AG Barr Calls Portland, Seattle, And New York City ‘Anarchist Jurisdictions’
Michael Cantrell
|
Attorney General William Barr has come out and identified the cities of New York, Seattle, and Portland as “anarchist jurisdictions,” because these liberal havens have “permitted violence and destruction of property to persist” after President Trump signed an executive order to limit federal funds to any city that is labeled as one of these jurisdictions.
The announcement was made by the Department of Justice on Monday morning, noting these three cities “have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities” in the months that have followed the death of George Floyd, an act that sparked violent riots, looting, and chaos across the country.
Liberal leadership has done absolutely nothing to stop the madness, giving Black Lives Matter radicals and left-wing terrorists in Antifa to wreak havoc on their city streets.
via Washington Examiner:
“When state and local leaders impede their own law enforcement officers and agencies from doing their jobs, it endangers innocent citizens who deserve to be protected, including those who are trying to peacefully assemble and protest,” Barr said Monday. “We cannot allow federal tax dollars to be wasted when the safety of the citizenry hangs in the balance. It is my hope that the cities identified by the Department of Justice today will reverse course and become serious about performing the basic function of government and start protecting their own citizens.”
Trump’s early September memorandum stated that “it is the policy and purpose of the United States Government to protect the lives and property of all people in the United States from unlawful acts of violence and destruction” and that “without law and order, democracy cannot function.” The president said that “anarchy has recently beset some of our States and cities” and claimed that “for the past few months, several State and local governments have contributed to the violence and destruction in their jurisdictions by failing to enforce the law, disempowering and significantly defunding their police departments, and refusing to accept offers of Federal law enforcement assistance.” He named New York City, Seattle, and Portland in particular.
“The Federal Government provides States and localities with hundreds of billions of dollars every year, which fund a wide array of programs, such as housing, public transportation, job training, and social services. These funds have been collected from American taxpayers who entrusted their money to the Federal Government to serve our communities and our citizens,” Trump wrote. “My Administration will not allow Federal tax dollars to fund cities that allow themselves to deteriorate into lawless zones. To ensure that Federal funds are neither unduly wasted nor spent in a manner that directly violates our Government’s promise to protect life, liberty, and property, it is imperative that the Federal Government review the use of Federal funds by jurisdictions that permit anarchy, violence, and destruction in America’s cities.”
As you can probably imagine, leaders in these cities and states are not at all pleased with Trump’s executive order. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo angrily replied to the order by saying it was an attempt by the president to “kill New York City.”
That’s ironic coming from the same guy who literally made poor decisions that killed thousands upon thousands of New York residents during the heaviest parts of the coronavirus pandemic. Perhaps this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black?
Regardless, the madness in the streets of these cities has gone on long enough. Time to put an end to it. If these mayors and governors won’t just do the right thing because it is their duty to do so, perhaps this order and the designation they’ve been given will provide further incentive to take action?
Share: