Just seven House Democrats voted Friday morning against a resolution to condemn the Los Angeles riots.
The resolution, offered by Republican California Rep. Young Kim, passed the House 215 to 195. House Democrats who bucked leadership to support Kim’s resolution include California Democratic Reps. Jim Costa and Adam Gray.
The remainder of California House Democrats opposed the measure condemning the violence in the state’s largest city.
The riots, which began on June 6 in response to ICE raids in downtown Los Angeles, are projected to cost the city more than $30 million. Anti-ICE protestors violently clashed with law enforcement, looted storefronts and set self-driving vehicles on fire during the days-long riots.
While GOP lawmakers uniformly condemned the destruction of property and violence against law enforcement, their Democratic colleagues have splintered over whether to denounce the riots or acknowledge the reality of what transpired.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries objected to calling the days-long violence in Los Angeles a “riot” when pressed by the Daily Caller News Foundation. His preferred term is “unrest.”
Democratic Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top House Democrat on the judiciary panel, characterized the resolution which deplored violence and honored law enforcement as “totally partisan,” during a speech on the House floor prior to the vote.
The resolution notably thanked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for “keeping our communities safe in the face of danger.” Several left-wing House Democrats have sought to demonize the work of federal immigration personnel executing the president’s deportation agenda.
Democratic Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost called ICE’s detention of illegal immigrants “terrorism in our communities” on June 18. Frost’s colleague, Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has repeatedly advocated for the abolition of ICE in a series of campaign emails in May and June.
GOP lawmakers defended their resolution from House Democrats’ attacks as standing with federal, state and local law enforcement against violence from far-left demonstrators.
“[W]e will not tolerate violence against any law enforcement officials,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise wrote in a statement Monday.
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