On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., teamed up with fellow Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, Ted Cruz of Texas and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, in sending a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, U.S. Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray to ask what their agencies are doing to protect the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, Oregon.
The Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse has been the target of repeated attacks by left-wing extremists over the past year. The senators are also requesting information on efforts the agencies have made to investigate, arrest and prosecute the individuals who have terrorized the city of Portland for the past year.
Dear Attorney General Garland, Secretary Mayorkas, and Director Wray:
As you are well aware, the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, has been the target of frequent and repeated attacks by left-wing extremists. These attacks have no place in American society and must be swiftly condemned and appropriately handled by law enforcement at every level. It is in response to these repeated attacks that we write to you today to ask what each of your respective agencies is doing to protect this federal facility, including what efforts your agencies have made to investigate, arrest and prosecute the individuals who have terrorized the city of Portland for the past year.
Throughout the summer of 2020, Portland’s federal courthouse endured months of nightly assaults, during which left-wing extremists repeatedly set fire to the building with personnel inside, and attacked federal officers using Molotov cocktails, explosives, and various weapons. The brave federal agents who defended the federal courthouse bore the brunt of those unchecked attacks, resulting in numerous injuries, including blindness caused by lasers the left-wing extremists pointed into the eyes of those officers. Unfortunately, neither state nor local law enforcement has been willing or able to intervene to disperse the organized attacks, and the extremists have continued targeting the federal courthouse for violence and vandalism.
This is a textbook example of domestic terrorism, but neither the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, nor the Federal Bureau of Investigation appear to be doing anything to stop these attacks or bring to justice the left-wing extremists responsible for this violence and destruction.
The U.S. Constitution protects “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” The near-constant attacks on the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in Portland are neither peaceful, nor constitutional expressions of dissent – they are acts of domestic terrorism that have been allowed to continue unabated by local, state, and now federal officials apparently unwilling to intervene. This is unacceptable.
We ask that you promptly respond to this letter detailing the steps you and your agencies are taking to protect the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, and to investigate, arrest and prosecute the domestic terrorists who have terrorized the federal facility, officers and personnel for the past year.
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