Letter requests body-camera footage, after-action reports, and measures to prevent future violence, vandalism

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is demanding answers from the director of National Park Service (NPS) regarding the Biden-Harris administration’s failure to deploy adequate resources to prevent the pro-Hamas riot at Union Station last month. The protest turned violent at Columbus Circle, where rioters burned American flags, defaced the Columbus monument, and assaulted U.S. Park Police officers. 

Sen. Cruz is seeking information on why NPS only sent 29 officers after it issued a permit that allowed 5,000 attendees. Given the advance notice of the protest, Sen. Cruz, whose committee has jurisdiction over Union Station, is questioning why the Park Police union was unaware of any efforts to deploy additional officers. Sen. Cruz also asks NPS to encourage the Biden-Harris administration to prosecute the ten rioters who were arrested by Park Police.  

In a letter to the NPS director, Sen. Cruz writes, 

“On July 24th, pro-Hamas rioters effectively took control over parts of Columbus Circle outside Washington D.C. Union Station. Despite extensively damaging property, assaulting U.S Park Police (USPP) officers, and blocking a major throughfare and access to a critical transit hub, their appalling and criminal actions went largely unchecked. This should never have been allowed to happen.”  

“The National Park Service (NPS) had advance notice of the large anti-Israel protests, timed to coincide with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, and ample time to prepare. As the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which has jurisdiction over Union Station and Amtrak, I write to solicit answers to important questions about how this failure occurred and NPS’s plan to prevent similar failures in the future.”  

As the date for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address approached, Washington, D.C. braced for planned protests and potential riots. According to Amtrak Police, U.S. Capitol Police provided briefings for other agencies in the area, including Amtrak (responsible for Union Station) and NPS (responsible for Columbus Circle).” 

“NPS had advance notice, too, since it issued a “First Amendment Demonstration” permit for Columbus Circle to the radical ANSWER Coalition. ANSWER Coalition has condemned Israel’s self-defense in response to the horrific massacre of October 7, 2023. That permit anticipated fully 5,000 participants with the intent of issuing a “notice of citizen’s arrest” to Netanyahu. When the U.S. Capitol Police successfully repelled these rioters from accessing Capitol grounds, many of these anti-American extremists congregated in Columbus Circle.”  

The letter highlights the difference in response to a protest-turned-riot between NPS and Amtrak Police, who patrol the inside of Union Station. 

“According to the USPP union, only 29 NPS officers were present to respond to the massive protest even as the situation rapidly and foreseeably deteriorated into a riot. This contrasts with the preparations undertaken by another entity whose resources foreseeably would be strained: Amtrak.”  

“Amtrak Police made arrangements to quintuple its police presence at Union Station and get additional resources to provide roughly 100 officers at the location. This force successfully kept Union Station open to ticketed passengers and safe from property damage, but Amtrak Police were not prepared, and apparently lacked the resources, to undertake enforcement outside the Union Station barricades.”  

“Notably, NPS had not coordinated with Amtrak Police, other than providing notice of the demonstration permit.” 

Sen. Cruz criticizes NPS for its negligent response and questions why NPS didn't request additional assistance from other law enforcement agencies. 

“The insufficient resources deployed by NPS, despite advance notice of the massive protest and the propensity of pro-Hamas demonstrations to turn violent, was negligent. Even with every USPP officer in the D.C. area deployed, the many other demands on that force left far too few men and women available for a major protest that could turn violent, and the Park Police union is not aware of any effort to get additional officers.” 

“Instead, NPS left its USPP officers hopelessly outnumbered (based on the approved ANSWER Coalition permit for 5,000 protestors and the deployment of just 29 officers) by a ratio of nearly 200 to 1. With USPP resources stretched thin, NPS and the Department of the Interior should have requested additional support from other law enforcement agencies in the region, as U.S. Capitol Police and Amtrak had done.”  

“Moreover, while the USPP union is concerned about budgetary constraints, it seems that NPS could have paid for more officers in anticipation of this event. When the foreseeable lawlessness occurred, USPP officers found themselves in an impossible situation with no good options.” 

“The USPP officers on the ground valiantly played the hand they were dealt, making at least 10 arrests, and at least some MPD officers eventually joined the response. But the organization and planning for the response at higher levels in the agency left much to be desired, ultimately endangering USPP officers and nearby passengers at Union Station. Additionally, the USPP officers are not sure that the limited arrests they were able to make during the riot are leading to prosecutions.”

The letter concludes by asking what NPS knew about the plans of the ANSWER Coalition—a group of left-wing extremists that has condemned Israel’s self-defense in response to the horrific massacre of October 7, 2023. Additionally, Sen. Cruz requests details on the precautions taken and officer numbers for the Columbus Circle protests, including any coordination with other law enforcement agencies. Finally, the letter asks for any body-camera footage, after-action reports, and measures to prevent future incidents. 

Read full text of letter HERE. 

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