The US Senator from Texas, chaired a Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee hearing Tuesday, to discuss the role of Antifa and other left-wing extremist groups in ongoing riots in major Democrat-run cities across the United States.
Cruz blasted Democrats for not condemning Antifa more directly for the violence and destruction they have caused following the death of George Floyd.
At the end of her nearly 10-minute rant in which she did not condemn Antifa, Democrat Senator Mazie Hirono(D-Hawaii) bizarrely accused Cruz of not listening. "Sometimes I don't think you listen," Hirono said. "So, how many times have I had to say that we all should be denouncing violent extremists of every stripe."
"Does that include Antifa?" Cruz asked her.
"I have the time," Hirono shot back.
"...I hope this is the end of this hearing, Mr. Chairman, and that we don't have to listen to any more of your rhetorical speeches," Hirono concluded. "Thank you very much. I'm leaving."
As she packed up to leave, Cruz joked, "Well I appreciate the, as always, kind of uplifting words of Senator Hirono."
"And I would also note that throughout her remarks she still did not say a negative word about Antifa nor has any Democrat here," he added.
Cruz then urged her again to denounce the left-wing group. "You're welcome to say something negative about Antifa right now," he said.
“I think that I’ve covered the subject quite well,” Hirono said as she left.
“OK, she declined to speak, so that is the position of the Democrat Party,” Cruz shot back. “I would note also that of the seven Democratic senators who spoke, not one of them apologized for or denounced multiple Democrats calling law enforcement officers Nazis, stormtroopers and Gestapo. To be fair, I have not heard the word Nazi, but stormtrooper was Nancy Pelosi and Gestapo was another Democratic leader. That was less than helpful.”
The hearing titled 'The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble: Protecting Speech by Stopping Anarchist Violence,' revealed the different approaches the Republicans and Democrats take when it comes to the riots perpetrated by far left extremist groups.
Cruz -- who kicked off the hearing by playing a video contrasting the protests from Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi and the March for Life with the recent riots -- focused on the rioters and their Democrat enablers.
"Their actions are profoundly racist," Cruz said. "The rioters .... destroy minority communities, minority businesses and minority lives across this country. This shouldn't be complicated: peaceful protests must be protected. Riots must be stopped."
Hirono on the other hand, played her own video of what she says is violence against peaceful protesters and disproportionate use of force by federal agents.
She said the hearing should be titled: "The right of the people peaceably to assemble without being beaten up by unidentifiable federal agents."
Democrat Mayors and governors across the United States have been widely condemned for their lackadaisical and incompetent response to the riots ravaging their states. Some of the Mayors have even gone as far as expressing support for these left-wing rioters. And they have rejected repeated attempts by President Trump to step in and help combat the violence.