Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and several other Republican senators called for the Charlottesville car attack that killed one and injured 16 others to be labeled as “domestic terrorism.”
“I urge the Department of Justice to immediately investigate and prosecute today’s grotesque act of domestic terrorism,” Cruz tweeted Saturday evening:
I urge the Department of Justice to immediately investigate and prosecute today's grotesque act of domestic terrorism.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 13, 2017
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) chimed in with a similar statement, adding that “we should condemn hatred and white nationalism”:
The tragedy in Charlottesville this afternoon was domestic terrorism. We must all condemn hatred and white nationalism.
— Rob Portman (@senrobportman) August 12, 2017
Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) echoed their sentiments and offered prayers for the victims of the attack:
Praying for those hurt & killed today in Charlottesville. This is nothing short of domestic terrorism & should be named as such.
— Cory Gardner (@SenCoryGardner) August 12, 2017
Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a statement Saturday noting that an attorney with the Department of Justice “commenced a federal investigation” into the events that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday.
A joint statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia and the FBI’s Richmond Field Office added that they have “opened a civil rights investigation” into the deadly car attack.
Police identified the suspect who allegedly drove into the Charlottesville protesters as James Alex Fields, 20, of Maumee, Ohio.
Fields was arrested and charged with murder in connection with the incident. He is being held without bond at the Albermarle-Charlottesville County Regional Jail.
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