Two Republicans from the Sunshine State are demanding action from the State Department after members of Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s security detail were accused of attacking protesters in Washington D.C. earlier this month.
When Erdogan visited Washington earlier this month, a protest was held in front of the Turkish ambassador’s residence where a brawl occurred. Members of Erdogan’s detail were accused of being part of it.
Last week, U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., who co-chairs the Congressional Hellenic Caucus and the Congressional Hellenic-Israel Alliance, sent a letter to the Justice and State Departments, demanding members of Erdogan’s detail be brought to justice. The letter calls for any members of Erdogan’s administration and detail who took part in the fight be expelled and barred from returning to American soil.
“I was outraged to see remorseless acts of violence carried out by the Erdogan government against individuals exercising their First Amendment rights on American soil,” Bilirakis said. “This is unacceptable in any situation, but even more so when Turkish leaders visit our nation and claim to be faithful allies. We must uphold the law and demand accountability from all who are responsible.”
Other members of the Florida delegation who signed Bilirakis’ letter included Republican U.S. Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Ted Yoho and Democratic U.S. Reps. Charlie Crist and Ted Deutch. Ros-Lehtinen chairs the U.S. House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee where Deutch sits as the ranking Democrat. Yoho is the vice-chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Over in the Senate, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., paired up with U.S. Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., and Chris Murphy, D-Ct., calling on the State Department to investigate if Erdogan’s detail were behind the brawl. The senators sent a letter to the State Department on Friday,
“We write today to express our concern regarding the apparent involvement of members of the Turkish security detail accompanying President Recep Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in a violent altercation outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C. on May 16. If true, this is the second time in little more than a year that members of Turkish diplomatic security have intervened violently against protestors and members of the media in the United States. This is not acceptable,” wrote the senators. “We urge you to work expeditiously with the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department to identify the perpetrators of this assault and to determine whether members of President Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu’s security detail were involved. If their participation is confirmed, those responsible should be held accountable under applicable U.S. law.”
More than 15 other senators, including U.S. Sens. Cory Booker, D-NJ, and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., signed the letter.
Comments
This is what you get boys
Just who is this Erdogan? A