Loeffler, Cotton Lead Charge to Rid American Communities of Rioters

Press Release

U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) and U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) introduced a series of bills to crack down on rioters wreaking havoc on American cities and communities. The Senators released the following statements on the legislative package:

"American cities, businesses and livelihoods are being destroyed as a result of violent rioters and looters," said Senator Loeffler. "Enough is enough. The violence must stop, and it's time to hold these criminals and vandals accountable. This is a strong package of bills that puts us one step closer to ensuring our communities are safe and secure."

"Under lenient leftist policies, insurrectionists around the country continue to pillage America's communities," said Senator Cotton. "It's past time we cracked down on their destructive actions. My legislation will incapacitate these rioters to prevent further destruction and increase their penalties, making the punishment fit their crimes."

Background:

The three bills included in the package are:
The No Catch-and-Release for Rioters Act, which establishes a rebuttable presumption that a person charged with rioting should be held pending trial;
The Rioting Restitution Act, which creates a federal, private, civil cause of action against rioters who meet the federal definition of rioting, with treble damages allowed; and
The Support Peaceful Protest Act, which makes federally-convicted rioters ineligible for virus-related supplemental unemployment benefits.

In August, Loeffler introduced the Holding Rioters Accountable Act of 2020 to grant the U.S. Attorney General the authority to reduce certain U.S. Department of Justice grants and funding to jurisdictions where state and local prosecutors are abusing prosecutorial discretion and failing to prosecute crimes arising from riots and other violent protests.

Loeffler also introduced the Securing Commerce and Protecting Businesses Act of 2020, which would make it a federal crime to destroy certain commercial property or loot commercial businesses during the course of a riot.

In July, she also introduced the Cracking Down on Gangs and Deporting Criminals Act of 2020 to strengthen federal sentencing guidelines for criminal gang activity and create a federal database for criminal street gang activity within the U.S. Department of Justice.

These bills are part of Loeffler's USA Safe Families and Secure Futures Plan, a framework to keep America safe from both foreign and domestic threats.

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