Wednesday, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) appeared on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” and insisted there had to be “legal consequences” for the destruction of public property underway as groups protest under the Black Lives Matter movement banner.
According to the Arkansas lawmaker, if there are no consequences, it will get worse.
“I was very concerned when I saw the mobs having broken through the fencing around the Jackson statue in Lafayette Park and strapping up chains to it, trying to pull it down,” he said. “I was very worried about where the police were. Now, fortunately, the police got there in time to stop it, but it had already been defaced on its pedestal. But there couldn’t be a more clear-cut open and shut violation of a law called the Veterans Memorial Preservation Act.”
“That law makes it a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years to deface or tear down or attempt to tear down a statue commemorating someone’s military service on federal property,” Cotton continued. “And these aren’t exactly criminal masterminds, Brian. They videotape themselves, and they post it on social media. The Department of Justice and the FBI should investigate them, arrest them, and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law. There has to be legal consequences for this kind of mob violence — otherwise, it’s only going to get worse with every passing day.”
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