Talks about the geopolitical rivalry between countries in the Indo Pacific Region of the world. Enjoy book tv on cspan2. A Senate Subcommittee convened a hearing to examine protecting free speech and preventing violent demonstrations. Several numbers talked about the rise in demonstrations by ansi for for and white supremacist groups. This is three hours. 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