Leftists assaulted a police officer that was protecting Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Thursday night as the senator left the White House.
Paul, who was accosted during the incident, later released a statement saying that he had been “attacked.” Multiple videos were posted to social media of the incident, which happened after the fourth and final night of the Republican National Convention.
WATCH:
BLM attacking @RandPaul & his wife. Every elected Democrat must condemn this thuggery. These are their radical supporters.
pic.twitter.com/vn37lB6FMc— Rita Panahi (@RitaPanahi) August 28, 2020
D.C. police officers had to escort @RandPaul to the Hotel Washington as dozens of demonstrators followed and jeered him. At least one person is being treated by protest medics for what appears to be an OC spray injury. pic.twitter.com/fOrKQ2C29D
— Clarence Williams (@nu1wcf) August 28, 2020
"Fight back! Fight back!" as they're following (and then assaulting) Rand Paul assault #DCProtests pic.twitter.com/a3BnT9y5Ik
— Kitty Shackleford (@KittyLists) August 28, 2020
Rioters surround Sen @RandPaul in violent mob insulting and threatening. #DCProtests pic.twitter.com/1GDHnL4quJ
— Adam Milstein (@AdamMilstein) August 28, 2020
Paul responded to the attack by writing on Twitter: “Just got attacked by an angry mob of over 100, one block away from the White House. Thank you to @DCPoliceDept for literally saving our lives from a crazed mob.”
TIME reporter Phil Elliott noted: “For context, Sen. Paul has been a consistent voice for criminal justice reform and civil liberties since getting to Congress — often to the annoyance of members of his own party.”
For context, Sen. Paul has been a consistent voice for criminal justice reform and civil liberties since getting to Congress — often to the annoyance of members of his own party. https://t.co/WAVsHbBz1s
— Phil Elliott (@Philip_Elliott) August 28, 2020
Attorney Harmeet Dhillon added: “Why no statement from the Dems you ask? @JoeBiden is counting sheep and Kamala Harris is talking to pollsters and advisors to figure out the right play — how to mildly criticize the actual mob violence while also blaming it on the victims and of course on @realDonaldTrump –”
Why no statement from the Dems you ask? @JoeBiden is counting sheep and Kamala Harris is talking to pollsters and advisors to figure out the right play — how to mildly criticize the actual mob violence while also blaming it on the victims and of course on @realDonaldTrump — https://t.co/4QuRhEIAaZ
— Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) August 28, 2020
“The Black Lives Matter movement is particularly strong in Kentucky, which Rand represents, following the police killing of Breonna Taylor,” The Daily Mail reported. “Paul has been active in pushing for police reform following the shooting, in which officers used a no-knock warrant to kick in the door of the 26-year-old EMT’s home before opening fire, killing her. The senator has introduced legislation that would ban the use of no-knock warrants, and has dubbed it the Justice for Breonna Taylor Act.”
“After talking with Breonna Taylor’s family, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s long past time to get rid of no-knock warrants,” Paul said in June. “This bill will effectively end no-knock raids in the United States.”
This is not the first time that leftists have gotten physical with Paul, who was present at the Virginia baseball field in 2017 when a left-wing terrorist attempted to kill GOP lawmakers. He was also the victim of an attack by his neighbor, who was a Democrat.
“I was there at the ball field when Steven Scalise almost died from a very, very angry violent man who was incited really by rhetoric on the left,” Paul during an interview in 2018. “And this hasn’t been reported enough, when he came on the field with a semi-automatic weapon firing probably close to 200 shots at us, shooting five people and almost killing Steve Scalise, he was yelling ‘this is for healthcare! He also had a list of conservative legislators, Republicans, in his pocket that he was willing to kill.”
Paul’s neighbor was sentenced to 30 days in prison in June 2018 after pleading guilty to felony assault.
“No one deserves to be violently assaulted,” Paul said. “I commend the F.B.I. and Department of Justice for treating this violent, premeditated assault with the seriousness it deserves.”