The violent actions that went on in the nation's cities over the weekend had nothing to do with the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Sen. Tom Cotton said Monday.
"The video of George Floyd's death is deeply disturbing," the Arkansas Republican told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" about Floyd, the black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer kept his knee on his neck last week while detaining him.
"I welcome the quick action by local authorities and the Department of Justice to investigate, to get the facts, and to do justice for George Floyd in accordance with law and we always respect the rights of peaceful protesters," Cotton added.
However, "the anarchy, rioting and looting, we have zero tolerance for and it needs to end tonight," said Cotton.
Several monuments and buildings in Washington, D.C., including Department of Veterans Affairs, the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II Memorial were “defaced," said Cotton, but President Donald Trump has several actions he can take to that will bring the nation back under control.
“If local law enforcement is overwhelmed, if local politicians will not do their most basic job to protect our citizens, let’s see how these anarchists respond to the 101st Airborne that is on the other side of the street," said Cotton.
He added that he commends Trump for reckoning Antifa be treated like a terror organization. Meanwhile, from the Explosives Act to the Riot Act, many actions can come into play to "stop this anarchy."
"We should have zero tolerance for anarchy and rioting and looting and if necessary the president should use the Insurrection Act to deploy active duty military forces to these cities to support our local law enforcement and ensure this violence ends tonight," said Cotton. "Not one more night."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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