Joni Ernst Proposes to Restrict Taxpayer Funding to ‘Anarchist’ Autonomous Zones

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) proposed legislation on Thursday that restricts federal funding for leftist autonomous zones.

Ernst, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, proposed the Ending Taxpayer Funding of Anarchy Act on Thursday that would restrict federal funding for “anarchist jurisdictions.” This would include the Seattle, Washington, Capitol Hill Autonomous Zones (CHAZ).

The Iowa conservative’s legislation would restore federal funding once local officials can ensure the peace.

Ernst said in a statement on Thursday the American taxpayer should not pay for local government official’s inability to protect the peace.

Ernst said:

Anarchy cannot continue on our streets. If city officials or state leaders fail to do their job and protect their citizens, the federal government – American taxpayers – aren’t going to pay for it. Local officials are letting chaos continue in their streets, and in some cases, preventing law enforcement from protecting the public. That’s not the America I know or fought for. This bill is straight forward and holds local leaders accountable to the people.

Ernst’s comments follow as she slammed the left’s move to vandalize and tear down statues, including some Confederate statues.

She said:

I think this has gone far enough. We need to restore law and order here in the United States, and of course, we support protests. There are still some folks that are out there protesting police brutality and racial injustice, but peaceful protest is what we are looking for — dialogue. And what we are seeing is plain old vandalism. That is not protest, that is vandalism.

“So again, we need to restore law and order and have healthy dialogue, not what we are seeing on the streets today,” she added.

Read Ernst’s Ending Taxpayer Funding of Anarchy Act here.

Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.