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FIRST ON FRESH: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is probing the National Park Service (NPS) over how the July 24 pro-Hamas protest in Washington, D.C., was allowed to occur.
Despite advance discover and a big allow issued to the left-wing anti-Israel group ANSWER Coalition, NPS deployed solely 29 officers, leaving them vastly outnumbered by the gang. In distinction, Amtrak Police, which is liable for safety at Union Station, considerably elevated their presence and efficiently managed the realm, Cruz stated in a letter despatched to NPS on Friday.
Cruz’s letter additional criticizes NPS for failing to coordinate with different companies, underestimating the protest’s scale and for not requesting further help. He’s additionally in search of detailed solutions about NPS’s preparation, coordination efforts and future plans to forestall future pro-Hamas demonstrations within the nation’s capital.
ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS STAGE MASSIVE PROTEST IN WASHINGTON, DC, AMID NETANYAHU’S US VISIT
An individual spray-paints the bottom of the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain throughout an anti-Israel protest close to the U.S. Capitol as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint assembly of Congress on July 24, 2024. (Andrew Thomas/AFP through Getty Images)
“This should have never been allowed to happen,” Cruz wrote in his letter, first obtained by Fox News Digital. “The National Park Service (NPS) had advance notice of the large anti-Israel protests, timed to coincide with [Israeli] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, and ample time to prepare.”
Additionally, Cruz is in search of info on the intelligence NPS had concerning the protest, together with particulars in regards to the ANSWER Coalition’s actions and the steps taken by NPS to organize for the protest and potential rioting at Columbus Circle, together with the variety of officers deployed, any body-camera footage from U.S. Park Police officers who responded to the riot, and any NPS after-action stories or related paperwork and details about how NPS coordinated with native companies previous to the protest.
‘CHICKENS FOR KFC’: NETANYAHU RIPS CEASE-FIRE ACTIVISTS IN SPEECH TO CONGRESS AS TLAIB SILENTLY PROTESTS
Sen. Ted Cruz (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call through Getty Images/File)
Cruz stated NPS left its U.S. Park Police “hopelessly outnumbered.”
“The insufficient resources deployed by NPS, despite advance notice of the massive protest and the propensity of pro-Hamas demonstrations to turn violent, was negligent,” Cruz wrote. “Even with every USPP officer in the D.C. area deployed, the many other demands on that force left far too few USPP officers available for a major protest that could turn violent, and the Park Police union is not aware of any effort to get additional officers.”
On July 24, anti-Israel agitators descended on Washington, D.C., to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handle to Congress. Several monuments and historic websites have been defaced and broken. They have been seen lighting American flags on fireplace, scrawling graffiti outdoors Union Station and chanting “Allahu Akbar.”
ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS BURN AMERICAN FLAGS, ACCUSE NETANYAHU OF BEING ‘WAR CRIMINAL’ AS HE ADDRESSES CONGRESS
Activists cheer as they burn flags and a puppet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu throughout an anti-Israel protest close to the U.S. Capitol on July 24, 2024. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Agitators at Union Station, which is positioned close to the U.S. Capitol, burned an American flag and vandalized a statue with the phrases “Hamas is coming.” They additionally eliminated American flags and changed them with Palestinian flags as an alternative.
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A demonstrator sprays graffiti on the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain at Union Station in Washington, D.C., on July 24, 2024. (REUTERS/Nathan Howard)
Netanyahu delivered an handle to Congress final month amid his nation’s conflict towards Hamas, which has raged since Oct. 7. Amid his remarks, Netanyahu tore into cease-fire demonstrations which have performed out throughout the U.S. for the reason that conflict started.
Fox News Digital has reached out to NPS for remark.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
