On Thursday, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) introduced a resolution condemning the violent acts carried out by antifa and calling for the U.S. to designate the group a domestic terrorist organization.
“Antifa is a group of hateful, intolerant radicals who pursue their unhinged agenda through aggressive violence,” Cruz said in a statement. “Time and time again their actions have demonstrated that their only purpose is to inflict harm on those who oppose their views. The hate and violence they spread must be stopped, and I am proud to introduce this resolution with Senator Cassidy to properly identify what Antifa are: domestic terrorists.”
“Antifa are terrorists, violent masked bullies who ‘fight fascism’ with actual fascism, protected by Liberal privilege,” Cassidy added. “With bullies, they get their way until someone says no. There must be courage, not cowardice, from the elected officials who allow violence against the innocent.”
The resolution mentions the gruesome attack against and hospitalization of Quillette editor Andy Ngo last month at the hands of a mob organized by Rose City Antifa. It also notes that antifa, “because they believe that free speech is equivalent to violence, have used threats of violence in pursuit of suppressing opposing political ideologies.”
Cruz’s resolution also mentions the antifa threats against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, who were “subjected to doxxing and violent threats after their social media profiles, phone numbers, and home addresses were posted on the Internet by left wing activists.” It also mentions the case of one ICE officer who “had his name and photo plastered on flyers outside his home accusing him of being part of the ‘Gestapo.'”
The resolution also notes that the ICE office in southwest Portland, Ore., was shut down for days due to threats and occupation. Cruz and Cassidy omitted the most recent case of such violence, in which self-described antifa member Willem Van Spronsen threw incendiary devices at an ICE detention center in Tacoma, Wash. He was killed in a shootout with police. The local antifa group hailed him as a “comrade” and a “martyr,” and said his death should inspire more “protest and direct action”.
Van Spronsen also condemned ICE centers as “concentration camps,” echoing the inciting language of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). Ocasio-Cortez has yet to denounce this act of violence arguably inspired by her rhetoric.
The resolution calls for organizations under the antifa banner to be designated domestic terrorist groups, “unequivocally condemns the violent actions of antifa groups as unacceptable acts for anyone in the United States,” stresses the need for peaceful communication, urges any U.S. organization to voice opinions without using violence, and calls upon the federal government to fight all forms of domestic terrorism, including white supremacist terrorism.
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