On March 11, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK) delivered a speech at the Senate Intelligence Committee’s hearing on global threats to U.S. security.
Julia Nicholson | Reuters
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, on Tuesday doubled down on earlier remarks, encouraging people stuck in traffic jams over ceasefire protests to “take matters into their own hands” and force demonstrators off the road. .
Cotton posted one video On Tuesday, footage on X showed people grabbing protesters by their legs and the hoods of their jackets, dragging them off the road and throwing them to the curb to allow cars to pass.
“What to do,” the senator wrote in the post.
Traffic on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and major cities including Chicago, Seattle and New York were brought to an hour-long standstill on Monday as demonstrators camped out on the roads to draw attention to the war in Gaza.
“If something like this happened on a bridge in Arkansas, I think there would be a lot of wet criminals being thrown overboard, not by law enforcement, but by the people they’re blocking the road from,” Cotton said on Monday. said in an interview with Fox News.
“If they had their hands glued to a car or to the sidewalk, it could be very painful to have the skin ripped off, but I think that’s how we handle it in Arkansas and I would encourage most people anywhere who are caught up in these types of crimes. They tried to block traffic in order to take matters into their own hands.
The senator sparked some controversy after posting the news on social media on Monday night, urging drivers blocked by protesters to “take matters into their own hands.” renew The article clarified that drivers should “take matters into their own hands and get out of the way.”
Jon Favreau, a former speechwriter for President Barack Obama, is one of the critics. beat Cotton commented on social media: “Just a United States Senator calling for vigilante violence.”
Such comments from Cotton have become commonplace for the Arkansas senator, who faced backlash in 2020 for similar calls for violence. New York Times Column. In the article, Cotton called on the federal government to use the Insurrection Act to “send in the military” to suppress those protesting the killing of George Floyd.
The article sparked a flurry of criticism online, criticizing Cotton and the New York Times for their decision to publish it. A few days later, then-New York Times opinion editor James Bennett resigned.
Cotton’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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