U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) praised President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard personnel to Los Angeles earlier this month, stating that the unrest went far beyond the threshold of a “peaceful protest.”
While speaking with NewsNation, Cuellar correctly pointed out that federal agents came under sustained assault from left-wing mobs in the days leading up to the deployment.
“If there was a peaceful protest, that would have been one thing. But the moment we started seeing images of cars being burned and violence and throwing of bricks, then it changes,” he said. “And then that’s why you start talking about bringing the National Guard in at that particular time.”
Host Blake Burman asked, “So the court said that the President could federalize the National Guard. Do you think you got this one right?”
Cuellar answered in the affirmative. “If those peaceful protests — which they have a right to do that — but those fires that I’m looking at [on] your screen right now, when you see that, that’s not good. And I believe that’s why the National Guard came in at this time,” the congressman added.
“Look, I’m for peaceful protests, but any time you start