Name: Barr: DOJ has 500 investigations into rioters and destruction of statues
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Barr: DOJ has 500 investigations into rioters and destruction of statues

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Attorney General William Barr said the Justice Department had "scores of indictments" filed against people who committed violence during a wave of protests across the country.During Thursday's episode of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's podcast, Verdict, which is co-hosted by conservative commentator Michael Knowles, Barr said his agency was using 35 joint terrorist task forces across the country to investigate criminal activity, which has taken place since the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man."When the real violence started around May 25, 26, and so forth, we started using our joint terrorist task forces around the country. And there are 35 of them around the country," Barr said."And now they are starting to go full bore, cranking out investigations, indictments against the people who are involved in this violence. So we've had scores of indictments already for such things as arson, destruction of federal property, things like that. And we have, right now, about 500 investigations underway," he added.Barr told Cruz and Knowles that groups of "provocateurs and agitators" appeared to be well-coordinated and often call upon anarchist groups to carry out violent criminal activity."They want to tear down the country. They are different than many traditional groups, and frequently, the signs of coordination and activity are very close to the event itself," the attorney general said. "So like the morning of or the day before, and things are very fast-moving. But we definitely see signs out on the street of communication, of organization, of preplanning, prepositioning of things. So it's definitely organized activity.”Barr, Cruz, and Knowles speculated that demonstrators had no understanding about the background of historical figures whose monuments they'd like to tear down. "Old guy with a beard, he's gotta be bad," Cruz said."They're going after Saint Junipero Serra!" Knowles quipped earlier. "And Cervantes!" Cruz added.Barr in late May that it appeared that "anarchic" and "far-left extremist groups" were responsible for the growing violence and riots that occurred simultaneously with protests following Floyd's death. Barr that the violence being “instigated and carried out” by "antifa and other similar groups" in connection to nationwide protesting is “domestic terrorism and will be treated accordingly.”This month, Barr referred to a of extremist groups involved in the protests. Among the people recently are alleged members of the right-wing extremist .Since then, activists have claimed that Confederate statues, which pay tribute to Confederate leaders such as Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, ought to be torn down. Demonstrators, however, have also attempted to tear down or petition local governments to decommission statues of historical figures such as former Presidents , , and .During a Wednesday press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda in the Rose Garden, President Trump said he wouldn't tolerate the destruction of statues depicting Jesus Christ, the Founding Fathers, and others as long as he was in office."I think many of the people that are knocking down these statues don't even have any idea what the statue is, what it means, who it is," Trump said. "Now, they're looking at Jesus Christ. They're looking at George Washington. They're looking at Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson. Not gonna happen. Not gonna happen. Not as long as I'm here."On Tuesday, Trump to arrest those who vandalized or destroyed statues and that those guilty would face up to 10 years in prison."I have authorized the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue or other such Federal property in the U.S. with up to 10 years in prison, per the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act, or such other laws that may be pertinent," Trump said in a Twitter thread."This action is taken effective immediately, but may also be used retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused," he added. "There will be no exceptions!"

Attorney General William Barr said the Justice Department had "scores of indictments" filed against people who committed violence during a wave of protests across the country.During Thursday's episode of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's podcast, Verdict, which is co-hosted by conservative commentator Michael Knowles, Barr said his agency was using 35 joint terrorist task forces across the country to investigate criminal activity, which has taken place since the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man."When the real violence started around May 25, 26, and so forth, we started using...

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Anthony Leonardi

The Washington Examiner is an American conservative news website and weekly magazine based in Washington, D.C. It is owned by MediaDC, a subsidiary of Clarity Media Group, which is owned by Philip Anschutz. From 2005 to mid-2013, the Examiner published a daily tabloid-sized newspaper, distributed throughout the Washington, D.C., metro area. The newspaper focused on local news and political commentary. The local newspaper ceased publication on June 14, 2013, whereupon its content began to focus almost exclusively on national politics, switching its print edition from a daily newspaper to a weekly magazine format.

Barr: DOJ has 500 investigations into rioters and destruction of statues

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