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[Pages S2623-S2624]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROTESTS
Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, this is an hour of great pain and
unrest in our country. Americans from coast to coast have been grieved
and horrified by the killings of three African-American citizens:
Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, Breonna Taylor in my hometown of Louisville,
KT, and George Floyd in Minneapolis.
In each disturbing situation, investigations and reviews are ongoing.
In Kentucky, I am glad that local authorities are investigating, I am
glad the FBI is involved, and I am glad our attorney general is
committed to taking any necessary action. We need the truth, and we
need swift justice under law. But here is something that requires no
investigation: In no world whatsoever should arresting a man for an
alleged minor infraction involve a police officer putting his knee on a
man's neck for 9 minutes while he cries out ``I can't breathe'' and
then goes silent.
To me, to a great many of my fellow Kentuckians, and to millions of
outraged Americans, these disturbing events do not look like three
isolated incidents. They look more like the latest chapter in our
national struggle to make equal justice and equal protection of the law
into facts of life for all Americans, rather than contingencies that
sometimes depend on the color of one's skin. Obviously, this struggle
remains incomplete.
I have spent decades in the Senate not only as an advocate for civil
rights but as a First Amendment purist. So I completely support and
fully defend citizens' constitutional rights to speak their minds and
engage in peaceful protests. Our Nation cannot deafen itself to the
anger, pain, or the frustration of Black Americans. Our Nation needs to
hear this.
Yet, over the last several days, citizens have watched with horror as
cities across America have convulsed with looting, riots, and
destruction. On a nightly basis, initially peaceful demonstrations have
been hijacked. Americans have watched protests dedicated to ending
unjust violence mutate into riots that inflict unjust violence
themselves. We have seen small businesses destroyed and public property
defaced. We have seen the men and women of law enforcement--the vast
majority of whom are not bad actors but brave public servants--
threatened and assaulted on our streets.
Free speech and peaceful protest are central American liberties.
Looting, rioting, assault, and arson are violent crimes that have no
place--no place--whatsoever in our society. It is not a display of
courageous citizenship to smash and destroy small businesses that had
just barely hung on through the pandemic. It is not an act of
principled protest to grab expensive merchandise or set fire to a
church. It does
[[Page S2624]]
not advance freedom or justice to vandalize the World War II Memorial
that stands for those who bled and died for exactly those values. You
do not advance peace by committing assault. You do not advance justice
by inflicting injustice upon your neighbors. You do not promote the
rule of law through anarchy. There is no constitutional right to commit
violent crime or to terrorize communities, period.
This cannot continue. It has already gone on for entirely too long. I
hope State and local authorities will work quickly to crack down on
outside agitators and domestic terrorists and restore some order to our
cities. If State and local leaders cannot or will not secure the peace
and protect citizens and their property, I hope the Federal Government
is ready to stand in the breach.
In Kentucky, we are already seeing violence and tragedy compound on
themselves. Several days ago, seven people were shot in Louisville--
none, according to the mayor, by law enforcement. Last night, one
individual was shot and killed by authorities after the police were
fired upon from within a crowd. We are learning about the incident as
fast as we can. I was just briefed by Governor Beshear today, and I
support a full and thorough and immediate investigation. But this has
to end.
These important protests began with the notion that basic physical
safety and legal protections must be non-negotiable for every single
American, bar none; that American liberty and the rule of law must be
universal truths for all, not special privileges for some. That point
is absolutely right. That is a righteous and important mission. And it
is exactly why these senseless and destructive riots need to end. Not
next week. Not tomorrow night. Right now. Right now.
We have real work to do to build constructive paths forward between
law enforcement and affected communities. More violence and destruction
is not just unfair to many innocent people, it also just makes this
important work so much harder.
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