Transcripts For CSPAN2 Hearing On Protecting Free Speech Pr

CSPAN2 Hearing On Protecting Free Speech Preventing Violent Protests Panel 1 July 12, 2024

Cruz this subcommittee hearing is called to order. Welcome to the witnesses who good afternoon the subcommittee hearing is called to order. Witnesses. The. The First Amendment is first for a reason to guarantee not only the freedom of speech but the Peaceful Assembly of people peaceably matters a great deal in that protection. Without First Amendment rights, rights that protect the countless ways in which people can express their social and political views , democracy would work the demand changes to petition the government for grievances in the very best tradition of america. No history of the United States or no recounting of the struggle to live up to our founding promises to be complete without recognition of peaceful movements that have push this nation forward. From the abolitionist, suffragettes, to the countless souls who march in support the civil rights vemovement. Piece one dash peaceful assemblies have move mountains. When america saw the horrifying video of a Police Officer killing george floyd the nations long history of Racial Discrimination and injustice. They write fluently andic peacefully every american regardless of skin color what began as a legitimate protest against a vile act of abuse sadly was hijacked by opportunist but early june rioters have injured more than 700 Law Enforcement officers across the country. And murdered a retired officer who served st. Louis with honor for many years also damaged or destroyed countless buildings they burned Affordable Housing and damaged over 400 businesses. Many owned by african americans. At a cost of 500 million in damages. And Philadelphia Police cars were set ablaze. In seattle, rioters who damaged heart on hundreds weof buildings were allowed to set up the autonomous owned by local officials who all predictably resulting in more crime including four shootings that cost to young people their lives but the fact is those who took to the streets because their hearts cried out for justice have become over shadowed by rioters and looters and those who exploit the protest to their own evil and. Those rioters are not concerned about Racial Justice they are willing to make a mockery of the peaceful protest to advance they are violent objectives. Their actions are profoundly racist to rioters as they destroy minority communities and businesses and lives across the country. It should be complicated. Peaceful protest must be protected. Riots must be stopped. Nobody has the right to assault another person to throw a molotov cocktail into a police car. That is an exercising at constitutional right but terrorizing your fellow citizens. More and more we see signs a significant portion of this violence and rioting isnt random or spontaneous. It is coordinated and inspired by leftist, anarchist groups like anti for will try to attack american buildings, american homes, and americanme lives. This is happening in my home stay in austin and dallas and across the country whether minneapolis, pittsburgh or toledo to name a few. Tragically nowhere more so than Portland Oregon. In Portland Antifa and other radicals have thrown pipes the dhs officers to use commercial grade lasers to try to blind them perhapsga permanently. Then launched attacks with commercial grade fireworks and firebombed a federal courthouse. This is not peaceful protest. This violence speaks for itself. But for good measure on the county courthouse until the police and i. C. E. Are abolished we will burn the city down piece by piece. They are telling us what their demands are to shut down and abolish the police this should be universally condemned. And to say dont murder your fellow citizens and dont attack Police Officers protect each others rights. Instead of seeing leaders united we see too many local officials mayors and governors who have made a cynical decision is in their partisan interest to turn a blind eye to the Law Enforcement officers to be 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 describe Law Enforcement officers doing their jobs. And for that reason ive introduce legislation called the reclaimoves act. It provides if you are injure injured, if your property is damaged and business burned to the ground or looted and destroyed during a riot come as a result by denying Police Protection the new have a federal cause of action to sue the municipality or city that has denied you policewi protection. And willfully looks the other way while your life was in danger while your business burned to the ground. Denying fair protection of Law Enforcement is a civil rightsic violation for any american who was denied. Representative john lewis who is passing and the nation just mourned, he said rioting, looting, and burning is not the way. Organized. Demonstrate. Sit in. Stand up. Vote. Representative lewis is exactly right. We all have a right to free speech and we should protect that right vigorously. We should also be united to condemn Political Violence and domestic terrorism. And to understand what is happening on the ground but the heroic men and women are facing right now. We can see whats occurring and we have the video to display that now. Shows me where it protesters are supposed to be polite and peaceful . We can transform the discourse of our nation into a brotherhood. Stand up for freedom together. Let freedom ring. A Passionate Movement for justice with those distractive moms. Mobs. 77 yearold was shot to death. Officer Dave Underwood was killed and it was a targeted attack on laww enforcement. Senator geraldo. One senator from know. Thank you mr. Chairman nobody is compiling one condoning violence against anyone. The hearing is titled the right of the people peaceably to assemble the hearing we should be having is called the right of the people to peacefully assemble without being beatenn up with federal agents that are not identify 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 were indeed and around the world and h ind response to use violence and extensive force to break up these protests. We saw two wellknown examples in Portland Oregon and dc and on june 1st people will peacefully protesting by the white house calling for an end to Racial Injustice and police brutality. Suddenly federal agents used chemicals rubber bullets and riot shields flash bang grenades to forcibly disperse the protesters to clear the area. This is done so the president could get a photo up in front of st. Johns church. There was no violence in lafayette square. In fact the only when using force was federal Law Enforcement agents. Portland is another clear example where federal agentss p use indiscriminate force to break up people gathered to peacefully protest. On july 4th unidentified federal agents arrived outfitted as if for were wearing camouflage and gear. With unnecessary deployment of federal officers they have repeatedly portrayed portland protesters as violent anarchist and members of antifa but in the past four weeks and beating up on nonviolent protesters tear gassing and shooting them with rubber bullets called leslie the munitions and federal agents shoot a 26 yearold nonviolent protest are in the face with the less lethal munition and as you can see in the photo suffering school fractures and icu. Law officersl with a 52 yearold navy veteran approach them and when Christopher Davis refused to react then broke his bones they pepper sprayed him in the face and we saw federal officers tear gas mobs as they stood and protected the peaceful young protesters and then they grabbed Peaceful Protesters off the street to force them into unmarked vans one protester described having his hat pulled over his face and he could not see. I am notot alone with the use of force and violence the attorney general of oregon has sued the federal government to stop federal agents to use the secret Police Tactics where they take people off the street and force them into unmarked vans state and local officials have demanded that forces leave portland. Have decided the federal officers were concerning enough to open investigation and we are having this hearing in need of protection for federal officers. But to focus only onum anarchist violence and the efforts to distract us from thet underlying issues then millions of protesters are calling on us to address systemic Racial Injustice in the country and then to undermine the massive protest by dismissing them and to perpetuate the narrative President Trump has ignored factual evidence he has ignored studies that white supremacist but antifascist have killed nobody with politically motivated attacks. The millions of people were demarching peacefully in the right to peacefully assemble and shooting them in the face. Thats the discussion we should be having today. At this time i would like to show a video that highlights the extensive use of force by federal agents in portland. And then to appear directly. And then firing at his head in retaliation. On july 181 was pepper sprayed sometimes members of the press and then sending those projectiles. And my former Homeland Security officials. Are we supposed to know who you are . One protester was detained at that location nearby. On the right and on the left side of the uniform not showing their tactical unit. Dhs said federal officers made 43 arrests since july 4th. Thank you senator. At the end of that video where it is narrated it says describing Law Enforcement officers unidentified but the video shows them with the word police in bright yellow capital letters across their chest that is a curious way to describe a lot enforcement officer as unidentified. D. The Ranking Member said nobody is condoning the violence and rioting but yet nowhere in the opening remarks was one word condemning it. Condemning the assaults, or the 277 injuries that Law Enforcement officers have suffered with those and not a word was said every tired st. Louis Police Officer both of whom are africanamerican in both of whom werere murdered. We dont condone this we simply wont say a negative word about the terrace the senators from oregon coming before the Committee Given what is transpiring in portland it seems appropriatewi courtesy so we will now recognize both senators from oregon senator wyden and merkley who have asked to address the subcommittee. Thank you mr. Chairman. Time is short so i will get right to the question as a senator from oregon i want to begin to americans believe are the real threat to our constitutional right . Is that the oregonians who gathered in my hometown and the murder of george floyd or is at the heavily armed secretf police who smacked on snatched them off the street in the unmarked van to interrogate them without justification . And an Emergency Room Physician and county commissioner or is it the unidentifiable military forces who without provocation teargas moms and their fellow protesters. Is that those who raise their hands in the air to say hands up we dont shoot. Or is it a duplicitous president who calls oregonians professional agitators people who hatete our country and call my hometown a beehive of terrorist and that is nonsense. Violent conflict was down before donald trump got involved. Public recordt documents i would ask unanimous consent we put the analysis into the record. Without objection. Why make these accusations donald trump and in the police id create imagesof of chaos for political gain. The president is still getting the scenes of violence and threatens elsewhere. This nonsense papers over the murderous intent of some created by the far right. Those have been on the rise with the scenes of blackwhite center protests. This talked about the leftists anarchy he races the work done by those who stood up in peaceful protests to declare blackwhite smatter in the wake of the murder millions of millions of americans of all ethnicities all this talk about the leftists anarchy is a reflection of the nationwide call for justice. It didnt help to divide the secret police forces. I agree there is a serious danger at this unique moment in history and they are calling Peaceful Protesters into Paramilitary Forces into americas cities. Thank you, senator. Chairman cruise and Ranking Member thank you for this hearing on the need to protect the Peaceful Assembly in america. Weve heard conflicting stories about portland, scenes taken from early on after george floyd was murdered and protesters in a very angry state and there were some substantial destruction that down to a small number thats when the conversation started to make the transition to what the federal forces have done. Heres what the scene looked like in portland when the troops were arriving. People proved to be peacefully protesting a group of moms protecting the group behind them then at about 11 they would storm out of the building and attack the peaceful demonstration. These forces were armed with military grade tear gas, munitions, pepper spray and they used them all. Pick shirtless, a young man stands facing the troops holding the radio over his head and an 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. Thousands of ordinary portland from every corner of the city, every walk of life are assaulted. A disturbing number into the hospital with injuries and thousands are dealing with after effects. After attacking the crowd got forces through the streets, threw them into unmarked vans. The focus is no agency marking. If they do it again. Theres no way to hold anyone accountable for these acts against Peaceful Protesters. Officers with no identity attacking protesters, sweeping unmarked vans or Police Tactics around the world. Americanhought an president would bring such tactics to the streets of america, but trump has so we should pass the act to end it if we want to protect Peaceful Assembly they were not anarchistss. , they were citizens that love the constitution and believe we have a responsibility to call for justice and call they asked me after day, week after week they inspired me and they should inspire you. Thereve been incidents yes and i dont condone vandalism and i condemn anyone threatening violence to someone else with the force forces didnt arrest a violent few. They attacked the peaceful mini. There is a world of difference in that. I encourage you to listen to firsthand witnesses, the tactics of the forces. I read a lot of them on the floor but hereru is another. A former Peace Corps Volunteer Service standing there the whole time trying to Pay Attention thinking i havent w heard anything. They havent told us we had to clear the streets. There was nothing. Then we were gassed. Then pepper bullets. My first thought is what happened to my helmet. It hurt so badly even with a helmet to get shot. They shot and broke my left foot but i stayed. They split the bone in my big toe and then more tear gas and she says the girl on my left, the canister was shot directly into her head. All of us here sworn to defend the constitution should condemn these attacks. Its not acceptable anywhere in the world. Its an unbelievable offense against civil rights here on the idreets of our democratic republic. President trump tried this strategy in washington, d. C. He brought the strategy to portland new york city, detroit, oakland and launched a campaign ad about a stone wall in order president. He gets confused using tactics against Peaceful Protesters doesnt make him a defender of paul and order it makes him a violent suppressor. He said withdrawingg federal agents the protests have been peaceful celebrations focused. I saw it myself this past weekend i spoke at a rally hosted by a chapter and walked around and talked with folks that have been there day after day and week after week. They want the nation to reckon with the systemic racism that remains at the heart of so many which have shaped the life in the country for more than four centuries. Closing with a Great Supreme Court Justice Thurgood marshall once said i wish i could say that racism and prejudice were only distant and raised. We must descend from the indifference, from the apathy, from the fear, the hatred and mistrust because america can do better. Colleagues, america can and must do better. We will now call the first panel consists of two government witnesses. First from my home state of texas and then from the department of Homeland Security. Currently as the u. S. Attorney for the northernn district acces to and as the task force on violent antigovernment extremists. Prior to the appointment as u. S. Attorney, a Senior Adviser in the cybersecurity risk practice. Before that she spent nearly a decade in the office she now leads andy served as the chieff staff for the counsel in t

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