Demand changes to petition their grievances is in the very best tradition of america. No history of the United States, o recounting of the unending struggle to live up to our ounding promises would be complete without recognition of the peaceful movements that have nation forward. To the beabolitionists suffragettes, to the countless and heroic souls who marched in support of the civil peaceable ment, assemblies have moved mountains n this country and they still can. When america saw the horrifying a Police Officer illing george floyd, a brutal killing that invoked for many he nations long history of acial discrimination and injustice, americans rightly and assembled to demand justice, justice for every of skin regardless color. Ut what began as legitimate protests against a vial act of sadly, were soon hijacked and tunityists opportunist and violent radicals. Rioters had , injured more than 700 law officers across the ountry and had murdered david dorn, a retired officer who erved st. Louis with honor for many years. They also damaged or destroyed ountless buildings and businesses. In minneapolis alone, rioters housing and able damaged over 400 businesses. Owned by em africanamericans. Well over 500 million in damages. In philadelphia, police cars were set ablaze. In seattle, rioters who damaged were ds of buildings, granted and allowed to set up a socalled autonomous zone by officials who all too redictably resulted in more crime, including four shootings two young people their lives. The fact is the people who took he streets, because their hearts cried out for justice, overshadowed by rioters and looters and those cynically exploit the rotests for their own evil ends. Those rioters arent concerned justice. Ial indeed, they are willing to make the mockery of the peaceful their s to advance violent object fshs. Objectives. Are profoundly racist, the rioters, as they minority communities, minority businesses, and inority lives across this country. This shouldnt be complicated. Peaceful protests must be protected. Riots must be stopped. No one has the right to assault firebomb a on, to building, to throw a molotov cocktail into a police car. Exercising a constitutional right. Hat is terrorizing your fellow citizens. More and more were seeing signs of a significant portion this violence, of this rioting is not random, its not spontaneous. It is coordinated and anarchist leftist, groups, groups like antifa, that ill, without shame, exploit a National Tragedy to attack american uildings, homes, and american lives. Home s happening in my state in austin and in dallas, nd its happening across the country. Whether in minneapolis, nevada city, pittsburgh, or toledo, to few. A but tragically, nowhere more so oregon. Portland, n portland, antifa and other radicals have thrown pipes at and use ficers commercialgrade lasers to try o blind them, perhaps permanently. They launched mortgagerstyle attacks mortarstyle attacks, hey firebombed a federal courthouse. Protest. Ot peaceful this violence speaks for itself. Good measure and graffiti on the county wrote, until the police and i. C. E. Are this hed, we will burn city down piece by piece. They are telling us what their are, to shut down and abolish the police. Should be ce universally condemned. Ought to come s together and say, dont murder your fellow citizens, dont Police Officers. Each others rights. Instead, were seen leaders united. Local eeing too many officials, mayors, and governors who made a cynical decision that partisan interest to turned a blind eye to this violence. The law blind eye to enforcement officers being basis and a nightly even worse than that, to officers, topolice hrow out terms like storm troopers and gestapo to describe federal Law Enforcement officers doing theirgestapo t describe federal Law Enforcement jobs. Rs doing their its for that reason i introduced legislation called act. Eclaim the reclaim act provides that if you, as an american, if you are if your property is damaged, if your home is burned to the ground, if your business looted and destroyed during a iot, as a result of a decision of policecal leaders to political leaders to deny you that you haveion, a federal cause of action to sue the municipality or the city denied you Police Protection. Willfully looked the ther way while your life was endangered, while your home or business was burned to the ground. Protection of Law Enforcement is a civil rights who tion for any american denied. Just days after george floyd was killed, representative john passing the nation said, quote, he and burning isg, way. He organize, demonstrate, sitin, up, vote. Epresentative lewis is exactly right. We all have a right to free speech, and we should protect vigorously, but we should also be united in Political Violence and condemning domestic and understand just the ground,ening on what the heroic men and women of rightforcement are facing now. Its helpful to see directly occurring, and theres a video that should display this now. Please, show me where it says to be ers are supposed peaceful . Mr. King we will be able to see the jangling discourse of this into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. For freedom together. So let freedom ring. A Passionate Movement for finding itself swept under the feet of rampaging and mobs. Ctive lets see what they do. Fire. The myth is being spread only d. C. Shington, 77yearold david dorn was death at the pawnshop he was protected was being looted. Killed. Wood was it was a targeted attack on Law Enforcement. This is ridiculous. Tearing up our livelihoods senator cruz senator hirono. Hirono thank you, mr. Chairman. Nobody is condoning violence anyone, by anyone. This hearing is titled, kwoit, the people peaceably to assemble, protect speech by stopping anarchist quote. E, end but the hearing we should be having is one called the right to he people peaceably assemble without being beaten up y unidentifiable federal agents. That would address an actual problem lawful protesters are rest of us are seeing in this country. The murder of george floyd has across the sts country and indeed around the world. Federal se, the government has used violence and Xcessive Force to break up these protests. E saw this in two wellknown examples in Lafayette Square in d. C. And in portland, oregon. Were peaceably protesting around Lafayette Square around the white house, an end to Racial Injustice and police brutality. Agents, under al the direction of attorney gas,al barr, used chemical atons, rubber bullets, riot and dispersed the protesters and to clear the area. So President Trump could get a photo op in front of st. Johns church. Was no anarchist violence in Lafayette Square. Using force was Law Enforcement agents. Portland, federal agents used excessive and indiscriminate force to break up people to peaceably protest. On july 4, unidentified federal in portland, outfitted as if for war, wearing heavy gear. Nd to justify this unnecessary eployment of federal officers, President Trump and his dministration have repeatedly portrayed portland protesters as iolent anarchists and members of antifa. But in the past four weeks, what we have actually seen are beating up on nonviolent protesters, tear assing them, and shooting them with rubber bullets and other socalled less lethal munitions. Federal agents shoot a 26yearold nonviolent protester the face. Ith one of these less lethal munitions. Nd as you can see in the photo here, donovan suffered skull fractures. He was in i. C. U. Surgery. Ed we saw federal officers beat a veteran who avy approached them to ask why they were not honoring their oath to constitution. And when Christopher Davis refused to react when federal broke his him and bones, they pepper sprayed him in the face. Saw federal officers tear gas oms, dads, and veterans who stood as a wall to protect peaceful young protesters. Also saw unidentified federal protesters peaceful off the street and force them into unmarked advance. Protester described having his hat pulled over his face so he could not see. Not alone in my deep concern over the federal agents se of force and violence against protesters in portland. The attorney general of oregon the federal government to stop federal agents from secrethe kind of, quote, Police Tactics, where they take people off the street and force advance. Unmarked state and local officials in oregon have demanded that leave portland because they have brought violence, not peace. The inspectors general of the department of homeland and department of justice have decided that the federal officers use of force protesters in portland were concerning enough to open investigation. The justice departments Inspector General has also oncluded that the federal officers use of force against Peaceful Protesters near concerning uare was enough to include in this investigation. Facts, we are having a hearing on protecting from ul protesters anarchist violence, but what weve seen in portland are need of protesters in protection from federal officers. Lets be clear, once again. Condoning any violence by Law Enforcement or by the protesters. Focusing only on anarchist violence, this subcommittee is furthering trumps efforts to distract us from the underlying ssues that millions, millions of protesters have been calling on us to address the systemic our country. Ice in President Trump is deliberately rying to undermine the massive protests for Racial Justice by dismissing them as anarchists antifa. To perpetuate this flair tiff, President Trump has arrative, President Trump has gnored White Supremacists have high jacketed peaceful protests o invoke conflict, such as in minneapolis. He ignored studies showing that White Supremacists have killed 329 victims in the past 26 years. Killed tifascists have no one in politically motivated attacks. Nd he has ignored what some have called the Largest Movement in American History, the have ns of people who marched peacefully in the streets, following the murder of demanding change. Is this subcommittee if this protect tee wants to americans right to peacefully assemble, we should be focused officers ing federal from beating up protesters, tear gassing them, and shooting them face. Thats the hearing we should be having today. This time, i at would like to show a video that of lights the excessive use force by federal agents in portland. You. [video clip] hundreds of videos reviewed although es showed us antagonistic, Police Responded with force. Whoa they blocked the streets with tear gas. Are you ok . They hit protesters with batons. And use flash bangs. And other less lethal munitions to clear the streets. Peaceful protests their actions often appeared to escalate rather than deescalate matters. Some they attacked. Protester jonathan was at the federal white house when the to have fired at his head in retaliation for dispensed tear gas canister. [beep] local media told he suffered skull fractures and needed surgery. [yelling] later that night when field medics came for wounded they were taken away. Navy veteran was batoned and pepper sprayed in attack. Unprovoked his right hand was broken and he needed surgery. Sometimes members of the press were here. Ow got shot in the back, obviously. This photographer, matthew ewis roland, told the times that 10 project aisles were projectiles is were fired into his back. Ow this, he middle of all protesters were detained in ways that alarmed civil rights ctivists and Homeland Security officials. Can you eidentify as Law Enforcement . Unmarked re driving vehicles in the area surrounded the courthouse. To know e we supposed who you are . How do you know you are not kidnappi us, you are a civilian kidnapping us . One was detained at this nearby. What are you doing . Federal officers wouldnt identify themselves. Use your words. Patches on the right and left sides of their uniforms matched the used by members of Tactical Unit from customs and border protection. They drove the protester away in unmarked car. D. H. S. Says federal officers 43 arrests since july 4. Thank you, senator hirono. I will note at the end of that wro video that is airiated says describes Law Enforcement as unidentified in white show Police Yellow caps across their chest so thats a curious way to Law Enforcement as une unidentified. I would also note that the said nobody is condoning the violence and rioting. Opening owhere in the remarks was even one word it. Emning condemning the assaults. The 277 injuries that federal Law Enforcement officers have suffered at the hands of those rioters. About the was said murder of federal Law Enforcement officer Patrick Underwood. Was said about the st. Louis etired Police Officer david dorn, both of whom are africanamerican, murdered. F whom were were told, we dont condone this. Negative wont say a terrorism. This the senators from oregon have oth asked to come before this committee and given whats ranspiring in portland, that seems appropriate courtesy to extend them so we will now senators from oregon, senator wyden and both who have , asked to address the subcommittee. Senator wyden thank you, mr. Chairman. Me, mr. Chairman . Senator cruz yes. Yes, we can. Senator wyden mr. Chairman, short so i will get right to the question of protecting free speech. First, as the senator from portlander, i want o begin by asking this afternoon who americans believe is the real threat to Constitutional Rights . Is it the oregonians who my hometown, in overwhelmingly peaceful protests Racial Justice since the murder of george floyd . The heavily armed secret police who snatched off the streets in unmarked advance and them without justification or charges . Moms, the all of courageous women, like my myron, an ron Emergency Room Physician and a county commissioner who put harms way to protect their neighbors . Is it the unidentifiable federal Paramilitary Forces who, provocation, batoned and ear gassed both moms and their fellow protesters . S it the peacefully gathered portlanders who raised their hands in the air and sang the please dont p, a lullaby . He tune of duplicitous president who called portlanders professional anarchists, agitators, people who hate our country, and called a beeof beehive terrorists . Hese people are anarchists, terrorists, agitators is bad nonsense. Before conflict was down President Trump got involved. People are standing up for justice. ve seen black lives matter activists in portland and other cities trying mightily to vandalism s of because, as they point out loquently, it certainly distracts from their calls for justice and equality. Mr. Chairman, the associated did an analysis of 200 portland arrests, and they found were charged for onviolent 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 of the press analysis into the record. Senator cruz wowed. Enator wyden senator cruz withoutobjection. Senator wyden donald trump sent in the secret police to create chaos for political gain. To air in campaign ads fortunately in the days federal forces backed off, the chaos has largely stopped in portland, but the president is getting the scenes of violence or the ads that he wanted and threatened further escalation in portland and elsewhere. This nonsense of leftist anarchy is from far right domestic terrorists. Far right criminals have been aught committing acts of vandalism at the black lives matters protests. This erases the work done by all those who stood up in peaceful protests to declare black lives matter in the wake of murder of backgrounds and all protested calling the end for inequality of violence against black americans. This is a big deflection in a nationwide call for justice. I would like to say that the people of portland 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 and the president and his enablers are. Alling peaceful protest or and i think perhaps senator erkley is ready now as well. Senator merkley we have heard conflicting stories of portland. And protestors in a very angry state and there were some substantial destruction. 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 proops were arriving. Thousands of people, peacefully protesting 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. Wall of moms to protect peaceful protestors. Then at about 11 00 p. M. , the federal forces stormed out of the Federal Building and attacked them. They were armed with military grade t