A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that mob violence should be condemned.

III 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. RES. 645 Expressing the sense of the Senate that mob violence should be condemned. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 2, 2020 Mr. LEE (for himself, Mr. BRAUN, and Mr. JOHNSON) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Senate that mob violence should be condemned. Whereas the United States of America was founded in 1776 on universal principles of freedom, justice, and human equality; Whereas throughout our nation’s history, Americans have struggled to realize those ideals, falling short, as imper- fect human beings always do, but nonetheless making greater progress toward them than any nation on earth; Whereas the United States is today, as ever, an ethnically, racially, religiously, and culturally diverse nation, morally committed to cultivating respect, friendship, and justice across all such differences, and protecting the God-given equal rights of all Americans under the law; VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR645.IS SR645 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 645 IS Whereas America’s law enforcement officers do an extremely difficult job extremely well, and despite the inexcusable misconduct of some, the overwhelming majority of such officers are honest, courageous, patriotic, and rightfully honored public servants; Whereas in recent weeks, people across the United States have organized legitimate, peaceful, constitutionally pro- tected demonstrations against instances of police bru- tality and racial inequality, serious problems meriting in- vestigation and reform; Whereas some Americans, unsatisfied with peaceful and posi- tive demonstrations, have instigated and indulged in mob violence and criminal property destruction, not in service of any just or coherent cause, but simply as an arrogant, bullying tantrum of self-righteous illiberalism and rage; and Whereas these mobs have demonstrated not only contempt for public safety (as evidenced, among other crimes, by an unprovoked physical assault on a Wisconsin State Senator and the shooting of a motorist in Provo, Utah) and common decency (as evidenced by their routine har- assment and obscene berating of law enforcement officers standing their posts to protect their communities), but also their manifest ignorance and historical illiteracy (as evidenced by their destruction of public memorials to his- torical heroes like Ulysses S. Grant, St. Junipero Serra, Miguel Cervantes, George Washington, Hans Christian Heg, and a reported plan to target a statue of Abraham Lincoln financed in 1876 entirely by private donations from freed African-American slaves): Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 1 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR645.IS SR645 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 645 IS (1) the rising tide of vandalism, mob violence, 1 and the mob mentality that feeds it—including its 2 cruel and intolerant ‘‘cancel culture’’—should be 3 condemned by all Americans; 4 (2) peaceful demonstrations and mob violence 5 are different in kind; 6 (3) physical assault and property destruction 7 are not forms of political speech but violent crimes 8 whose perpetrators should be prosecuted to the full 9 extent of the law; and 10 (4) the innocent law enforcement officers, pub- 11 lic officials, and private citizens who suffer the 12 mob’s violence and endure its scorn while protecting 13 our communities from them deserve the thanks and 14 appreciation of every American. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Jul 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR645.IS SR645 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS