Watch: ‘Foolish’ GOP congressman gets called out during House hearing for his threat to ‘drop’ protesters

Watch: ‘Foolish’ GOP congressman gets called out during House hearing for his threat to ‘drop’ protesters
ep. Clay Higgins questions U.S. Customs and Border Protection Deputy Commissioner Robert E. Perez during testimony before the Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations Subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee in a hearing to review the Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Request for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Washington, D.C., May 9, 2019. CBP photo by Glenn Fawcett
David Edwards
and
Raw Story
September 17, 2020 | 11:42AM ETBank

During a hearing in front of Congress this Thursday, FBI Director Christopher Wray was questioned by Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) on whether or not the agency sees Black Lives Matter as an “extremist organization” that is “violent or a threat to peace.” Wray responded that the FBI doesn’t “identify” Black Lives Matter one way or another. But Richmond had a bigger point to make.

Richmond said that given the FBI’s stance, it’s “concerning” to see social media posts from a sitting congressman threatening to “drop” BLM protesters with deadly force. Wray acknowledged that such posts would alarm the FBI.

Richmond was referring to GOP Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), who posted an image on Facebook of Black protesters holding firearms along with the comment he would “drop any 10 of you where you stand.” Higgins was also present for Thursday’s hearing.

Richmond went on to say that he’s hearing from city leaders across the country who are concerned about citizens assigning violence at protests to BLM, a characterization that Wray said he wouldn’t agree with.

Watch the full exchange below:



Report typos and corrections to: feedback@alternet.org.

Should Mitch McConnell be required to prove he's fit to serve?

{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}
@2026 - AlterNet Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. - "Poynter" fonts provided by fontsempire.com.