Pam Bondi Vows To Go 'After The Maximum Penalty For Anyone Who Touches A Federal Agent' At Protests

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During a House Appropriations Committee hearing, Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) questioned Attorney General Pam Bondi about prosecutions of protesters and FY 2026 proposals for the Department of Justice budget.

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00:00You know, when I'm home in my district, talking to my constituents, they are concerned about their safety.

00:05They are concerned about the safety of their communities, the safety of their neighborhoods.

00:09And as we have spoken many times under your leadership, the DOJ has taken decisive steps to restore the rule of law,

00:16to tackle violent crime, and to hold both foreign and domestic bad actors accountable.

00:21I read your opening statement, and I just wanted to give you an opportunity to go back again and talk about,

00:28in light of four years of open borders, the drugs that are coming in, the sex trafficking, the human trafficking,

00:35the gangs that have moved in, the terrorism that has infiltrated the United States,

00:40the sleeper cells that may or may not be present in this country,

00:43the political prosecutions that we saw over the four years of the Biden administration,

00:48the fact that we are restoring integrity to the office and the rule of law.

00:52Can you restate for my constituents how the actions of the Department of Justice and your agencies are keeping them safe?

01:01Thank you, Congressman.

01:03And we have also been working hand-in-hand on a task force with your governor, with Governor Youngkin.

01:09And we really, we started a task force with Governor Youngkin,

01:13and that's something that we would like to take to every single state, both Democrat and Republican.

01:20And that's how we've been able to fight these gangs, these transnational cartels,

01:28these organizations, these criminal organizations.

01:30And it was really remarkable.

01:32One of the top members of TDA was living 20 minutes from where we're sitting right now in Virginia

01:39and working hand-in-hand, regardless of political party,

01:44with state and local law enforcement officers throughout the state of Virginia.

01:51We were able to dismantle a major, major gang.

01:56And there are so many gang members.

01:58And he was another one who was living there.

02:00I think when he was arrested, he had multiple, and ATF was involved in that,

02:04multiple guns when he was arrested.

02:07But he did not have any of the drugs on him.

02:11He had insulated himself because he was one of the leaders of the criminal organization.

02:17And so these task force working together with the state of Virginia have been remarkable.

02:22So that's one way to break it down, what we've done.

02:25And we're just so proud of the partnership that we've had with your state,

02:30dismantling the gangs, the guns, the drugs.

02:33And we'll continue to do that.

02:35And when you have that partnership, you can get a lot done.

02:38You can get so much done.

02:39You can secure a safer community for the people living there.

02:42When you have sanctuary states like California,

02:45who are preventing you from actually getting in there

02:49and actually getting the gangs off the streets,

02:53getting the drugs and the human trafficking off the streets,

02:56that hurts the people of those states.

02:58You know, when the streets of Los Angeles descended into scenes more fitting of a failed state than a major American city,

03:05mobs setting fire to police cruisers and looting entire city blocks,

03:10videos online showing American flags being burned and the flags of foreign nations being flown,

03:17some carried by rioters proudly waving them through smoke-filled streets.

03:21The Department of Homeland Security has revealed new data saying that ICE law enforcement

03:26is now facing a 500% increase in assaults while carrying out enforcement operations.

03:31Can you describe what actions you've taken to hold these sanctuary jurisdictions accountable?

03:36And I have a couple of questions after that.

03:39Yeah, thank you.

03:40To California specifically, and we have made it very clear.

03:44If you spit, I believe it was an ICE officer, someone spit on him, we charge them federally.

03:49We will charge you if you spit on a law enforcement officer.

03:53If you loot under the HOBS Act, that is a robbery.

03:56And we will charge you with robbery.

03:59We are going after the maximum penalty federally for anyone who touches a federal agent.

04:06And we are also going to protect our state and local law enforcement agencies and officers.

04:13The men and women every day around this country, whether it's a blue or red or purple state,

04:18are out there fighting crime.

04:21That's what they care about.

04:23They care about keeping every single one of us safe.

04:26That's what they're doing.

04:27They care about preventing drug abuse, drug overdoses throughout this country.

04:33And they jeopardize their lives every single day to keep us safe.

04:38And we are going to do everything in our power to fight for them.

04:41Do you think that these sanctuary jurisdictions, these cities or states, should be receiving

04:45law enforcement grants if they refuse to uphold the law?

04:48That's pending litigation, Congressman, and I can't discuss that right now.

04:52I think the answer should be no, but I'll leave that to the judges and to this committee

04:57to decide.

04:58I know the gentleman.

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