House GOP Leader: 'Rioters and anarchists are not protesters'

'Those who protest have a right and deserve to be heard. Those who loot deserve to have consequences' – House Minority Leader McCarthy

By Nicholas Ballasy

Published: June 4, 2020 5:09pm

Updated: June 5, 2020 4:36pm

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Thursday that looters are not "honoring the legacy" of civil rights leaders or George Floyd and argued that they should be considered criminals rather than protestors.

“It is not honoring the memory of George or the legacy of civil rights from Martin Luther King Jr. to John Lewis," McCarthy said on a conference call with reporters. “His [Floyd’s] family deserves justice. Those who protest have a right and deserve to be heard. Those who loot deserve to have consequences."

McCarthy's comments come as celebrities donate thousands of dollars to organizations such as the Bail Project and the National Lawyers Guild, which are raising money to bail out protestors. Neither organizations responded when Just the News asked whether they are using donations to bail out individuals arrested at protests for looting, vandalism or destruction to property.

"Rioters and anarchists are not protesters. They are criminals. In some cases they have attacked and even killed the very people protecting communities in this time of chaos," McCarthy said. "Over the past several days we have experienced more pain and loss as a nation."

The California Republican mentioned David Dorn, a retired St. Louis Police captain who was killed during the riots in the city, and David Patrick Underwood, a federal law enforcement officer who was shot during the violent protests in Oakland.

“In all, we have lost 11 people since the violence ensued. Countless others have been injured," McCarthy said. "This behavior – and tolerance of this behavior – is an affront to peaceful protest, the men and women exercising their First Amendment rights, and our local first responders that keep the peace in our communities. Violence is not the answer."

McCarthy argued that House Democratic leaders shouldn't write policing legislation first and then schedule a vote under the new remote proxy voting system. He called on the Democratic-led House to come back into session to work on the policing legislation in a bipartisan way.

“I think we could easily find common ground on both sides and we could do it swiftly, but it’s more difficult if you are away,” he said.