Days After Attack on ICE Facility, Dems Demand More Security for Themselves
On the heels of an Antifa attack on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Tacoma, Washington, Democrats called for increased protection for members of Congress instead of focusing on the increasingly violent acts stemming from some of their own supporters.
Lawmakers on Thursday called for enhanced security for each other after expressing concern about a chant that broke out during President Donald Trump’s Wednesday night rally in Greenville, North Carolina, according to The Hill.
“Send her back, send her back!” the crowd roared after Trump hammered Rep. Ilhan Omar in his rally speech.
Texas Rep. Al Green used the House floor to announce his intent to introduce legislation that would provide tighter security for rank-and-file Democrats, which would include members of “the squad.”
“This is an important time in this country. These are dangerous times. Every member of this House needs additional security,” Green said. “Leadership has adequate security. Members do not have adequate security. I want to thwart the efforts of those who might want to harm a member of this House.”
His call for legislation comes a day after a vast majority of lawmakers shot down his attempt to impeach Trump for what he perceived as racially-motivated attacks on Ocasio-Cortez and her colleagues.
The Hill said that reporters asked Omar if she felt threatened after the Trump rally.
“This is not about me. This is about fighting for what this country should be and what it deserves to be,” Omar replied.
Ocasio-Cortez had a different take when she said on Thursday that she was, in fact, concerned for her security. She played the same old, tired race card and blamed Trump for targeting her and “the squad.”
“Of course. I think part of the point is to target us,” she said. “The president is evolving, as predicted, deeper into. … the rhetoric of racism which evolves into violence.”
Though she didn’t provide specific details, Ocasio-Cortez said the caucus is “having conversations” about what they perceive as increased security concerns.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson even sent a letter to Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael Stenger on the topic of security after Trump’s controversial tweets over the weekend that encouraged the lawmakers to “go back” to their countries of origin if they hate America so much.
I have sent a letter to the US Capitol Police, urging for member security procedures to be re-evaluated immediately. pic.twitter.com/YP0SXpbB8b
— Bennie G. Thompson (@BennieGThompson) July 16, 2019
“Being proactive in this instance is vital to the safety of not only these targeted members, but all members of Congress,” Thompson wrote.
The Hill reported that Thompson hadn’t received a response, but that he was ready to double down on the request after Trump’s Wednesday night rally, in which he planned to “just to highlight the ongoing threat, that what the president is saying is not helping the safety of members.”
But amazingly, none of those Democratic politicians mentioned anything about actual acts of violence that members of the far-left Antifa have committed on a somewhat regular basis.
The latest incident, of course, was the firebomb attack on the ICE facility in Tacoma. Before that, there was the brutally violent attack on conservative journalist Andy Ngo by a group of masked, Antifa thugs.
The firebomb attack came after lawmakers like Ocasio-Cortez dramatically exaggerated conditions in which migrants are being held in within ICE holding facilities.
Customs and Border Protection acting Commissioner Mark Morgan recently said, during an interview on Fox News, that he firmly believes that attack and future attacks are a direct result of the rhetoric coming from lawmakers like Ocasio-Cortez.
“Why is this happening? We know why it’s happening. The rhetoric that’s out there from our own elected leaders,” Morgan said.
“They are attacking the men and women of ICE. They are attacking the men and women of CBP. It’s unjust, it’s unfair, it’s misinformed — and outright, sometimes they are just lying to the American people, and it’s undoubtedly fueling this.”
But Democrats would rather use a chant from a Trump rally to drum up fear about their own safety. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
It would be nice if they would stop trying to score cheap and lazy political points with their base and focus on the real catalyst of political violence right now: Their own words.
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