Free speech is no license for the violence and destruction at Union Station

Anyone who had the misfortune of arriving at our nation’s capital via Union Station last Wednesday was greeted with a screaming mob, police barricades and flags flying high overhead. Not American flags, mind you. Those were in flames on the ground. Rioters had ripped down and replaced the American flag with Palestinian flags, and were chanting “from the river to the sea” and “Allahu Akbar,” and ominously graffitied “Hamas is coming” on federal land. 

Welcome to America. 

I watched in horror as “Iran’s useful idiots” turned a historic landmark within eyeshot of the Capitol into a scene that looked more like war-torn Syria. This violent event is a national disgrace and I intend to hold the perpetrators accountable.

The afternoon began with a stark contrast. Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu shared the remarkable stories of hostages who had survived the brutal kidnappings by Hamas last October and the soldiers who bravely defended their homeland. Meanwhile, Hamas sympathizers clashed with U.S. Capitol Police, waving Palestinian and Hamas flags.

The mob then marched on Union Station and Columbus Circle, where they assaulted U.S. Park Police officers by throwing them on hot pavement, hurling what appeared to be human feces, destroying government property, burning an effigy of Netanyahu, desecrating the American flag and raising a foreign flag on Old Glory’s pole.  

While U.S. Capitol Police had reinforced their security throughout the week in preparation for violence, the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service failed to provide critical support for the Park Police, despite knowing well in advance that protests were expected. Capitol Police support included additional law enforcement units sworn in as Capitol Police Special Officers, to enhance their presence throughout the region. The Park Police were left to fend for themselves.  

These officers worked overtime for days on end to support the prime minister’s visit to our nation’s capital. They are risking their lives to work with the Secret Service in protecting officials and de-escalating tensions at large protest sites across the city. The Interior Department and the Park Service’s refusal to provide adequate support for their own officers is inexcusable.  

The National Park Service signed off on a permit for a group to hold a protest that was actively advocating for violence against Prime Minister Netanyahu while simultaneously failing to provide adequate security, as required by the permit. The group that had organized the protest, ANSWER Coalition, has known ties to Chinese Communist Party entities that funnel funds for anti-American and far-left activities in the U.S. This is no protest, this is domestic terrorism. 

Last Wednesday night, I joined other Republican members to return the American flag to its rightful place. We surveyed the appalling damage and were reminded that the liberties we enjoy here in the U.S. are worthy of our defense but must never be taken for granted. As former President Ronald Reagan famously said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the U.S. where men were free.”  

I will always support Americans’ right to peacefully protest and express their beliefs. But I will not stand idly by when that freedom of expression turns into violence, pro-terrorist rhetoric, desecration of our public lands, and open contempt for the country in which you live.  

Bruce Westerman is chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources.