III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 645 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that mob violence should be condemned. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 2, 2020 

Mr. LEE (for himself, Mr. BRAUN, and Mr. JOHNSON) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate that mob violence should 

be condemned. 

Whereas the United States of America was founded in 1776 

on universal principles of freedom, justice, and human 

equality; 

Whereas throughout our nation’s history, Americans have 

struggled to realize those ideals, falling short, as imperfect human beings always do, but nonetheless making 

greater progress toward them than any nation on earth; 

Whereas the United States is today, as ever, an ethnically, 

racially, religiously, and culturally diverse nation, morally 

committed to cultivating respect, friendship, and justice 

across all such differences, and protecting the God-given 

equal rights of all Americans under the law; 


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•SRES 645 IS 

Whereas America’s law enforcement officers do an extremely 

difficult job extremely well, and despite the inexcusable 

misconduct of some, the overwhelming majority of such 

officers are honest, courageous, patriotic, and rightfully 

honored public servants; 

Whereas in recent weeks, people across the United States 

have organized legitimate, peaceful, constitutionally protected demonstrations against instances of police brutality and racial inequality, serious problems meriting investigation and reform; 

Whereas some Americans, unsatisfied with peaceful and positive demonstrations, have instigated and indulged in mob 

violence and criminal property destruction, not in service 

of any just or coherent cause, but simply as an arrogant, 

bullying tantrum of self-righteous illiberalism and rage; 

and 

Whereas these mobs have demonstrated not only contempt 

for public safety (as evidenced, among other crimes, by 

an unprovoked physical assault on a Wisconsin State 

Senator and the shooting of a motorist in Provo, Utah) 

and common decency (as evidenced by their routine harassment and obscene berating of law enforcement officers 

standing their posts to protect their communities), but 

also their manifest ignorance and historical illiteracy (as 

evidenced by their destruction of public memorials to historical heroes like Ulysses S. Grant, St. Junipero Serra, 

Miguel Cervantes, George Washington, Hans Christian 

Heg, and a reported plan to target a statue of Abraham 

Lincoln financed in 1876 entirely by private donations 

from freed African-American slaves): Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 


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•SRES 645 IS 

1 (1) the rising tide of vandalism, mob violence, 

2 and the mob mentality that feeds it—including its 

3 cruel and intolerant ‘‘cancel culture’’—should be 

4 condemned by all Americans; 

5 (2) peaceful demonstrations and mob violence 

6 are different in kind; 

7 (3) physical assault and property destruction 

8 are not forms of political speech but violent crimes 

9 whose perpetrators should be prosecuted to the full 

10 extent of the law; and 

11 (4) the innocent law enforcement officers, pub12 lic officials, and private citizens who suffer the 

13 mob’s violence and endure its scorn while protecting 

14 our communities from them deserve the thanks and 

15 appreciation of every American. 

Æ 


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