'Explain That To The Families Of The Victims': Kristi Noem Called Out By Tim Kennedy To Her Face

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At yesterday's House Homeland Security Committee hearing, Rep. Tim Kennedy (D-NY) questioned DHS Sec. Kristi Noem about failures in efforts to combat domestic terrorism.

Transcript

00:00Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

00:01Gentleman yields. I now recognize Mr. Kennedy from New York for five minutes questioning.

00:06Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary Noem, thank you for your time before this committee.

00:11Today is a solemn day for my community in Buffalo, New York. Three years ago, on May 14th, 2022,

00:20a gunman motivated by racism and hatred drove two and a half hours from his home

00:25to the east side of Buffalo to carry out an act of domestic terrorism.

00:31Equipped with enhanced body armor, a tactical helmet, and a semi-automatic rifle,

00:38the gunman opened fire at a local grocery store in a predominantly black community.

00:43In just 123 seconds, he took 10 innocent souls that day, severely injured three,

00:52and traumatized countless other individuals.

00:56Because of this act of domestic terrorism, radicalized and indoctrinated online,

01:02and carried out in the name of white supremacy,

01:06families in my community will never be whole again.

01:10Buffalo now joins a growing list of communities impacted by mass shootings carried out by lone wolf,

01:17homegrown, domestically radicalized, disturbed individuals.

01:25Secretary Noem, in your written testimony today,

01:27there's not one mention of this kind of threat to the homeland.

01:31You refer to foreign terrorist organizations.

01:34You refer to aliens who are affiliated with foreign terrorism.

01:37You refer to arrests of suspected gang members.

01:40Not once do you mention the term domestic terrorism,

01:43domestic terrorist, or lone wolf.

01:45There's a gaping hole in your testimony today.

01:48You fail to reassure this committee or the American people

01:51that you'll protect the homeland from bad actors,

01:54radicalized right here in the U.S.

01:56like the gunmen who opened fire on my community three years ago today.

02:00There's been a systematic, intentional effort by your department

02:03and this administration since January 20th

02:06to ignore the very real threat posed by domestic terrorism.

02:10This is a blatant negligence made abundantly clear by the administration's budget

02:16and by President Trump's broader actions to defund the Department of Homeland Security initiatives

02:22that track and prevent domestic terrorism.

02:26The Trump administration's budget proposal for the Department of Homeland Security

02:30completely eliminates the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program,

02:37a critical DHS program dedicated to helping local communities,

02:42including law enforcement,

02:44to develop and strengthen efforts to counterattacks of targeted violence and terrorism,

02:49just like the racist Buffalo attack.

02:53This exact grant program awarded nearly $1 million in the aftermath of the 514 shooting in Western New York

03:02to help close research gaps about the radicalization of domestic terrorists,

03:07develop violence prevention modules, and improve bystander intervention.

03:11This program was also used to harden safety and prevention efforts in other communities

03:16that experienced targeted domestic terrorism,

03:19including a school shooting in Oakland County, Michigan,

03:22and a pattern of other domestic terrorist incidents.

03:28The budget proposal you're defending today justifies the elimination of this funding

03:33by arguing it was, quote,

03:36weaponized to target Americans exercising their First Amendment rights.

03:44End quote.

03:44If the suggestion that an act of domestic terrorism

03:49which took the lives of 10 innocent people

03:53and forever changed my community qualifies as protected First Amendment speech,

04:00then explain that to the families of the victims who were killed that day.

04:05Under this administration, we have a Department of Homeland Security

04:08that is making excuses for domestic terrorists

04:11under the guise of free speech

04:14and insulting communities like mine,

04:17especially on a day like today

04:18as we mark the anniversary of unimaginable violence and loss.

04:25We can do better and we must do better.

04:28With that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

04:30Gentleman Yields, I now recognize the gentleman from Alabama.

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