Sen. Tom Cotton voiced outrage over the spate of anti-Israel protests causing mayhem across the nation and said it’s time for Americans to take matters into their own hands.
Cotton (R-Ark.) appeared on Fox News Monday and railed the hundreds of demonstrators who clogged up traffic in San Francisco during a blockade of the Golden Gate Bridge in protest against the Israel-Hamas War.
“If something like this happened in Arkansas on a bridge there, let’s just say I think there’d be a lot of very wet criminals that have been tossed overboard,” Cotton said.
“If they glued their hands to the car or the pavement, well, it’d be probably pretty painful to have their skin ripped off,” he went on. “I would encourage most people, anywhere that gets stuck behind criminals like this, who are trying to block traffic to take matters into their own hands.”
He then doubled down Tuesday, sharing an old clip of a man dragging protesters off the street and suggesting it could be a model for the US.
“I sympathize with law enforcement having to deal with this but I think it’s time for private citizens who are the ones being inconvenienced here — when they’re confronted with these protesters — just to solve matters on their own,” Cotton explained.
“Most of these people can be easily moved from the street,” he added, referring to the protesters. “We can absolutely not tolerate this kind of criminal activity.”
Cotton further mused that the kind of vigilantes who took “matters into their own hands” generally “are always the most popular people on the scene.”
Ever since Hamas’ bloody Oct. 7, 2023 surprise attack against Israel killed roughly 1,200 and sparked a war, protests have erupted across the country.
Demonstrators have pestered President Biden and disrupted congressional proceedings.
Just last week, dozens of protesters disrupted a Senate hearing attended by Cotton about the Pentagon’s budget request. Cotton used some of his time to dispute allegations from some of those protesters that Israel is engaged in genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Back in 2020 when unrest from Black Lives Matter protesters swept the nation, Cotton penned a controversial op-ed in the New York Times, in which he suggested the US should deploy troops to stem the rioting.
The paper later released an editor’s note criticizing the piece and claiming that the editing process fell short of its standards.
“These rioters, if not subdued, not only will destroy the livelihoods of law-abiding citizens but will also take more innocent lives,’” Cotton argued at the time.
“One thing above all else will restore order to our streets: an overwhelming show of force to disperse, detain, and ultimately deter lawbreakers.”
