IA 

★

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. J. RES. 117 

Condemning the violence and domestic terrorist attack that took place during 

events between August 11 and August 12, 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia, recognizing the first responders who lost their lives while monitoring the events, offering deepest condolences to the families and friends 

of those individuals who were killed and deepest sympathies and support 

to those individuals who were injured in the attack, expressing support 

for the Charlottesville community, rejecting White nationalists, White 

supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and other hate groups, 

and urging the President and the President’s Cabinet to use all available 

resources to address the threats posed by those groups. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 7, 2017 

Mr. GARRETT (for himself, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mrs. COMSTOCK, Mr. BEYER, Mr. 

GRIFFITH, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. BRAT, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. TAYLOR, Mr. GOODLATTE, and Mr. WITTMAN) submitted the following joint 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

JOINT RESOLUTION 

Condemning the violence and domestic terrorist attack that 

took place during events between August 11 and August 

12, 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia, recognizing the 

first responders who lost their lives while monitoring 

the events, offering deepest condolences to the families 

and friends of those individuals who were killed and 

deepest sympathies and support to those individuals who 

were injured in the attack, expressing support for the 

Charlottesville community, rejecting White nationalists, 


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HJ 117 IH1S 

White supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and 

other hate groups, and urging the President and the 

President’s Cabinet to use all available resources to address the threats posed by those groups. 

Whereas, on the night of Friday, August 11, 2017, a day before a White nationalist demonstration was scheduled to 

occur in Charlottesville, Virginia, hundreds of torch-bearing White nationalists, White supremacists, Klansmen, 

and neo-Nazis chanted racist, anti-Semitic, and anti-immigrant slogans and violently engaged with counter-demonstrators on and around the grounds of the University 

of Virginia in Charlottesville; 

Whereas, on Saturday, August 12, 2017, ahead of the scheduled start time of the planned march, protestors and 

counter-demonstrators gathered at Emancipation Park in 

Charlottesville; 

Whereas the extremist demonstration turned violent, culminating in the death of peaceful counter-demonstrator 

Heather Heyer and injuries to 19 other individuals after 

a neo-Nazi sympathizer allegedly drove a vehicle into a 

crowd, an act that resulted in a charge of second degree 

murder, 3 counts of malicious wounding, and 1 count of 

hit and run; 

Whereas 2 Virginia State Police officers, Lieutenant H. Jay 

Cullen and Trooper Pilot Berke M.M. Bates, died in a 

helicopter crash as they patrolled the events occurring 

below them; 

Whereas the Charlottesville community is engaged in a healing process following this horrific and violent display of 

bigotry; and 


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Whereas White nationalists, White supremacists, the Ku 

Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and other hate groups reportedly 

are organizing similar events in other cities in the United 

States and communities everywhere are concerned about 

the growing and open display of hate and violence being 

perpetrated by those groups: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 That Congress— 

4 (1) condemns the racist violence and domestic 

5 terrorist attack that took place between August 11 

6 and August 12, 2017, in Charlottesville, Virginia; 

7 (2) recognizes— 

8 (A) Heather Heyer, who was killed, and 19 

9 other individuals who were injured in the re10 ported domestic terrorist attack; and 

11 (B) several other individuals who were in12 jured in separate attacks while standing up to 

13 hate and intolerance; 

14 (3) recognizes the public service and heroism of 

15 Virginia State Police officers Lieutenant H. Jay 

16 Cullen and Trooper Pilot Berke M.M. Bates, who 

17 lost their lives while responding to the events from 

18 the air; 

19 (4) offers— 


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HJ 117 IH1S 

1 (A) condolences to the families and friends 

2 of Heather Heyer, Lieutenant H. Jay Cullen, 

3 and Trooper Pilot Berke M.M. Bates; and 

4 (B) sympathy and support to those individ5 uals who are recovering from injuries sustained 

6 during the attacks; 

7 (5) expresses support for the Charlottesville 

8 community as the community heals following this 

9 demonstration of violent bigotry; 

10 (6) rejects White nationalism, White suprem11 acy, and neo-Nazism as hateful expressions of intol12 erance that are contradictory to the values that de13 fine the people of the United States; and 

14 (7) urges— 

15 (A) the President and his administration 

16 to— 

17 (i) speak out against hate groups that 

18 espouse racism, extremism, xenophobia, 

19 anti-Semitism, and White supremacy; and 

20 (ii) use all resources available to the 

21 President and the President’s Cabinet to 

22 address the growing prevalence of those 

23 hate groups in the United States; and 

24 (B) the Attorney General to work with— 


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1 (i) the Secretary of Homeland Secu2 rity to investigate thoroughly all acts of vi3 olence, intimidation, and domestic ter4 rorism by White supremacists, White na5 tionalists, neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, 

6 and associated groups in order to deter7 mine if any criminal laws have been vio8 lated and to prevent those groups from fo9 menting and facilitating additional vio10 lence; and 

11 (ii) the heads of other Federal agen12 cies to improve the reporting of hate 

13 crimes and to emphasize the importance of 

14 the collection, and the reporting to the 

15 Federal Bureau of Investigation, of hate 

16 crime data by State and local agencies. 

Æ 


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