Sen. Tom Cotton doubles down on comments urging people to 'forcibly remove' protesters blocking traffic
By: NBC News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Sen. Tom Cotton on Tuesday doubled down on comments urging people delayed by traffic stemming from pro-Palestine demonstrations to "forcibly remove" some protesters who are blocking streets.
"Absolutely, I support people, if they're blocked by traffic, by pro-Hamas vigilantes in the street, they should get out of their cars, they should move them to the side of the road, and they should let traffic continue," Cotton, R-Ark., told NBC News on Tuesday.
When asked whether he was calling for violence against protesters, Cotton said he wasn't.
"I'm saying that if people are trying to get to work or pick up their kids from school or take a sick kid to the doctor, and you have pro-Hamas vigilantes blocking the streets, they should get out and move those people off the streets," Cotton said. "The police will get there eventually. But a lot of damage will be done in the meantime."
A day earlier, Cotton had urged people delayed by traffic stemming from pro-Palestine demonstrations to "take matters into [their] own hands."
"I encourage people who get stuck behind the pro-Hamas mobs blocking traffic: take matters into your own hands to get them out of the way. It's time to put an end to this nonsense," Cotton wrote on X on Monday night.
The Arkansas Republican also referred to the demonstrators blocking the Golden Gate bridge as "criminals" during a Fox News interview on Monday and suggested that they would have been treated differently had the protest happened his home state.
"If something like this happened in Arkansas, on a bridge there, let's just say I think there'd be a lot of very wet criminals that have been tossed overboard — not by law enforcement, but by the people whose road they're blocking," Cotton said.
"And if they glued their hands to a car or the pavement, well, it'd probably be pretty painful to have their skin ripped off, but I think that's the way we'd handle in Arkansas," he added.
The comments came after protests over the war in Gaza closed down San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge for roughly five hours earlier in the day. A total of 26 people were arrested and several people were charged with conspiracy because of the coordinated protest, according to NBC Bay Area.
"You can protest any which way you want. But it is unlawful to block a roadway and to prevent people from getting to work, emergency personnel from getting to help people. You can't do it," said California Highway Patrol Chief Don Goodbrand.
Demonstrations were also held in other cities nationwide, such as Chicago and New York City.
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Cotton is clearly calling for vigilante violence.
Did the idiot make any attempt to "forcibly remove" the insurrectionists who invaded the Capitol on January 6th?
He is a complete waste of space.
No...he's not calling for violence against these aggressive demonstrators. Leftist agitators have no idea how to wind hearts and minds to their various causes. It is they who are being violent It's against the law to block streets and highways. If the police have been told to stand down, then civilians have to restore order. If this worthless Hamas supporting trash wants to inconvenience people, then they deserve to be dragged off the road.[✘]
That is exactly what he is doing.
These self-righteous scum are not being treated violently[✘]
Your links refer to police actions. Cotton said that civilians should "forcibly remove" protestors. What do you think that means?
By the way, there is no excuse whatsoever for what the jerks are doing. I hate it, but it should be handled properly and political leaders should not be calling for vigilante violence.
boy, everybody is out to ruin my fun when the orange menace calls up the maga-turd army after his loss on 11/5...
Protestors who adopt tactics that include blocking access to buildings or march or block streets without a permit are breaking the law and should be dispensed or arrested
They know they are breaking the law and they also know the risks of arrest, jail time, fines and record of civil disobedience. That in no way means non-law enforcement should forcibly engage with them, or anyone run them over.
tell me about it....
His statement about getting "wet" shows you exactly how much time he actually spends in Arkansas. We have a few bridges that cross the Arkansas River between Little Rock and North Little Rock but most traffic is on over passes....not so much wet as bloody
gee, I hope he doesn't get too close to a burning cross while wearing a flammable walmart sheet...
>poof<
it's an election year and he needs to jump start the goobers. plus that appearance money from FOX will pay for the family vacation this summer...
Along with the majority of the gop today
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So, you support vigilante violence. You must also support civilians forcibly removing anti-choice protestors blocking entrances to abortion clinics.
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As we would expect, right wing propagandists are expressing their support for exacerbating anarchy and mayhem in America.
It seems that you are supporting an unlawful protest tactic that may result in more mayhem.
Your comment is idiotic. I don't support any unlawful protest tactics. I just object to vigilantism. Apparently, you don't.
Always the defenders of the indefensible
Why do you think that?
... the party with the most mental defectives. the same people whining that the J6 insurrectionists were treated too harshly...
J6 protesters have been arrested and sentenced. Are you advocating that these protesters that block roads be arrested and sentenced or are you just blowing smoke?
I am. Without question they should be arrested and sentenced.
We agree.
are blocking roads the same as obstructing the constitutionally mandated election certification for a peaceful transfer of power now?
Now the sc is talking about reducing the sentences of some of these traitors.
yes
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No they are different things but both are illegal.
I'm not crazy about blocking roads, but encouraging vigilante justice could easily lead to rioting. He should know better than that.
Blocking roads is unacceptable, but it should be dealt with through the proper authorities, not by vigilantes.
Agreed.
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I don't know but am guessing this would end badly for anyone attempting to do so. Firstly you would probably be outnumbered by the protesters and get the crap kicked out of you and secondly for your efforts be arrested for assault (or worse). Leave it to the authorities that's why they get paid
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tom cotton is an example of goober inbreeding.
Exactly, he probably got into Harvard and Harvard Law school as a legacy or some weird quota for razorbacks.
like the former 'president' and the majority of today's gop and magats
awarded a bronze star for shuffling paperwork in the rear...
After obtaining a law degree from Harvard and clerking for an Appellate, Tom Cotton enlisted in the Army.
He entered got his commission through Officer Candidate School. He attended Airborne and Ranger School as an Infantry Officer.
Cotton deployed to Iraq as an Inf Platoon Leader in the 101st Airborne Division where he planned and led combat patrols.
In Iraq, he led a 41-man air assault infantry platoon in the 506th Infantry Regiment, and planned and performed daily combat patrols.[11]
Several years later, he deployed to Afghanistan and worked with Afghanis at a forward operating base providing training, advice and assistance. He also served there as the Ops Officer of a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT that conducted counter-insurgency and reconstruction operations.
skip to the part about how he got his medal. I watched my uncle get his silver star and battlefield promotion recognition at ft benning in 1970 and his superior went into great detail about how each was earned...
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I don't see anything in the seed about his Bronze Star. As to how he got it, his chain of command nominated him.
I'm sure you felt very proud.
that wasn't what made him famous within the army, that came later in the 80's.
What are you struggling to say?
I do not call for vigilante actions but I'm kind of surprised it hasn't already happened on a grand scale. Given the extreme divide in this country coupled with the propensity for people today to resort to some sort of extreme actions, I would expect that we're not all that far away from a news story of someone going "Rambo" on such a protest.
I hope it never happens but I am expecting it.
Yesterday's SCOTUS action to not hear Mckesson v. Doe might make things less interesting. At least in the jurisdiction of the Fifth Circuit Court where now, organizers can be held responsible for any illegal action that takes place during a protest event.
By the 'right' - most definitely - the former 'president' has been inciting his maga cult for almost four years now
inciting blood baths galore
he's going to amp them up to make stupid emotional decisions that will affect the remainder of their pathetic lives. bummer. sucks being a maga moron...
fun to watch though...