Cruz: Local Officials’ Inaction on Violent Protests ‘Wrong,’ ‘Endangering People’s Lives’

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Tuesday addressed the ongoing violent protests and riots across the United States.

Cruz, touting his Restitution for Economic losses Caused by Leaders who Allow Insurrection and Mayhem (RECLAIM) Act that would hold state and local officials liable for the violence and damages incurred inside of “autonomous zones,” said during Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom” that the inaction by Democratic leaders and governors is “wrong,” “endangering people’s lives,” and denies “the basic civil rights that every American citizen is entitled to.”

“[W]e’re seeing a growing … violence, we’re seeing physical assaults, we are seeing radicals who are trying to really tear down our society, and none of this should be complicated,” Cruz emphasized. “You have a right to protest. I have a right to protest peacefully. We have a right to speak our minds. The First Amendment protects that. What you and I don’t have a right to do is hurt somebody else. You don’t have the right to physically assault somebody else, to firebomb a police car, to loot and destroy a small business, to murder a police officer. And sadly, we have seen all of that in riots throughout the country, and all of that at the same time is being facilitated and even encouraged by Democratic politicians who have made a very cynical decision not to allow the police officers to actually do their jobs and protect physical safety, protect property. And so, they’ve ordered the police officers to pull back, and they are letting their cities burn.”

“[S]o, I’ve introduced legislation — it’s called the RECLAIM Act — that says if you are injured and if your property is damaged during a riot, and the local officials have made the deliberate decision to withhold police protection that you can sue that city, you can sue that municipality and get triple damages,” he continued. “In addition, any city that refuses to provide police protection during a riot is denied eligibility for federal funds because what these Democratic mayors and governors are doing … is wrong, it’s endangering people’s lives, and it’s denying the basic civil rights that every American is entitled to.”

Cruz noted there are “anarchists” and “terrorists” in Portland, OR, trying to burn down the federal courthouse while local Democratic leaders such as Mayor Ted Wheeler want the federal agents protecting the building to leave the city.

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent