Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican, urged the Biden administration to crack down on the pro-Palestinian protesters who vandalized statues and threw objects at a park ranger during Saturday’s protest near the White House.
Protesters at the Answer Coalition’s “Stop the Genocide in Gaza” demonstration spray-painted anti-Israel and anti-Biden messages on statues at Lafayette Park, then pelted and shouted “f—- you, fascist” at a park ranger standing guard.
Among those disgusted at the conduct was Mr. Cotton, who challenged the Biden administration to enforce federal law by bringing charges against the vandals.
“At every turn, Joe Biden has tried to limit Israel’s freedom of action, their ability to defend themselves and to put more pressure on Israel, not pressure on Hamas and its patrons in the Middle East,” Mr. Cotton said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Just look at what happened yesterday outside the White House.”
“You had anti-American pro-Hamas lunatics defacing and desecrating the statues of our great veterans, which is a plain violation of federal law,” he said. “But Joe Biden’s government allowed it to happen, and I bet we’re not going to see any arrests or prosecutions for violating that law.”
Look at how these Hamas supporters treat a Park Ranger just for doing his job to protect a statue in a Washington DC park. They mocked him and vandalized the statue.
— Joel M. Petlin (@Joelmpetlin) June 9, 2024
Can we please stop pretending that these are peaceful protests? https://t.co/R0d7LqMTC0
It was unclear whether any protesters were cited for vandalism. The Washington Times has reached out to the National Park Service for comment.
The protest marking the “54th anniversary of the occupation of Gaza” drew thousands of protesters, according to local news estimates. The National Park Service permit estimated a maximum of 9,000 attendees.
The event included a rally with speakers and a march around the White House with a red banner to represent Mr. Biden’s “red line” on Israeli military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Protesters chanted slogans including “intifada revolution” and “We don’t want no two-state/We want ‘48,” referring to the State of Israel’s founding in 1948. Some activists also issued explicit calls for violence with chants such as “Hezbollah, Hezbollah/Kill another Zionist now,” as shown on video posted on X.
One protester was shown holding up a mask of Mr. Biden with fake blood on it. Some activists were shown waving and throwing smoke flares outside the White House, which was protected by additional security measures, including an anti-scale fence.
Anti-American, pro-Hamas thugs desecrated the statues of our veterans literally across the street from the White House, a blatant violation of federal law. On video. I expect the Department of Justice to use every technique against them that it used against grandmas in MAGA hats… pic.twitter.com/0eSYzgNjmD
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) June 9, 2024
“I’ll introduce legislation this week that imposes stiffer penalties so we can lock these lunatics up, but Joe Biden thinks that these pro-Hamas, anti-American lunatics should be guiding American policy towards Israel,” Mr. Cotton said.
Hundreds attended a concurrent anti-Israel march Saturday in Los Angeles, part of a wave of pro-Palestinian protest activity triggered by the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre of 1,200 Israeli civilians and others.
Two of the statues defaced by protesters at Lafayette Park were those of the Marquis de Lafayette and Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau, both heroes of the American Revolutionary War.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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