Attorney General Bill Barr appeared before the House Judiciary Committee today to answer for the Justice Department’s deployment of federal officers to cities where they used unnecessary force against non-violent protesters. This included the attack on protesters in Lafayette Square, who were teargassed so Trump could take a photo op with a bible. Barr was also questioned about Roger Stone’s commuted sentence and various other abuses of power in service of Donald Trump.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) took Barr to task in a scathing rebuke of the Attorney General’s violent crackdown. Jayapal said:
“There is a real discrepancy in how you react as attorney general when white men with Swastikas storm a government building with guns. There is no need for the president to, quote, ‘activate you’ because they’re getting the president’s personal agenda done, … But when black people and people of color protest police brutality, systemic racism and the president’s very own lack of response to those critical issues, then you forcibly remove them with armed federal officers, pepper bombs because they are considered terrorists by the president.”
Bill Barr is aggressive towards Black Lives Matter protests but not armed right-wing extremists threatening to lynch a Governor.
Why? Because white men with swastikas storming a Capitol are part of Trump’s agenda while people of color protesting injustice are seen as terrorists. pic.twitter.com/hrpUuatIks
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) July 28, 2020
She continued, “And yet your response, Mr. Barr, was to direct federal officers to descend on the protesters and to use shields offensively as weapons, tear gas, pepper balls, irritants, batons, and horses to clear the area just so the president could get a photo op. So I do want to ask you, do you think that your response, do you think the response at Lafayette Square to tear gas, pepper spray and beat protesters and injure American citizens who were just simply exercising their First Amendment rights was appropriate?”
Barr struggled to defend himself, as Jayapal continued to question him. Jayapal was smart, incisive, and accurately captured the anger and outrage we collectively feel over Barr’s goon squad. And many took to Twitter to praise Jayapal.
I want to be Pramila Jayapal when I grow up https://t.co/hvmHxgHqe2
— Emma Vigeland (@EmmaVigeland) July 28, 2020
Rep. Jayapal slams Barr back into his seat when he tries to interrupt her, and then takes apart his blatant cronyism before a breathless nation.
Masterful. https://t.co/LuCzlxaawm
— Monty 🇺🇸Hamilton’s Battery🇺🇸 Boa (@MontyBoa99) July 28, 2020
Well, this was remarkable. pic.twitter.com/bqidB7XBZm
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) July 28, 2020
Any Wikipedia editors out there want to update William Barr’s WikiPage
Died: July 28th 2020
Cause of Death: Questioning by Rep Jayapal https://t.co/Cgl8tBO4vI— Pantry Chef Guy… 🗽🤝🌹💚✊🔯 (@NYCgeekDad) July 28, 2020
(via CNN, image: C-SPAN)
Here are some other stories we saw today:
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- France’s largest movie theater closes over lack of new films. (via Variety)
- Meet Niles Fitch, Disney’s first Black prince, in Secret Society of Second Born Royals. (via Shadow and Act)
- Actress Amy Seimetz has filed a restraining order against Upstream Color director Shane Carruth. (via Variety)
[Annoucement] Get ready to light up the sky when the next summer update for #AnimalCrossingNewHorizons arrives on 30/07! 🎆 pic.twitter.com/sHljTXELU3
— Isabelle UK (@AC_Isabelle) July 28, 2020
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- Avatar: The Last Airbender is on Netflix, which means it’s time to air ALL your Zuko and Katara feels. (via ComicBook.com)
- Gugu Mbatha-Raw talks about Disney+’s Loki series. (via ComicbookMovie.com)
- The Boston Public Library needs help transcribing 40,000 anti-slavery documents from the 19th century. (via Boing Boing)
It’s National Vote By Mail Day. Voting by mail is easy and safe. Take a few minutes to request your vote-by-mail ballot, then get your family and friends to do the same. Request your ballot early, send it back early, and fill it out carefully. Get started: https://t.co/pmWQqs4PbB pic.twitter.com/JlOWmkJG57
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 28, 2020
How’s your Tuesday looking, Mary Suevians?
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