Politics
JUST IN: Hawley Launches Investigation Into LA Riot Funding: ‘This Violence Isn’t Spontaneous’
Calls to investigate funding behind the Los Angeles riots reached the U.S. Senate on Wednesday when Josh Hawley (R-MO) became the first Republican to call for an investigation publicly.
For days, news out of L.A. has shown rioters donning expensive face shields, earplugs, and other protective gear in anticipation of clashes with cops and immigration officers, all stemming from a weekend immigration raid by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Even establishment media figures in the City of Angels have denounced the distribution of such gear, which hides the faces of protestors while protecting them from less-lethal crowd control tactics being used by the National Guard and Marines.
It all caught the attention of Hawley, who on Wednesday released a letter announcing that he will lead an investigation into the violence as head of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime & Terrorism.
“Who is funding the LA riots? This violence isn’t spontaneous,” he wrote on social media.
In the letter, Hawley writes to the executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, a special interest group that received funding from the Biden administration and has been linked to some of the protests. Critics have claimed that its participants were present during several of the demonstrations that turned violent.
“I write in my capacity as Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism regarding your organization’s alleged role in financing and materially supporting the coordinated protests and riots that have engulfed Los Angeles in recent weeks,” Hawley writes to Angélica Salas.
“While peaceful protest is a cornerstone of American democracy, these demonstrations have escalated into lawless mob actions. They have obstructed federal law enforcement, endangered public safety, and disrupted the rule of law. This lawlessness is unacceptable. It must end,” the letter states.
Hawley’s subcommittee, which carries subpoena powers, is demanding that Salas provide all recorded communication about protest planning in the days leading up to the riots, as well as any financial documents related to the purchasing of equipment.
Grant applications, travel lodging records, donor lists, and strategic media documents are also being sought.
“Failure to comply will result in additional action by this Subcommittee, including potential referral for criminal investigation,” Hawley concludes.
Biden-era grants from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security show that the group received at least $34 million in taxpayer funding for pro-immigrant organizational efforts around L.A., some of which have been applied to protesting ICE’s arrest of at least 150 illegal immigrants over the weekend.
A “rapid response network” maintained by CHIRLA is believed to be behind some of the activities that later turned violent.
On Tuesday, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino revealed the first name of one of the violent rioters who is accused of throwing cinderblocks at immigration officers during their raid. Bongino called on the Compton, CA resident to turn himself in before he is located and arrested.
“Turn yourself in. It’s only a matter of time,” he wrote online. “I promise.”
More than 1,000 rioters have taken to the streets since Saturday, clashing with cops and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in violent confrontations caught on video. On Tuesday morning, one individual was found dead at the site of riots where a T-Mobile store was vandalized and ransacked.
