Letter to Secretary Chad Wolf, Secretary of Department of Homeland Security - Peters & Johnson Call for Briefing on Role of Violent Opportunists in Exploiting Peaceful Protests

Letter

Dear Acting Secretary Wolf,
Over the past few days, we have witnessed widespread protests across the country. The vast
majority of protestors are exercising their First Amendment rights to protest systemic injustice
and demand change. Unfortunately, a small number of violent actors--reportedly anarchists and
other violent opportunists--have taken advantage of the moment to commit violence and destroy
property.
1
There are also reports of others using social media platforms to incite distrust and
violence, including anti-government agitators, white supremacists, and foreign adversaries,
primarily Russia and China.
2 The Department also warned that other extremists may seek to
exploit these protests for their own violent ends.3
Defending the security of the homeland must include protecting the rights of all Americans,
including the right to protest peacefully, from enemies both foreign and domestic. That includes
being able to separate out those who commit violence and should be prosecuted from those who
exercise their rights and should be respected.
So that the Committee may better understand efforts by domestic extremists and foreign
adversaries to exploit a legitimate protest movement to sow division and incite violence, please
brief the Committee by June 10, 2020. We appreciate your attention to this important matter.

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