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FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is probing the Nationwide Park Service (NPS) over how the July 24 pro-Hamas protest in Washington, D.C., was allowed to occur.
Regardless of advance discover and a big allow issued to the left-wing anti-Israel group ANSWER Coalition, NPS deployed solely 29 officers, leaving them vastly outnumbered by the gang. In distinction, Amtrak Police, which is liable for safety at Union Station, considerably elevated their presence and efficiently managed the realm, Cruz mentioned in a letter despatched to NPS on Friday.
Cruz’s letter additional criticizes NPS for failing to coordinate with different companies, underestimating the protest’s scale and for not requesting extra assist. He is additionally in search of detailed solutions about NPS’s preparation, coordination efforts and future plans to forestall future pro-Hamas demonstrations within the nation’s capital.
ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS STAGE MASSIVE PROTEST IN WASHINGTON, DC, AMID NETANYAHU’S US VISIT
An individual spray-paints the bottom of the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain throughout an anti-Israel protest close to the U.S. Capitol as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint assembly of Congress on July 24, 2024. (Andrew Thomas/AFP through Getty Photos)
“This could have by no means been allowed to occur,” Cruz wrote in his letter, first obtained by Fox Information Digital. “The Nationwide Park Service (NPS) had advance discover of the big anti-Israel protests, timed to coincide with [Israeli] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handle to Congress, and ample time to arrange.”
Moreover, Cruz is in search of data on the intelligence NPS had relating to the protest, together with particulars concerning the ANSWER Coalition’s actions and the steps taken by NPS to arrange for the protest and potential rioting at Columbus Circle, together with the variety of officers deployed, any body-camera footage from U.S. Park Cops who responded to the riot, and any NPS after-action reviews or related paperwork and details about how NPS coordinated with native companies previous to the protest.
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Sen. Ted Cruz (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Name through Getty Photos/File)
Cruz mentioned NPS left its U.S. Park Police “hopelessly outnumbered.”
“The inadequate assets deployed by NPS, regardless of advance discover of the huge protest and the propensity of pro-Hamas demonstrations to show violent, was negligent,” Cruz wrote. “Even with each USPP officer within the D.C. space deployed, the various different calls for on that drive left far too few USPP officers obtainable for a serious protest that would flip violent, and the Park Police union isn’t conscious of any effort to get extra officers.”
On July 24, anti-Israel agitators descended on Washington, D.C., to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handle to Congress. A number of monuments and historic websites had been defaced and broken. They had been seen lighting American flags on hearth, scrawling graffiti outdoors Union Station and chanting “Allahu Akbar.”
ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS BURN AMERICAN FLAGS, ACCUSE NETANYAHU OF BEING ‘WAR CRIMINAL’ AS HE ADDRESSES CONGRESS
Activists cheer as they burn flags and a puppet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu throughout an anti-Israel protest close to the U.S. Capitol on July 24, 2024. (Alex Wong/Getty Photos)
Agitators at Union Station, which is situated close to the U.S. Capitol, burned an American flag and vandalized a statue with the phrases “Hamas is coming.” Additionally they eliminated American flags and changed them with Palestinian flags as a substitute.
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A demonstrator sprays graffiti on the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain at Union Station in Washington, D.C., on July 24, 2024. (REUTERS/Nathan Howard)
Netanyahu delivered an handle to Congress final month amid his nation’s battle in opposition to Hamas, which has raged since Oct. 7. Amid his remarks, Netanyahu tore into cease-fire demonstrations which have performed out throughout the U.S. because the battle started.
Fox Information Digital has reached out to NPS for remark.
Fox Information Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Jamie Joseph is a author who covers politics. She leads Fox Information Digital protection of the Senate.
