Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, accused violent protesters who are causing riots in several American cities of orchestrating "organized terror attacks."
Cruz spoke with Fox News on Monday ahead of a Tuesday Senate hearing that will focus on the protests. He said "violent anarchists" are to blame.
"Across the country, we're seeing horrific violence, we're seeing our country torn apart. Violent anarchists and Marxists are exploiting protests to transform them into riots and direct assaults on the lives and safety of their fellow Americans," Cruz said.
"These violent riots are not spontaneous, nor are they mere coincidences. Instead, the evidence suggests they are organized terror attacks designed to instill fear and tear down the fundamental institutions of government. This hearing is designed to understand who is driving the violence, who is driving the assaults, who is driving the murders, and what their objective is."
Cruz will lead a hearing titled "The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble: Protecting Speech by Stopping Anarchist Violence" in the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution on Tuesday.
"The hearing will assess who is driving the violence, who is driving the assaults, who is driving the fires, who is driving the explosions, who is driving the murders, why are they doing so, how are they doing so and what do they hope to achieve through violent acts of terror?" Cruz said.
The 2016 presidential candidate added that the Black Lives Matter organization "was created by avowed Marxists pursuing a radical agenda including defunding police departments across the country and that agenda, if implemented, would have the consequence of a great many more Black lives being lost."
Protests, some of them violent, have occurred in many American towns and cities since the May 25 death of George Floyd, who died in Minneapolis after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly 9 minutes.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.