[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 536 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 536
Strongly condemning the violent actions of Antifa and recognizing that
it engages in domestic terrorism.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 2, 2019
Mr. Green of Tennessee (for himself and Mr. Walker) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Strongly condemning the violent actions of Antifa and recognizing that
it engages in domestic terrorism.
Whereas the misnomer Antifa is a far-left extremist movement that regularly
advocates for the forcible suppression of opposition and the radical
overthrow of the Government of the United States;
Whereas Antifa threatens freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right
to peaceful protest;
Whereas Antifa regularly attacks journalists and other individuals it confronts;
Whereas Antifa engages in domestic terrorism;
Whereas, in early 2016, the Department of Homeland Security under the President
Obama administration formally labeled Antifa efforts as ``domestic
terrorist violence.'';
Whereas, on January 20, 2017, Chicago Sun-Times reporter Sam Charles was punched
in the chest by an Antifa member while covering protests of the
inauguration of President Trump;
Whereas, on February 1, 2017, in Berkeley, California, roughly 150 masked Antifa
members threw rocks, commercial-grade fireworks, and Molotov cocktails
at campus buildings and police officers, and attacked two Berkeley
College Republicans;
Whereas, on June 10, 2017, Alpha News reporter Preya Samsundar was physically
attacked by an Antifa member while livestreaming a rally outside the
Minnesota State Capitol building;
Whereas, on August 13, 2017, a reporter from North Carolina TV station WLOS was
assaulted by an Antifa member while livestreaming a demonstration in
Asheville;
Whereas, on August 15, 2017, a CBS 6 photojournalist was assaulted in the back
of the head with a blunt object by an Antifa member while filming a
march in Richmond, Virginia;
Whereas, on August 26, 2017, independent journalist Nathan Stolpman was attacked
while filming a protest in San Francisco, California;
Whereas, on August 27, 2017, independent journalist Dave Minsky was hit, kicked,
and beaten with a pipe by masked Antifa members while covering a protest
in Berkeley, California;
Whereas, on August 27, 2017, an Antifa member started an altercation with Leigh
Martinez, a freelance reporter for KTVU, and knocked her phone out of
her hand by hitting her wrist while she was filming in Berkeley;
Whereas, on August 27, 2017, freelance reporter Thom Jensen had his phone stolen
and dunked in water while covering an Antifa demonstration in Berkeley;
Whereas, on August 27, 2017, reporter Mike Kessler was covering the Antifa
demonstration in Berkeley when Antifa members stole his phone and
destroyed his camera;
Whereas, on August 27, 2017, in Berkeley, an Antifa member ordered Nathan Hope,
a freelance production assistant, to stop filming and knocked his camera
out of his hand;
Whereas, on December 18, 2018, documents showed that the Federal Bureau of
Investigation was probing an Antifa plot to buy guns from a Mexican
cartel and stage an armed rebellion at the southern border;
Whereas, on May 1, 2019, independent journalist Andy Ngo was sprayed with bear
repellent and assaulted during an Antifa protest in Portland, Oregon;
Whereas, on July 6, 2019, Antifa members clashed with police while attempting to
disrupt a rally in the District of Columbia;
Whereas, on June 29, 2019, Andy Ngo was again attacked during an Antifa protest
he was covering in Portland, slammed on the back of the head, punched,
and kicked by about a dozen masked Antifa members, and given a brain
hemorrhage;
Whereas, on July 13, 2019, an Antifa member armed with a rifle threw incendiary
devices at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Washington
State;
Whereas in his final statement, this Antifa member stated that for his upcoming
attack, ``The semi-automatic weapon I used was a cheap, home-built
unregistered `ghost' AR-15, it had six magazines. I strongly encourage
comrades and incoming comrades to arm themselves. We are now responsible
for defending people from the predatory state. Ignore the law in arming
yourself if you have the luxury, I did.'';
Whereas in The Antifascist Handbook, Mark Bray writes ``You fight them by
writing letters and making phone calls so you don't have to fight them
with fists. You fight them with fists so you don't have to fight them
with knives. You fight them with knives so you don't have to fight them
with guns. You fight them with guns so you don't have to fight them with
tanks.''; and
Whereas violence by a political movement should not be tolerated by the United
States of America or any peaceful civil society: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) strongly condemns the violent actions of Antifa;
(2) recognizes that Antifa engages in domestic terrorism;
and
(3) urges the President and the President's Cabinet to use
all available resources to address the threats posed by this
extremist movement.
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