The following is a preview of Daily Signal Politics Editor Bradley Devlin’s interview with Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, on “The Signal Sitdown.” The full interview premieres on The Daily Signal’s YouTube page at 6:30 a.m. Eastern on Feb. 5.
Minnesota has been on fire for weeks, but this is nothing new for the city of Minneapolis. The last time the city saw organized protests and violent riots at this level was in 2021 during the George Floyd riots.
“They [rioters] are so anxious to distract from what is actually happening in Minnesota, all the massive fraud that’s going on,” Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, told The Daily Signal on the latest episode of “The Signal Sitdown.”
The fraud, originally uncovered in Minnesota, is now being discovered in other states. While the fraud was new, these organized and professional protests and violent riots have been popping up across the country for years now.
Duyne joined Daily Signal Politics Editor Bradley Devlin to discuss how she is combating these organized violent riots in Congress using the RICO Act. The RICO Act currently combats organized crime, and Duyne’s Stop FUNDERs Act seeks to broaden RICO to organized violent riots.
“One of the reasons why I have introduced my Stop FUNDERs Act is that you are seeing these massive protests against folks like Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the congresswoman explained.
“[The rioters are] creating all these other massive distractions, pulling at heartstrings, making up lies, to be able to distract from what is actually going on,” Duyne continued.
“All they’re looking for is that viral moment that they can send out in a clip,” said Duyne. “And they’re willing to destroy communities, they’re willing to destroy lives and families to get it.”
The bill will add “rioting” to the list of offenses in the RICO Act and enable the Justice Department to penalize anyone who funds or coordinates violent interstate riots.
When asked if the White House backs the legislation, the Texas representative said, “Definitely.”
