Sen. Rick Scott to AG Garland: Action Must Be Taken Against Antisemitic Protests on our College Campuses

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, following the ongoing antisemitic attacks against Jewish students, and pro-Hamas protests at college campuses across the country, Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland urging an investigation and prosecution against the unlawful, violent and left-wing-funded organizations behind these protests. Senator Scott is calling out AG Garland for refusing to take action against organizations that are politically aligned with the Biden administration, while Garland has not hesitated to target parents, pro-life advocates, and devout Catholics practicing their faith-an obvious display of a two-tiered justice system.

Senator Scott has been adamant about protecting students at American colleges and universities who continue to be threatened by terrorist sympathizers calling for the eradication of Jewish people and the destruction of Israel. Senator Scott is fighting to pass his and Senator Tim Scott's Stop Antisemitism on College Campuses Act. This bill would rescind federal education funding for colleges and universities that peddle antisemitism or authorize, fund or facilitate events that promote violent antisemitism.

Additionally, Senator Rick Scott joined Senators Bob Casey and Tim Scott to introduce the Antisemitism Awareness Act. The bill will help address antisemitic sentiment and action on college campuses-which has been rising across the nation for years and spiked in the wake of Hamas' terrorist attack on October 7, 2023-by requiring the U.S. Department of Education to consider the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism when enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws. Read more HERE.

Read more regarding every action and statement Sen. Scott has done in support of Israel following the October 7th Iran-backed Hamas terrorist attack: https://www.rickscott.senate.gov/israel.

Read the full letter HERE or below.

Dear Attorney General Garland:

I hope you share my disgust and alarm at the antisemitic, unlawful protests that have exploded on several college campuses across the country in recent days. These well-organized and well-funded mass gatherings of ignorant, hateful bigots have far exceeded the bounds of legitimate expressions of constitutionally protected speech. While unlawfully trespassing upon and occupying large areas of college campuses, the organizers engage in vile incitements to acts of violence against Jewish students and Jewish members of the community that demand your immediate action.

Let me be clear: these paid agitators are not merely voicing criticisms of the State of Israel, its policies, or its ongoing existential defensive war against the Iranian-backed Hamas death cult. They are actively, openly and proudly calling for the immediate extermination of Jewish people in America and worldwide; they are encouraging repeated acts of violence against Jewish civilians, both domestically and abroad; and they are engaging in acts of violence, harassment and intimidation targeted against Jewish students on our college campuses. That unlawful behavior is actionable, and so I am writing to ask what action you are taking to weed out the sources organizing, funding and fomenting this widespread criminality?

The New York Post has recently reported on documented funding streams from far-left nonprofit organizations and groups that are organizing and supporting these violent, illegal gatherings on college campuses. That reporting has also identified at least three individuals who are paid as community-based or campus-based "fellows" of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, which compensates the individuals for activities related to organizing and initiating these unlawful, violent gatherings. The New York Post's reporting identified similar groups with similar funding streams from far-left sources, including Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace and Within Our Lifetime, each of which have been central to the violent demonstration activities erupting on college campuses across the country.

Attorney General Garland, these organizations are not only inciting and supporting repeated criminality that crosses state lines, they are conspiring to violate the civil rights of a religious minority by targeting Jewish students for repeated acts of violence, harassment and intimidation. Have you directed your Office of Civil Rights to investigate and prosecute the leaders of groups like U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, or Within Our Lifetime? Have you coordinated with the U.S. attorneys for the several districts nationwide that are plagued by these unlawful and violent demonstrations targeting Jewish people on college campuses?

As attorney general, you and your agency have not hesitated to target concerned parents of school children speaking out at school board meetings, pro-life advocates, or "radical traditionalist" Catholics devoutly practicing their faith in church. Now that you have the opportunity to actually do the right thing against groups more politically aligned with your administration, I am left to wonder whether you will do anything. It is my sincere hope that you do.

Sincerely,

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