oldfashioned, a rock, oldest weapon known to man , along with new items like this that we have never seen used in an organized fashion against our officers their eyes. Moreas i said, we have had eye injuries than i can ever remember in another incident. Of all of our injuries, eyes are number one. That . R cruz how many is mr. Cuccinelli 113 out of 277. That hearing is next, and what we euphemistically say contact with an object, which is ruz i will say for the democratic members, mr. Cuccinelli showed me that commercial grade laser earlier, and it is like a laser pointer you might see at home. When mr. Cuccinelli shined it in your hand, it will burn and as i understand it, it is not a little pointer but a serious weapon that they are using to potentially cause permanent blindness in Law Enforcement officers. Is that right . Mr. Cuccinelli thats the attempt. And they close you get, the hotter it is. This is a shield, what i want to draw your attention to is the hole in the shield. A tactic that quickly developed among the violent participants in these activities was to cut the holes in the shields and instead of standing back, in the back of a crowd, and aiming at the eyes of officers, they will also now bring the shield up close and bring it right up into you, and so, the intensity of the strike to the eyes of the officers is much more significant. For those of you who are engineers like me, its a square function. So if you are twice far away, it is quarter of the energy. And the opposite is true. These are tools they are using combined with just regular items you can buy on amazon that is causing permanent damage that we have not seen on this scale before. As i said 49 years with the service, protective they have never seen anything like portland. Senator cruz senator lee. Senator lee thank you. Mr. Cuccinelli, what happens when you take a laser and point it into the eyes of a human being . Mr. Cuccinelli there is a twosecond look away reaction. There are several challenges, but one of the challenges is if you are not looking at the person assaulting you with the laser, you cant figure out who is performing the assault. So you think of it practically. You are trying to shield your eye and do your job. We have had a number of officers who had days long blindness. So far, they have all kind of come back, if you will. But you also get what is called flash blindness. Think of it as the old kodak cameras, where you get that blue spot, and you cannot entirely see in your entire field of vision for a period of time. Senator lee in addition to longterm or shortterm damage, that it might do, it make it more dangerous for the officer , and the officer recoils, to step away. Mr. Cuccinelli that is a clearly planned exercise. Senator lee and to be clear, a device like this one, which can be bought by anyone, doesnt run out of its supply, at least not in a single protest and shine if they wantt long to, and it can still do its harm. What i find so intriguing about all of this, even in 2020, as crazy as this year is, seems doubly crazy we are using terms like this and coonflating terms like peaceful protests and anarchist violence, as if they are the same thing, enforcing laws against one group of people and not another, or so we are told we should do, based on their ideological points. Tell me about this picture right here. Mr. Cuccinelli what youve got is the most common laser is the green, and the things you learn doing these jobs. Your eye, the human eye, sees the green part of the spectrum more than red, Something Like 10 times brighter. And also, all of this is happening at night. There is peaceful protesting. This is sort of the portland formula. There is peaceful protesting until 10 00 or 11 00. And then they go away, and then it may be them come back, but the group that comes back is much bigger, and they come back for violence. Senator lee my mom told me nothing good happens after midnight. So she was right. Mr. Cuccinelli your mother was right, especially about portland. We had accelerants powered into the courthouse while commercial grade mortarstyle fireworks were being shot into the doors in an attempt to light it, also while the side doors, the exits of the building, were being blocked, were being barricaded closed, so that was going on, as well. The last picture you see here, a little dark to see, they are holding a fire hose that they hooked up to the courthouse. Now these are our c. B. P. , officers because the rioters , not the Peaceful Protesters, would continuously set fires and throw a ton of trash over the fence and light it on fire and also throw what amounted to homemade grenades. There is also a picture this is a snap out of that video where you see two of those explosives coming in. They both explode early and dont get so close that they impact the officers. But you can see rather obviously the potential for harm with many of these devices. And this gun here was pulled off of one of the arrested protesters. Senator lee wide wildly thisable, equipment like is used in a novel way. ,i suspect this is the thing you dont expect to arrive spontaneously. People have given this some thought. Mr. Could jelly no, they have given it a great deal of thought, and, frankly, there has been some evolution of the negative tactics over time. If you look back out of minneapolis, go back to where george floyd was killed by that Police Officer, and then the fight that ensued in the streets of minneapolis, beyond just protesting, many of those violent participants got together and wrote up their lessons learned, sort of an afteraction report for criminals. And they have published this, and you see the same thing going on in other parts of the country send you that long and extensive list, and if you werent evil, you would read the work and say this is a high quality analysis. That is evolving all of the time. Mr. Lee does the federal government have General Police powers . Mr. Cuccinelli no. Absolutely not. Mr. Lee how does this differ from that . Critical of Law Enforcement agencies stepping in. Tell me why i shouldnt have that concern here. Mr. Cuccinelli all of the d. H. S. Officers are crossdesignated as federal protective service officers. They are all operating out of the federal protective Service Authority to protect the courthouse. The marshals have the inside of the courthouse and protect it dutifully. F. B. S. Protects the outside. Theres also two doors down, if you will, another Federal Building, and in between is the biggest local target for violence, the mulnoma justice center. So theres three buildings. Courthouse. Local justice center. Federal building. And across the street from all three are parks, which have performed the function of staging areas for rioters, for criminals, and the powers being exercised by the federal authorities are to protect the federal facilities. That is it. Even when we go off those properties, which the statute from Congress Says we can do, it is for the purpose of performing that function. So if someone assaults a Law Enforcement officer at the courthouse, we can go arrest that person anywhere in pursuit of that particular authority. But that doesnt mean we can police the streets of portland and hand out tickets for speeding or doing other things , and that is for portland and the state police to do. Mr. Lee for these apparently violent, repeated attacks on federal courthouses and other federal personnel and facilities, would you have ever sent federal personnel into that zone . Mr. Cuccinelli of course the f. B. S. Officers are always there. But i assume you mean added more . Through june, f. P. S. Continued to add their own officers as the violence escalated. And if you look in may and june, we have a graphic compilation i can send to each of you that shows the number of days of attacks on federal facilities. And in may and june, that total was 12 for both months. Total. In july, as of july 29, it was 29. So every single day. The escalation of the targeting of federal facilities led the commander on the scene of the federal protective service to request supplemental department of Homeland Security officers , because they didnt have enough in the region and given their other duties any longer, after they had already added their own. Thats why, pure circumstances on the ground, at the request of the local commander, who has always been the regional commander there, and that region is a lively one with portland and seattle in the same region. They have some experience here. This has happened not to this degree, but assaults on federal facilities happened two years ago, and the mayor of portland publicly disclaimed Police Protection for that facility. And so, we have mr. Lee thank you. Thank you, mr. Cuccinelli. Ill ask that that document be submitted to the committee and, without objection, it will be entered into the record. Senator whitehouse. Mr. Whitehouse thank you, chairman. Mr. Cuccinelli, you indicated that there is no sort of afteraction report for criminals who engage in violence. I think actually there is and its what ms. Cox does. And i wish both of you well in bringing to justice people who have done harm to Law Enforcement officers. With respect to lasers, i actually am the person who wrote and passed a law to protect pilots from the dangers of laser attacks from the ground, which had begun to pop up as a strange thing to want to do. But there it is. I think you both agree that we do hold our Law Enforcement personnel to a far higher standard than we expect the general public to adhere to. Is that correct . Mr. Cuccinelli certainly is a professional matter, yes. Ms. Cox yes, it is. Mr. Whitehouse and very often , Law Enforcement personnel are engaging with people during what they would probably look back on and see as one of the worst times of their lives, when they are upset when they are , emotional, when they are perhaps intoxicated. And so the conduct Law Enforcement officers customarily must face is often inappropriate conduct, is it not . Ms. Cox it is. Mr. Cuccinelli thats correct. Mr. Whitehouse and being prepared and trained to deal with that is part of what a good Law Enforcement officer does. Is that also correct . Ms. Cox certainly. Mr. Cuccinelli yes. Mr. Whitehouse ok. So walk me through, in the light , mr. Cuccinelli, of your testimony that there are protesters, and there are rioters. There is peaceful protesting and there is violence and terrorism. And that the federal officers you supervised were trained in your words in the conduct of appropriate tactics and procedures. You and i have both seen the footage, i assume youve seen it a good deal more than i have, given your professional responsibilities, of a tall individual wearing a gray navy or maybe Naval Academy sweat shirt who is in the clip that ive seen standing relatively immobile. His hands are down by his sides. He is not in any sort of an aggressive or combative stance. And he is one. And around him are perhaps half a dozen, maybe more, off the screen, officers, essentially in combat gear, and one of them engages in a strike with his baton, and if my recollection of the film is correct, a second strike and then a third. And the individual who is being the individual who was being struck does not react, and yet the strikes keep coming. Walk me through why that standing individual was a writer engaged rioter engaged in violence and terrorism and why that conduct by the officer was appropriate. Mr. Cuccinelli i am not prepared to characterize him that way. That is under investigation. Senator whitehouse what is under investigation . Mr. Cuccinelli that use of force. That is the subject of an ig investigation. Senator whitehouse an ig investigation . But not any other investigation . Mr. Cuccinelli this is a u. S. Marshal, so i have not interviewed those folks. Senator whitehouse i cant tell very well who is who, because they wear similar garb and it is hard to find out without being very close who they report to or what the uniform is, so forgive me if i dont know the difference. Ms. Cox, can you explain how that is conduct he will concede mr. Davids conduct in that clip is not that of a rioter and not violent terrorist conduct. Ms. Cox i know that incident in particular is under investigation by the ig, as well as an internal investigation with the u. S. Marshal service. I dont have any more facts about what was happening before or during that. Those facts will be developed in the investigation. I do want my comments to affect that dont want my comments to affect that at all. Senator whitehouse it looked like someone who was as harmless as he could be and was alone compared to officers, who has no weapon compared to pepper spray, mace, as well as batons, and takes a pretty damned well hard beating. I think it is episodes like that that cause legitimate concern, particularly in light of the allimportant standard that we know, as people who spend time in lawenforcement, members of Law Enforcement have to adhere to. Thank you. I recognize yall are constrained in terms of commenting on an active investigation. I will ask a simple hypothetical. If the only facts were as senator whitehouse suggested, an individual were standing engaged in no violence and any federal officer walked up and hit him three times for no reason whatsoever if that is what occurred, you would be quite comfortable saying that is an abuse of power to beat someone with a baton for no reason . To be clear, that is very different from, if before the clip in question, the individual violence. An act of the context of these investigations always matter, but if the only facts were as senator whitehouse said, someone were beaten for no reason, you would be comfortable saying federal Law Enforcement officers are not allowed to be people for no reason. Mr. Cuccinelli we train them for exactly the opposite. Ms. Cox i would agree federal officers are not allowed to beat people. Senator cruz that is why you have investigations. Perhaps there is conduct not captured on the internet. Mr. Cuccinelli mr. Chairman, if i may, a good half of this committee of former attorneys general have served in one relationship with another with lawenforcement. I understand there to be a great deal of respect for life was meant. For lawenforcement. Any of them to be perfect while holding them to the higher standard senator whitehouse just referenced. That is all true all at the same time. We have to continue to enforce the law while correcting whatever mistakes do arise without stopping enforcement of the law. Stopping enforcement of the law here would end up without a courthouse in portland. Blackburn thank you all for being here and for giving us the opportunity to have this hearing. I really appreciate it. I know that our constituents i hear from tennesseeans every single day about how concerned they are. Let me follow on where we are right now. Mr. Cuccinelli, lets talk about this. While your teams are out there stopping rioters, how do they make that turn and protect the Peaceful Protesters . Because they have to do each at the same time. So how do they work . How do they handle this . How do they try to segment the crowd so that people who are peaceful are protected, and rioters who are there for the purpose of violence and injury and harm and destruction, so that they are properly dealt with. Mr. Cuccinelli senator, that balance is so critical to their work. I appreciate the question. It goes also to senator whitehouses question two of them that professional Law Enforcement officers encounter people in tents situations tense situations. All of our officers are trained in deescalation techniques. I would note by one anecdote. In the middle of these riots, i believe marshalls detained an individual who assaulted a Law Enforcement officer. That person immediately had a seizure. In immediate medical need. Cbpby present where the medical team, immediately moved. To bortac team had dynamically move the crown away to be able to help the person who had just been assaulting their colleagues moments before. They did that in partnership with the marshalls and went through a series of attempts to treat this digital. Had 180 heart rate, respiration was way up, finally identified the drug to be a minister to save that person be administered to save the persons life. Within seconds of that same person having been attacking their fellow Law Enforcement officers. Yes, what senator whitehouse referred to happened. And that investigation will go through, and it showed. Understand you dont see reported all of the protective professional Law Enforcement officers take every day, not just as you suggested to protect Peaceful Protesters, but to actually care for the very people who are harming them. Ability, that flexibility and strength is really a hallmark, by in large, of 99 plus of our officers. Why we have to fix the mistakes as they arise, we cannot sacrifice the rule of law to do that. With theit in tandem protection of First Amendment rights. That is a huge part of why the larger number of officers is needed so that you can maintain peace, not simply arrest people. So that those protests can continue. Senator blackburn i think that is an important point to make, they are protecting people coming peaceably to express their opinion and assemble. At the same time they are having to deal with these rioters who are there to destroy property, to harm people. I think that speaks to the training and the professionalism, that when they put that uniform on, they dont know if it will be all peaceful protests or if they will be the destroyers that show up that they will have to deal with. We thank these men and women for their commitment. Ms. Cox, the Doj Task Force that is looking at these extremist groups and i want to drill down specifically to these that are on the streets, carrying out destruction. We keep hearing these attacks are very organized, they come with the lasers and bats and their and they carry out destruction. The work you all are doing, already figuring out who is organizing this, who is in charge, who is funding it, who it . Utting money behind ms. Cox yes, we will be looking into that. It is obvious to anyone that looks at it there is some level of organization. We are seeing some radiocommunication on the ground and some jamming of Law Enforcement communication. One thing that makes it incredibly hard is we are finding evidence that some of these rioters are using encrypted apps. I know senator blackburn offered legislation to deal with end to end encryption when Law Enforcement has probable cause and goes to a magistrate to get access to those communications. It is important in Child Exploitation cases and drug cases and will be important here. We have several people looking into it. Senator blackburn thank you so much. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the hearing and i yield back. Senator cruz thank you, senator blackburn. Senator coons. Senator coons thank you to our witnesses. I joined many of my colleagues in expressing concerns about the intersection between important Widespread National protests against the brutal killing of george floyd, expressing concern about Racial Injustice and the ways in which the injection of federal Law Enforcement into portland may have exacerbated rather than reduced incidence of violence incidents of violence. Let me repeat something that is worth covering again. There is no one here condoning or supporting violence by either protesters or Law Enforcement if unlawful and unnecessary. Memberope that ranking hironos comments were heard loud and clear. I think senator durbin expressed clearly, and i will join him in that, we need to hold accountable perpetrators of violence. Those who have caused any harm to Law Enforcement, our Law Enforcement officers have a difficult and demanding job. You are right, mr. Cuccinelli, virtually all of us have worked alongside Law Enforcement. We also have to have policing resources deployed in a transparent, professional, and appropriate way. There are a lot of concerns expressed pointedly by both u. S. Senators from the state of oregon at the outset of this hearing about the conduct of federal Law Enforcement in portland and the connection with state and local elected officials. Let me briefly ask a few questions about that. Mr. Cuccinelli, an internal dhs memo reportedly warned that cbp agents and others deployed to portland were not specifically demonstrations, something that requires specific training. That internal memo called for additional training for deployments. Have all deployed federal agents received appropriate training in dealing with demonstrations . Mr. Cuccinelli yes. There are differences between how fps is trained and cbp. But they have all had clarity, can for you detail what those acronyms are for . Mr. Cuccinelli i. C. E. Of course you know. They have the removal officers sided to the house and the Homeland Security side of the house. Ero handles prisons. We have prisons there, so they train. They will have similar training to bureau prisons. Anator coons can i suggest mass demonstration of Peaceful Protesters is different from a riot in a prison . Mr. Cuccinelli absolutely. The training they get is how to contend with, on a dynamic basis, crowd dynamics in a violent environment, how to move the crowd for a short duration, whereas fps has training about defending a facility, which is what they are used to doing. Senator coons can you tell me roughly how many hours of crowd control training these different federal forces received before being deployed into portland . Mr. Cuccinelli that i dont know off the top of my head, but i would be happy to get you that. Senator coons the pentagon raised concerns about dhs use dhs use of military camouflage in portland, saying they want a system where people can tell the difference. What purpose did it serve for dhs to use military camouflage in a crowd control setting . Mr. Cuccinelli that wasnt chosen because there was a crowd control setting, that was cbp officers whose normal duty stations are along the border and they came with what they had. We have moved as quickly as we could to procure for them what you think of as the solid green cbp uniform, much like you see the solid blue for fps. Senator coons is it partly to help with some visual education visual indication . Mr. Cuccinelli that is already done. They have on the back the declaration of Law Enforcement. The specific agencies are identified along their shoulders, but not their name, because they are being doxxed. Senator coons is every officer identified such that they can be tied to a specific Law Enforcement agency . Mr. Cuccinelli not only a Law Enforcement agency, but that individual can be identified to a batch number displayed for the public badge number displayed for the public to see. Senator coons both senators reported aggressive tactics used to respond to protesters in portland. There was one shot in the face with pepper balls, a woman was maced at point blank range. Some protesters report they were retreating or given no warning. Should federal officers aim impact munitions at the head or or,e or pepper spray excuse me, rubber bullets when it is clear protesters are attempting to comply with their orders . Mr. Cuccinelli you have listed a wide array of devices senator coons if protesters are attempting to comply with police orders, should they nonetheless be subject of teargas . Mr. Cuccinelli when the entire group that is being contended with is in compliance, i would agree with you. One of the challenges that we face is when one, two more complying,or are not when you have differences in close proximity to one another. Something like mace, f Something Like mace or pepper spray is a short range tool for those circumstances. Could you make the rules of engagement that dhs is using available to the committee and you both mentioned there is an ongoing Inspector General investigation into tactics used in portland. Will you produce relevant documents if the Inspector Generals office requested it . Yes and we look forward to cooperating with that investigation. We wanted cleared up and concluded as quickly as possible. Thank you, mister chairman. Thank you, mister chairman. Thank you both for being here and for your service. I would like to ask a few questions about the office of intelligence and analysis specifically as i am sure you aware last one that was reported the office of intelligence and analysis distributed supports about two american journalists who published documents about dh occupations in portland and collecting information from the Electronic Communications of protesters in portland. Would you agree those activities are illegal under the first and Fourth Amendment . We certainly do not collect on journalists and the publication of journalists ron material with their identifiers was quickly addressed by the acting secretary wolf and removed brian murphy from a key position. I want to make clear you would agree these activities are inappropriate. The second part of your question im not so agreeable to. We look at open source material to see what people declare they intend to do. To the extent the second part of your question would cover that then i might disagree with you but as it relates to journalists i most certainly do as you stated emphatically last week. Let me ask you about a report that appeared in politico on sunday that earlier this year you signed off on a change in dhs procedures that in effect limited the role of the office of civil rights and Civil Liberties which in effect reviewed any distribution of material by the oia, evidently eliminated that from the procedure so it is no longer required. That is not a correct characterization. I signed a memo about the interaction but it is not with respect to their product. There are two products, raw intelligence which you were referring to in your earlier question, and finished intelligence product where a variety of sources were gathered. Think of it like a formal report, what crc elders review and my memo would change when theres a difference of opinion between the crc l person and i in a about whether a particular final product is appropriate to continue forward and be published to the intelligence community. Prior to my memo that would be appealed to me the deputy secretary. I took myself out of that loop as the final decisionmaker on those instances. I will tell you in the four months before signing that memo i had never had one come to me. What was the purpose of removing or changing the procedure . The purpose was to contain it all within the ina undersecretary and the belief that that time is that was an ordinarily Senate Confirmed position, there for three years, only recently left so that he would have to weigh those considerations and making that decision. The House Intelligence Committee did an investigation into a number of these issues specifically the collection and surveillance issues we discussed. Will you commit to cooperating with that investigation . Absolutely. I want to ask a question a little bit offtopic, us cis funding, thank you for answering these questions. I understand furloughs have been announced but for this fiscal year, us cis as a surplus. Is the reason these have to go ahead at the end of august and i just want to state how strongly and passionately i feel about women of the cis do and enabling people to lawfully come, i come to the ceremonies all the time. I urge my colleagues to as well. When they are feeling down about america, go to such a ceremony. If there is a surplus can you commit even poise will be kept on a job . We dont have what i would call a surplus. There is money in the bank but it is running out and because us cis is 97 defunded it has to have as a matter of Business Planning about three months of operating capital at the start of the fiscal year to be carried over, to essentially survive and pay everyone to the end of the First Quarter of the fiscal year and we are not on a path to be able to do that which is why us cis has come to you all and asked for Borrowing Authority or to cover that gap that has resulted because of the covid19 drop in fees. Thank you for answering my question. I have more but my time has expired. I would like to get some of the answers promised me in writing and i will repeat them to you, sending a letter later in the week. I couldnt urge your colleagues more about the naturalization ceremonies. They never cease to stir your patriotic soul, just an amazing experience to go through, especially those of us born here, blessed to be americans our whole lives it is a reminder of what we shouldnt take for granted. The fact that we are talking here today about a subject like this as senator graham referred to his historical. Thank you, senator blumenthal. Let me thank our witnesses, for your testimony. This is been helpful and productive. With that we will excuse the first panel and call forth the second panel and move into the second panel here. Thank you. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] is a look at our live coverage for thursday. At 10 am eastern on cspan, acting Homeland Security secretary chad wolf is on capitol hill to testify on the use of federal Law Enforcement in response to recent protests in portland and elsewhere followed at 2 00 pm eastern by a house subcommittee hearing on the Coronavirus Crisis examining the potential impact of reopening schools during the pandemic. On cspan2 the senate is back at 9 30 a. M. Eastern to debate and vote on the nomination of john cronin to be a judge for the Southern District of new york a