- Representative Pramila Jayapal distorted Attorney General William Barr for his response to the Black Lives Matter protests during a controversial hearing before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
- The Democratic congresswoman discussed the Trump administration’s directive to deploy federal agents across the country to monitor major U.S. cities amid protests, while the same response was absent during protests against the shutdown earlier this year.
- In a heated exchange, Jayapal said there is a “real discrepancy” in the attorney general’s “aggressive” approach to handling the Black Lives Matter protests and called for protests against the blockade outside the Michigan capitol building where protesters ” They swarmed “the building that carried the assault weapons did not seem to worry him.
- “You are supposed to represent the people of the United States of America, not violate the people’s first amendment rights,” he said. “You are supposed to defend democracy and guarantee equality of justice under the law, not violently dismantle certain protesters according to the president’s personal agenda.”
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Representative Pramila Jayapal on Tuesday criticized Attorney General William Barr for his response to the Black Lives Matter protests, accusing him of taking an “aggressive” approach to stifle them.
During a controversial hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, Jayapal said there is a “real discrepancy” in the way Barr dealt with those protests and the anti-blockade protests outside the Michigan Capitol building, where protesters ” they invaded “the building with assault weapons, against Black Living protesters of the matter.
“The point I am trying to clarify here … is that there is a real discrepancy in how you react as attorney general, the best police in this country, when white men with swastikas assault a government building with firearms, it is not necessary for the president to “activate” it because he is making the president’s personal agenda, “said the congresswoman.
“But when blacks and people of color protest against police brutality, systemic racism, and the president’s own lack of response to those critical issues, then they forcibly remove them with armed federal officials [and] pepper bombs, because the president considers them terrorists, “he continued.
Amid protests against the blockade in Michigan, President Donald Trump tweeted a series of messages to “free” states from the closure of the coronaviruses, including Michigan. It was a great criticism to declare Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s strict closure guidelines to mitigate the coronavirus amid the ongoing pandemic.
—Caroline Orr (@RVAwonk) July 28, 2020
Anti-blockade protesters also carried flags expressing their support for Trump and attacked Whitmer, with a swastika sign saying “Heil Witmer” (sic) and someone with a governor-like doll with a bow around his neck.
“You take an aggressive approach to the Black Lives Matter protests, but not to right-wing extremists who threaten to lynch a governor if it is for the benefit of the president,” Jayapal continued during the congressional hearing on Tuesday.
Barr said he was unaware of the threats to Whitmer. He said “there are many protests in the United States,” and was concerned about the growing situation in Washington, DC, with protesters outside the White House.
On June 1, park police in Lafayette Square at the time sprayed protesters with chemical irritants and launched sudden explosions to disperse the crowd as Trump headed to St. John’s Church for a photo shoot.
Barr distanced himself and the president from giving the directive to clear the way, and Barr said he has “a responsibility to the federal government and that the White House is the seat of the executive branch.”
During a heated exchange, Barr began to mention that he thought Michigan authorities could handle the protests before Jayapal interrupted saying, “You are supposed to represent the people of the United States of America, not violate First Amendment rights. from the people”.
“It is supposed to defend democracy and guarantee equality of justice under the law, not violently dismantle certain protesters according to the president’s personal agenda,” he added.
