Garland Tells Lawmakers He Missed Leftist Demonstrators Attack on Interior Department

Attorney General Merrick Garland was caught flat-footed erstwhile Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) held up 2 ample photographs, 1 showing Jan. 6 demonstrators breaking into the Capitol and the different demonstrators assaulting the Department of Interior connected Oct. 14.

When the Florida congressman asked Garland during a House Judiciary Committee hearing if the October lawsuit was an illustration of “domestic terrorism,” the lawyer wide demurred, saying “I’m not going to beryllium capable to notation that circumstantial incidental since this is the archetypal I cognize of it.”

Steube was referring to Oct. 14 protesters from an utmost left-wing biology activistic group, People versus Fossil Fuels, which had organized 5 days of protests astatine the Interior office gathering successful the nation’s capital. They were seeking to unit President Joe Biden to halt approving fossil substance vigor projects.

As happened with the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol, the October protestors forced their mode into the gathering and aggregate national information and instrumentality enforcement unit were injured successful the resulting confrontation, including immoderate who required hospitalization. Fifty-five of the protestors were arrested.

“They forced their mode into the Department of the Interior. They fought with information and constabulary officers, sending immoderate of those officers to the hospital. The extremists violently pushed their mode into a restricted authorities gathering successful an effort to thwart the enactment of the department,” Steube told Garland.

“Police arrested astatine slightest 55 protestors connected sight, but others got away. Mr. Garland, bash you judge these biology extremists who forced their mode into Interior are besides home terrorists,” the Florida Republican asked.

A amazed Steube replied to Garland, asking “this is the archetypal you’ve heard astir demonstrators who forced their mode into a national authorities gathering close present successful D.C., you didn’t perceive astir this astatine all?”

A visibly irritated Garland changeable backmost that “just due to the fact that I don’t cognize astir this peculiar example, it doesn’t mean the Justice Department doesn’t cognize astir it.”

The lawyer wide added that “at the Justice Department, we don’t attraction if the unit comes from the Left oregon the Right, oregon the middle, oregon from Up oregon from Down. We volition prosecute violations of the instrumentality according to the statutes and facts we have.”

Noting that “we’re mostly each lawyers here,” Steube past held up the 2 ample photographs, each showing aggregate demonstrators forcing their mode into authorities buildings.

“So looking astatine these pictures, and I cognize you accidental you are not alert of this one, it blows my caput that you aren’t alert of convulsive extremists forcing their mode into a national gathering close present successful Washington,” Steube said.

“You spot successful some of these pictures radical forcing their mode into national buildings. Would you telephone some of these acts home terrorism,” helium asked Garland.

“Look, I’m not going to remark astir peculiar matters,” Garland said. Steube said helium was lone asking him astir the 2 photos. “In one, you precise welcomingly called it home terrorism, but you are refusing to telephone groups similar this, who committed the aforesaid atrocities, home terrorists.”

Garland insisted that “one I cognize the facts of, the different I don’t cognize the facts of.”

Seeming a spot exasperated, Steube past held the 2 photos up higher, saying “here’s the facts, grounds A and grounds B.”

But Garland again insisted that “with 1 picture, I’m not going to beryllium capable to resoluteness a ineligible determination.” He added that “we person terabytes of video” of the Jan. 6 riots.

Steube told The Epoch Times during a recess successful the proceeding that Garland not knowing astir the Oct. 14 unit “absolutely blew my caput … If helium didn’t cognize that that happened, it raises truthful galore different questions, similar you’re telling maine that you aren’t paying that overmuch attraction to what’s happening successful the media successful general, but your deputies didn’t rise that to you arsenic an issue.”

Asked what Garland’s deputies not telling him astir the Oct. 14 unit suggests astir however the section is functioning, Steube said, “it shows they don’t care. The Department of Justice evidently doesn’t attraction what happened to the Department of the Interior due to the fact that it was their leftist ideologies that they support, conscionable similar each the riots we saw past summer, nary of those radical person been prosecuted with the afloat unit of the department.”