In an interview with Fox News, Sen. Ted Cruz called the riots perpetrated by Antifa and their allies in the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement as “organized terror attacks,” and claimed that the supporters of the group that is supposedly fighting for racial equality are “avowed Marxists” looking to destroy the “Western-prescribed nuclear family structure.”
“These violent riots are not spontaneous,” Cruz said in an interview right before he went on to chair a hearing about anarchists and political violence in the United States.
“Nor are they mere coincidences,” hs added. “Instead, the evidence suggests they are organized terror attacks designed to instill fear and tear down the fundamental institutions of government.”
Cruz further went on to talk about how the BLM movement’s organizers are “pursuing a radical agenda” and are affiliated with Antifa, which he called a “national terrorist organization.” He alleged that the Antifa and BLM instigators are using the legitimate movement demanding racial justice to establish a Marxist government in the United States – which is why many of these radicals are trying to assault and take over the federal courthouse in Portland every night.
After alleging that the founders of the Black Lives Matter movement are Marxists pursuing an extreme agenda that includes policies such as defunding and abolishing police departments across the country, he once again tempered his rhetoric by stating that the phrase “black lives matter” is “unquestionably true.” However, the way the BLM organization uses it is inherently racist, as it calls for the movement’s supporters to “disrupt” the “Western-prescribed nuclear family structure.”
Cruz, however, later tempered his language by reaffirming that the right of Americans to protest is protected by the constitution. (Related: Ted Cruz gets it right: If cities “defund” police and deprive residents of protection, they should be sued for damages.)
“You have a right to protest, I have a right to protest peacefully. We have a right to speak our minds – the First Amendment protects that,” he said. “What you and I don’t have the right to do is to hurt somebody else, to physically assault someone else, to firebomb police cars, to loot and destroy a small business, to murder a police officer and sadly we’ve seen all of that in riots across our country.”
Ted Cruz holds hearing on Antifa
Following his interview with Fox News, Cruz went on to host a hearing titled “The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble: Protecting Speech by Stopping Anarchist Violence.” The main topic of this hearing was about how Antifa had been launching terror attacks against law enforcement during anti-police demonstrations.
During the hearing, Cruz and the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution – which he chairs – heard several testimonies. One of these was from Ken Cuccinelli, the acting deputy secretary for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), who spoke to the senators about how the wave of engineered rioting and civil unrest in Portland has resulted in 277 injuries to 140 federal and local law enforcement officials.
The Democrats in the subcommittee objected to Cuccinelli’s statements, despite him providing evidence. Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii decried the negative portrayal of the “peaceful protesters” in Portland.
“The hearing we should be having is one called the right of the people peaceably assemble without being beaten up by unidentifiable federal agents.”
Cuccinelli, however, countered her statement by saying that at least 97 supposedly peaceful protesters have been arrested specifically for allegedly attacking federal law enforcement agents. He went on to talk about the dangers these federal officers faced while they were in Portland, such as rioters pouring accelerants and other flammable materials at the courthouse while “commercial-grade, mortar style” fireworks were being launched at the officers in an attempt to light them on fire.
Cruz interviewed seven other Democratic senators, all of whom failed to denounce Antifa as well as many of their Democratic colleagues who have called police officers trying to maintain law and order several derogatory names such as “Nazis,” “Stormtroopers” and “the Gestapo.”
But Hirono just was not listening when her Republican counterpart in the subcommittee continued to talk about how violence is never acceptable.
“I hope this is the end of this hearing, Mr. Chairman, and that we don’t have to listen to any more of your rhetorical speeches,” said Hirono just as she packed up her belongings and left the chamber.
As she was leaving, Cruz urged her to say anything negative about Antifa, but Hirono declined to speak. Cruz noted, as the senator from Hawaii left the room, that refusal to denounce Antifa’s terrorism is the position of the Democratic Party.
Antifa is getting bolder as the engineered rioting continues. Learn about their latest attacks against America in cities like Portland and Seattle by reading the unbiased articles at AntifaWatch.news.
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