(The Center Square) – A coalition of Republican U.S. Senators called on Attorney General Merrick Garland on Wednesday to go after the Hamas activists allegedly vandalizing veteran cemeteries.
Earlier this month, a group of pro-Palestinian protesters allegedly vandalized the Los Angeles National Cemetery, where nearly 90,000 veterans are buried, spray painting symbols and phrases, including “FREE GAZA” and “INTIFADA,” a word commonly associated with Palestinian actions against Israel.
“The defacement of the Los Angeles National Cemetery is disgusting, anti-American, and a testament as to how far pro-Hamas extremists will go to advocate on behalf of a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” reads the letter, led by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and signed by more than a dozen other Republican Senators.
Online video of the incident appears to show protesters spray painting with green paint at at the protest as others chant and hold Palestinian flags
“This is an American war on Palestine,” one protester shouts.
The letter blasts the “pro-Hamas vandals” and calls on the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute the alleged crime, saying it falls under federal purview.
“Federal law explicitly prohibits individuals from ‘willfully injur[ing] or destroy[ing]…any structure, plaque, statue, or other monument on public property commemorating the service of any person or persons in the armed forces of the United States,” the letter said. “The conduct by pro-Hamas extremists at the Los Angeles National Cemetery fits squarely into the conduct described by law.”
The DOJ has not responded publicly and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.