In his speech, Durbin also pointed out the hypocrisy of Trump Administration officials, who supported pardons for January 6 rioters, as they call for the arrest of any protestor that commits violent acts against law enforcement
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered a speech on the Senate floor in response to President Trump’s abuse of power in deploying National Guard troops to California without the request or consent of California state leaders. Durbin began by condemning political violence of all kinds while reiterating that Americans have a right to peacefully protest.
“I condemn violence, vandalism, including violence against law enforcement. There is no place in legitimate protests for that to occur,” Durbin began. “What is happening in Los Angeles, as brought to my attention over the weekend, is something we need to address. However, addressing it effectively means not grandstanding, but giving law enforcement the resources they need to control the situation. Neither the Governor of California nor the Mayor of Los Angeles asked for the National Guard troops that President Trump is sending.”
“Governor Newsom said the decision to deploy the National Guard, without appropriate training or orders, risked seriously escalating the situation,” Durbin continued. “What is clear is that President Trump manipulated these protests as an excuse to politicize the military and divert resources from pressing national security and disaster relief responsibilities.”
Durbin explained that it’s been 60 years since a president has sent in the National Guard for a domestic operation without a request from the governor. Durbin then noted that while President Trump has made strong statements about his Administration’s intolerance of violence toward law enforcement during these protests, he provided clemency to more than 1,500 individuals who participated in the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The violence at the Capitol that day led to the death of five police officers and the injuries of more than 140 others.
“This weekend, the President wrote on social media that Los Angeles was ‘invaded and occupied’ by ‘violent, insurrectionist mobs,’ and directed three of his top cabinet officials to take any actions necessary to ‘liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion,’” Durbin said. “His FBI Director, Kash Patel, also wrote on X, ‘Hit a cop, you’re going to jail… doesn’t matter where you came from, how you got here, or what movement speaks to you.’”
“It seems President Trump and Mr. Patel forgot what happened on January 6th at the U.S. Capitol when a violent mob—summoned by a bitter, defeated former President—ransacked the Capitol Complex… The insurrectionist mob, the rioters who came into the Capitol on January 6th looked through my desk. You can see it on CSPAN,” Durbin said. “On his first day back in office in his second term, what did President Trump do to these cop haters? He issued a blanket pardon to [nearly] 1,500 of them despite their conviction… for that riot that took place in this building, including those who violently assaulted law enforcement officers.”
“It appears FBI Director Patel’s comment [that] if you, ‘hit a cop, you’re going to jail,’ only applies to people who President Trump doesn’t agree with,” Durbin concluded.
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
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