The leftist push to “defund” police departments nationwide in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been directly tied to an increase in crime across several Democratic-controlled communities over the past three years.
Now, one of the elected officials who has tacitly endorsed that anti-police message has become the victim of a brazen crime outside of his home in D.C.
According to reports, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) was confronted by three carjackers and robbed at gunpoint on Monday night — despite the strict gun control laws on the books in the nation’s capital. A statement from the congressman’s office indicated that he was unharmed during the incident and was “working with local law enforcement.”
The statement went on to offer gratitude for the “swift action” of police, who were able to recover Cuellar’s stolen vehicle a short time later.
While the lawmaker responded to waning public support for defund-the-police rhetoric ahead of last year’s election by rejecting the notion, the previous year he would not publicly disavow the idea that police departments should be eradicated. Furthermore, he voted against a spending bill amendment designed to make it more difficult to strip law enforcement agencies of their funding.
Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar who was the victim of a carjacking tonight previously voted against an amendment to a spending bill which would have taken out language that made it easier to defund police. Democrats unleashed this crime wave. pic.twitter.com/8LurOKuqIR
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) October 3, 2023
National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Torunn Sinclair slammed the Texas Democrat’s stance on the matter in 2021, asserting that he “won’t condemn” the movement “because he can’t afford to lose their support.”
The same year, Cuellar expressed support for a bill named for Floyd that would have prohibited police from using a variety of tools designed to keep themselves and the communities they serve safer.
During his first public remarks about the incident, he attempted to redefine his position to reflect a longstanding support for law enforcement.
“I have three brothers who are peace officers,” Cuellar said. “I do want to thank the Capitol Police and I certainly want to thank the Metro Police. I’m a big law enforcement person. I got three boys in law enforcement. So I certainly appreciate the good work that the police did.”
Another member of Congress, Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA), was a carjacking victim about two years ago, though that crime occurred in her home state.
