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Blaze News original: When thugs victimize leftist, soft-on-crime, defund-the-police Democrats, cops suddenly aren't so awful
(L to R) Photo by Taylor Hill/WireImage; Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images; Photo by Theodore Parisienne for NY Daily News via Getty Images; Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Blaze News original: When thugs victimize leftist, soft-on-crime, defund-the-police Democrats, cops suddenly aren't so awful

'It's time for Democrats to start taking the safety of Americans seriously.'

While Democrat U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas voted in favor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, he also has family in law enforcement and, of course, supports police.

Those opposing forces were at play when three armed thugs carjacked Cuellar in Washington, D.C., last October. The congressman wasn't hurt, and his vehicle was recovered — but soft-on-crime approaches to law enforcement took a beating. Fox News said conservatives reacted to Cuellar's scary encounter with calls to confront rapidly rising crime in D.C.

'This chaos is the result of Democrat-led soft-on-crime policies, no different than their Open Border debacle.'

"Rep. Cuellar was carjacked near my same DC apartment building," GOP U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens of Utah posted at the time, according to Fox News. "This chaos is the result of Democrat-led, soft-on-crime policies, no different than their Open Border debacle. It's time for Democrats to start taking the safety of Americans seriously."

What's more, the National Republican Congressional Committee in March 2023 said 173 House Democrats supported reduced sentences for violent crimes.

Cuellar hardly can be called anti-cop, but plenty of Democrats are. Many are soft on crime, have pushed for defunding the police, and are far left in many respects.

What's particularly revealing is what often happens when thugs victimize leftist, soft-on-crime, defund-the-police Democrats. And wouldn't you know it? In those instances, cops suddenly aren't so awful after all. The following are but a handful of examples:

Democrat congresswoman who voted to defund the police gets carjacked, robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight

Democrat U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon of Pennsylvania was carjacked around 2:45 p.m. December 21, 2021, in Philadelphia. Police said Scanlon was walking to her vehicle after attending a tour with other members of Congress when two armed men demanded the keys to her blue 2017 Acura MDX; they also made off with her personal cell phone, her government cell phone, her purse, and her identification. Fox News said Scanlon cosponsored legislation to make it easier for state and local governments to replace police officers and defund police by instead employing mental health specialists. But she sure was grateful for the quick response from police when she was carjacked.

Progressive member of Seattle City Council who voted to defund the police turns to cops after her home is targeted in rock attack

Seattle City Council member Lisa Herbold walks inside the secure police area as protesters face off with law enforcement near the police department's East Precinct, June 6, 2020. It's the 12th day of protests since George Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody May 25.

Photo by David Ryder/Getty Images

In December 2020, a progressive Democrat on the Seattle City Council — who had voted to cut the city police budget and supported effectively legalizing certain misdemeanor crimes — turned to cops for help after a rock was thrown at her house. Lisa Herbold reportedly told police "she was on the west side of the living room near the kitchen when she heard a loud noise that sounded like a gunshot and dove into the kitchen for cover." When city council voted in August 2020 to defund police, only one member voted against the measure, and it wasn't Herbold. She also proposed amending the city code to allow a so-called "poverty defense" when people commit petty crimes like trespassing or shoplifting, KOMO-TV reported. In fact, Herbold told the council's Public Safety Committee just days before her home was attacked that such amendments would result in "giving people an opportunity to tell their stories and giving judges and juries the opportunity to hear those stories and make a decision based on the values of our city." Herbold declined to run for her seat in 2023.

Anti-cop New York City councilmembers want police protection after receiving death threats: Report

(L to R) Democrat New York City Councilmembers Chi Osse, Yusef Salaam, Shahana Hanif, Carlina Rivera

(L to R) Photo by Taylor Hill/WireImage; Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images; Photo by Theodore Parisienne for NY Daily News via Getty Images; Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Sources told the New York Post last month that anti-cop New York City council members Chi Osse, Yusef Salaam, Shahana Hanif, and Carlina Rivera — all Democrats — want police protection after receiving death threats. All four have been vocal critics of the NYPD and pushed the “How Many Stops Act” that buries police officers in paperwork, the Post said, adding that they've also angered pro-Israel New Yorkers for publicly supporting pro-Palestinian protesters. None of the four council members immediately responded to the paper's requests for comment.

Soft-on-crime, Soros-funded district attorney carjacked at gunpoint — and soon changes his tune about crime and punishment

A pair of armed suspects carjacked New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams last October in the city's Lower Garden District; the Democrat's 78-year-old mother was in the black Lincoln Navigator at the time of the crime. The masked thieves didn't get very far since Williams kept the vehicle’s key fob in his pocket. Police said his SUV was recovered at an undisclosed location, but crooks stole some of his mother’s belongings, including her wallet and phone. George Soros gave a Williams PAC $220,000 leading to his successful election in December 2020 on a criminal justice reform platform. But just a month after the carjacking, Williams told WWL-TV he changed his thinking about crime and punishment, with the station saying he's "even reversed his positions on some of his strongest campaign promises." He recused himself from working on the carjacking case.

Democrat who backed dismantling police left bloody after violent carjacking in front of her children, leading her to call for tougher treatment of criminals

The vice chairwoman of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party in Minnesota — who had previously called for dismantling the police — last September was violently carjacked in front of her children and left bloody. Shivanthi Sathanandan said she suffered a broken leg, deep lacerations on her head, and bruising and cuts all over her body. She also demanded the increase of criminal penalties to deter violent crimes: “We need to get illegal guns off of our streets, catch these young people who are running wild creating chaos across our city and HOLD THEM IN CUSTODY AND PROSECUTE THEM,” she wrote on Facebook.

'Anti-police king' congressman called out for hypocrisy after requesting enhanced police patrols at his home

Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images

A progressive Democrat congressman who voted to defund Austin police as a city council member in 2020 and then blasted the department in December 2023 for alleged racist practices, even asking the Justice Department to investigate it, actually requested a patrol of his home from the same department, Fox News reported. "It’s come to our attention that Anti police king of the defund movement in Austin [Greg Casar] who only last week called APD an agency with racist practices has requested enhanced patrols around his house for the next week," the Austin Police Retired Officers Association posted on X, according to the cable news network. Casar was arguably the loudest proponent of defunding Austin police in 2020 while he was a city council member, Fox News said, adding that it led to an officer shortage and retirements from which critics said the Texas capital has not recovered. Casar's office added to Fox News Digital it does "not comment on active security matters related to the Congressman."

Left-wing thugs punch, scream at left-wing Portland mayor during his restaurant dinner

The eventful dinner took place in January 2021 and featured far-left militants barging past restaurant staff to confront Wheeler. One of the thugs made physical contact with the Democrat mayor. No arrests were made. Angry residents at the time accused Wheeler of not supporting police enough while militants said the opposite, even though months before the dinner showdown he said he was willing to defund the police but only to an extent. In July 2020 — the hottest month of the George Floyd summer — Portland rioters threw objects at Wheeler and endlessly berated him after he showed up on the streets for what he called a "listening session."

Democrat who once employed anti-cop staffer blasts soft-on-crime policies she says led to physical attack against her

It wouldn't be fair to categorize Democrat U.S. Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota as soft-on-crime or anti-cop — but one of her top staffers most definitely was in favor of defunding the police, the Washington Free Beacon reported in February 2022. A year later Craig was violently attacked in the elevator of her Washington, D.C., apartment and soon spoke out against the lack of prosecution of violent crime repeat offenders. "I got attacked by someone who the District of Columbia has not prosecuted fully over the course of almost a decade, over the course of 12 assaults before mine that morning," she told CBS News, adding that "we have to think about how in the world can we make sure we're not just letting criminals out." Just hours after the attack, Craig voted against the new D.C. criminal code that would significantly soften criminal penalties in the nation's capital.


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Dave Urbanski

Dave Urbanski

Sr. Editor, News

Dave Urbanski is a senior editor for Blaze News.
@DaveVUrbanski →