Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday addressed the Jan. 15 synagogue hostage incident in Texas, saying the Justice Department will not tolerate “violence or threats of violence fueled by antisemitism.”
British citizen Malik Faisal Akram, 44, took Jewish worshippers hostage at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville last weekend during a nearly 11-hour standoff. SWAT teams eventually entered the building, and the suspect died during a shootout.
“We will not tolerate this. We will not tolerate attacks on synagogues or other houses of worship. We will not tolerate violence or threats of violence fueled by antisemitism, hatred, racism, or bigotry of any kind,” Garland said during the 2022 Conference of Mayors.
Merrick Garland speaks at Jan. 21 U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Garland added that an “important part of keeping the American people safe is protecting those who serve the public from violence and unlawful threats of violence.”
The attorney general’s remarks also seemingly referenced a memo put out by DOJ in the fall addressing a federal response to violence and intimidation of school board officials, which caused blowback on the department after it was discovered a letter by the National School Boards Association had inspired it.
Garland didn’t specifically mention the school board controversy on Friday, but he doubled down on his prior language, saying threatening to harm or kill a public servant is not protected by the First Amendment.
Fox News’ David Spunt, Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to audrey.conklin@fox.com or on Twitter at @audpants.
Leave a Reply