Republican Florida Representative Matt Gaetz slammed some of his congressional colleagues during a hearing on police reform Wednesday, for helping raise money for a group that supports the abolishment of police and called officers “rebel scum,” he said.
“Here’s a tweet from two of our congressional colleagues supporting this group Black Visions Minnesota,” said Congressman Gaetz. “And then here’s that same group, Black Visions Minnesota that my congressional colleagues are raising money for, saying that we should end the police. And then here’s that same organization retweeting ‘rebel scum,’ ‘abolish the police’.”
Gaetz then propped up another image of a tweet from that group. “Instead of police we need therapists, doctors and street medics, not cops.” Gaetz paraphrased.
He then passed some of his time to Republican witness and former Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino, asking him, “Mr. Bongino in your experience every time someone calls 911 would a therapist or a medic be sufficient, or sometimes do people need cops?”
“I’m quite unclear how a medic is going to help with an armed subject who’s assaulting his wife in a domestic violence situation, or elsewhere,” said Bongino. “I’m not sure how that’s going to be of any value.”
“Here again is that same group saying that we need lasers to disorient surveillance cameras and we need water balloons filled with milk to throw at people,” Gaetz went on. “Again this is the organization that my congressional colleagues are raising money to support.”
Adding more fuel to the fire Gaetz propped up yet another tweet. “Here again that same organization that multiple members of congress are supporting, saying ‘It’s not enough to only abolish police, or prisons. We need to abolish race, abolish ICE, abolish the military, abolish the state, abolish the borders.'” Gaetz said.
Congressman Matt Gaetz, R-FL, speaks while showing a sign during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on “Policing Practices and Law Enforcement Accountability”, on Capitol Hill, on June 10, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Graeme Jennings – Pool/Getty Images)
He then went on to point out, “It’s not just any member of congress, it’s actually one of our treasured colleagues on the judiciary committee, the gentlelady from Washington, raising money for this very same organization.” Referring to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.
Gaetz then spoke to witness, Angela Underwood Jacobs, who lost her brother when he was shot and killed during protests over the death of George Floyd, while guarding a federal building in Oakland, Calif.
“When you learn that my colleagues in congress are raising money for an organization that promotes defunding the police, destroying our borders, defunding our military and taking apart the state altogether, how does that make you feel?” Gaetz asked. (RELATED: MATT GAETZ: Why I Stopped Taking PAC Money)
“Actually I find that conduct to be deplorable.” Jacobs said. “We elect officials to represent everyone and the idea to have our communities without protection and safety is wrong. So my response to that would be for people to get out and vote and get the right person in office to ensure that we feel protected,” Jacobs finished.