Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) went on Fox News on Monday to say that political beliefs should have no impact on sentences for criminal activities. He said this in response to the shifting criminal standard for people based on their political beliefs, particularly for supporters of Donald Trump.
Cotton began by pointing out that even Democrats are questioning why some of the alleged January 6 rioters were being denied bail, saying that they are being treated very differently than violent ANTIFA and BLM protesters.
“The question that we should be asking is, everyone getting equal justice, and part of equal justice is that you’re treated exactly the way any other American would be, irrespective of who you are, or what you believe, or who you voted for,” Cotton said. “And when you have Elizabeth Warren and Dick Durbin, no fans of Donald Trump, not exactly sympathetic to Donald Trump’s supporters, saying that some of these people are being detained excessively and probably should be released.”
“I think you can surmise that there’s something to it,” he continued. “No one should be excused for violating the law, whether they voted for Donald Trump or voted for Joe Biden. But by the same token, no one should face harsher penalties or harsher terms of pretrial confinement or pretrial confinement period based on their political views or who they are. That’s equal justice. And unfortunately, it looks like the Biden Department of Justice is applying a lot of double standards here.”
“I mean, just look at what’s happening around the country over the last year to the BLM rioters and ANTIFA rioters who have been released from pre-trial confinement and had charges dropped against them,” Cotton concluded. “I mean, for goodness’s sake, Vice President Harris last year encouraged her supporters to contribute to a bail fund for rioters in Minnesota, and she was celebrated by the national media and by Democrats. There appear to be serious double standards at work here. And that undermines equal justice before the law.”
Check out his full interview below.
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