Kevin Kiley Accuses Dems Of Egging On 'Violent Agitators' During LA Anti-ICE Protests

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During remarks on the House floor Friday, Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) spoke about protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Los Angeles

Transcript

00:00Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days

00:04in which to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous material on House

00:08Resolution 516.

00:09Without objection.

00:10I yield myself such time as I may consume.

00:13The gentleman is recognized.

00:16A couple weeks ago, the entire world witnessed horrifying scenes out of Los Angeles.

00:23Molotov cocktails and bricks being thrown at officers.

00:27Waymo cars being lit on fire.

00:29American flags being burned.

00:32Roadways being blocked.

00:34Today, we will stand as a House to condemn these acts of violence and to condemn the irresponsible

00:43politicians who refused to adequately address them.

00:48I think it's important to understand from the beginning the events leading to these horrific

00:54scenes.

00:56We should first recognize that ICE was undertaking operations in Los Angeles that have been very

01:03standard across administrations, Democrat or Republican.

01:08President Obama, after all, carried out millions of deportations.

01:12And the priority has always been to focus on those who have a criminal record and who pose a risk

01:20to the public.

01:22That is precisely what ICE was doing in Los Angeles.

01:26Among those targeted were murderers, pedophiles and drug traffickers.

01:32It should also be recognized that one of the reasons that some of these people had to be sought out

01:39in the community is that the city of Los Angeles and the state of California have chosen to enact

01:47sanctuary policies that explicitly forbid ICE from taking custody of these dangerous individuals in the

01:57safest and least disruptive setting, in a custodial setting, that is in jails.

02:01That is the explicit purpose of our sanctuary laws.

02:07So despite these facts, as these operations were being carried out in a standard and targeted

02:14way in Los Angeles, you had certain politicians who engaged in inflammatory rhetoric.

02:22And you then had individuals gather to disrupt the activities of ICE and our federal officers.

02:28And then you saw these extreme and horrifying acts of violence.

02:35Now I want to be very clear.

02:37I will defend in any way that I can the right to assemble and protest, regardless of the content

02:45of what the protesters are advocating.

02:48This is foundational, it is fundamental to the American system of government.

02:55But violence, violence is another matter entirely.

02:59This is not just a matter of protest crossing a line.

03:03Violence is the antithesis of protest.

03:06It seeks to shut down the process of deliberation, argument and debate.

03:13It seeks to exalt force over reason.

03:17It is an abandonment of the American experiment of self-government.

03:24And by the way, this is especially true when the very purpose of the violence is to impede

03:33the policies of a duly elected president from being carried out.

03:39It is to say that a violent agitator should be able to overthrow through force the will of

03:48a democratic majority that has been established through a democratic, free, and fair election.

03:57That is what we bore witness to in Los Angeles.

04:01And yet, instead of doing everything possible to restore order, to protect the citizens of

04:10Los Angeles, to protect our law enforcement officers and our federal officers, you saw certain

04:17irresponsible, vainglorious politicians in California decide that this was their star-making

04:24moment where they would egg on the violent agitators.

04:31Where they would try to pick a fight in every way they could with the president, even going

04:35so far as to file a frivolous lawsuit that was thrown out unanimously by the Ninth Circuit.

04:43And worst of all, worst of all, these politicians decided to place the blame for the violence on

04:53our incredible National Guard members, somehow saying it was their presence there that caused

04:59it.

05:00This is deeply offensive, and our National Guard members are owed an apology.

05:08So today, I hope that we can stand together, Republicans and Democrats, in making it very

05:14clear that protest and assembly are fundamental rights in this country, and that acts of violence

05:23are a grave threat to those rights.

05:26Specifically, this resolution recognizes the right to assemble and protest peacefully, condemns

05:32unequivocally the violence perpetrated against federal, state, and local law enforcement,

05:38calls on local and state elected leadership to work with the federal government to end

05:43the violent riots and restore peace, and expresses gratitude to law enforcement officers, including

05:49the Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, California Highway

05:54Patrol, Orange County Sheriff's Department, and other local, state, and federal law enforcement

06:00agencies, including the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement for keeping our communities

06:05safe in the face of danger.

06:07I reserve the balance in my time.

06:08The gentleman reserves the

06:09The gentleman reserves the

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