Photo Credit: CPT T.B. Cotton, US Army
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark) on Tuesday sent a letter to President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland, calling for the administration to respond to the attack on the Adas Torah synagogue in Los Angeles on June 23 (Pro-Hamas Rioters Clash with Jews at LA’s Adas Torah Synagogue). The assault on the Los Angeles Jewish community by pro-Hamas radicals included blocking the entrance to the synagogue, assaulting Jewish people, and calling for an “intifada revolution.”
Senator Cotton wrote:
“This vicious attack comes after months of antisemitic violence on college campuses, and just weeks after Hamas supporters vandalized national monuments outside of the White House. The Biden administration’s inaction against these mobs, like its inaction against Democratic street militias harassing Supreme Court justices outside their homes in 2022, has emboldened these extremists to escalate their attacks.”
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Cotton didn’t mention the events of January 6, 2021, about which his opinion at the time was consistent with his outrage regarding the mob attack in LA:
“Last summer, as insurrection gripped the streets, I called to send in the troops if necessary to restore order. Today, insurrectionists occupied our Capitol. Fortunately, the Capitol Police and other law-enforcement agencies restored order without the need for federal troops. But the principle remains the same: no quarter for insurrectionists. Those who attacked the Capitol today should face the full extent of federal law.
“It’s past time for the president (Trump – DA) to accept the results of the election, quit misleading the American people, and repudiate mob violence. And the senators and representatives who fanned the flames by encouraging the president and leading their supporters to believe that their objections could reverse the election results should withdraw those objections. In any event, the Congress will complete its constitutional responsibilities tonight.”
In his letter to the President and the AG, Sen. Cotton demanded:
The Department of Justice and federal law enforcement should take immediate action to protect the Jewish community and prosecute these mobs. I call for the administration to conduct a manhunt for every one of these antisemitic, pro-terrorist rioters with the same vigor it used to prosecute non-violent Trump supporters who were at the Capitol on January 6. Failure to act would only further expose this administration’s pro-Hamas bias. In addition, please provide the following information by July 1, 2024:
Did city or state officials notify the DOJ regarding the planned pro-Hamas protest? Was federal law enforcement requested to protect the Jewish community?
Have you referred this case to the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice?
Is the DOJ investigating whether outside groups are funding and organizing these violent outbursts? Provide a list of all outside groups that are linked to funding or organizing pro-Hamas or anti-Israel protests.
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