Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) said Washington, D.C., is about “two to three” times more dangerous than his border district in south Texas after he was carjacked on Monday.
Cuellar appeared on Fox News on Tuesday evening and gave his grim assessment of violent crime in the nation’s capital. Cuellar was the victim of an armed carjacking in which he lost his vehicle, phone, iPad, and sushi dinner. Cuellar was left unharmed and his car and items, minus the sushi, were later recovered by the police.
“I’ve always said when I talk about the border, that there is an immigration crisis there. But I would say that when you look at the numbers of murders, rape, assaults at the border — let’s say in Laredo, Texas — I’ve always said that Washington is about two or three times more dangerous, and we certainly see it now,” Cuellar said during an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters.
Cuellar went on to detail his support for law enforcement. When asked about attacks on law enforcement from members of the Democratic Party, Cuellar said he could speak for himself.
“I think a lot of Democrats do [support law enforcement]. I think there are some that have a different opinion. I can speak about myself: I don’t believe in defunding the police,” he said. “I voted against what the Washington, D.C., Council did to lower penalties. I think that’s a wrong direction. I was one of 30 Democrats that we don’t feel that you affect crime by lowering the penalties. You ought to increase the penalty.”
The Texas Democrat also joked about his harrowing experience, saying that what really made him “pissed off” was the fact that they stole his dinner. He also noted that he has a black belt in karate, but decided to take the “calm” way out and let the “punks” have the car.
“There were three individuals. I looked to the left, there was somebody with a gun pointed at me. I looked to the right, there was somebody there. There was a third person behind me. I do have a black belt in karate, but I quickly assessed the situation. You got to stay calm because it looked like three young individuals, and I decided to say, just take the car. We were able to track the car and my phone and within an hour and a half, they got everything back,” Cuellar said.
EXCLUSIVE: Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar was just held up at gunpoint in DC and he's upset they took his sushi. He tells Primetime about the carjacking and where Democrats stand on crime. pic.twitter.com/24FXWYRJOL
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) October 4, 2023
No arrests have yet been made in connection with the incident.