Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy grilled FBI Director Christopher Wray Wednesday over the bureau’s raid of pro-life activist Mark Houck.
“How on earth did Mark Houck end up having the FBI send several armed agents along with local authorities to arrest him at gun point?” Roy asked Wray in the House Judiciary Hearing Wednesday. “Did you approve of that?” (RELATED: Gaetz Caps Off Grilling Of FBI Director With Last-Second Zinger.)
Wray denied any involvement in clearing the raid and deferred to agents on the ground.
“I defer to and rely on the judgement of the experienced career agents on the ground who have both the most intimate understanding of the facts and have the training experience to decide how best to effectuate an arrest,” Wray responded.
When asked by Roy about the appropriateness of the raid and its forcefulness, Wray refused to cast judgement, saying he is “not going to second guess the judgement of the career agents on the ground who made the determination.”
Houck is a pro-life advocate who was accused, indicted and eventually acquitted of an altercation with an abortion clinic volunteer in 2021.
FBI personnel appeared at his home in September 2022 and arrested Houck. Houck’s wife alleges the agents pointed their guns at the two parents and children during the encounter. A jury in January found Houck not guilty of the charges alleged against him.
Roy accused Wray of abdicating his duty to review FBI conduct and protect the American people against a “tyrannical FBI.”
.@chiproytx: “Your job is to protect the American people from a tyrannical FBI storming the home of an American family!”
WRAY: “I could not disagree more with your description of the FBI as tyrannical.”
ROY: “You don’t believe it’s tyrannical that FBI agents were a part of… pic.twitter.com/VCt4GEogPd
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 12, 2023
Wray denied the allegation of the FBI acting tyrannically. Further debate on the subject was ended by the Chairman of the Committee Rep. Jim Jordan.
You can watch the full hearing, here.