Cotton: Protestors Who Deface Statues Must Face Mandatory Minimums

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Caroline Tabler or Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353
June 13, 2024

Cotton: Protestors Who Deface Statues Must Face Mandatory Minimums

Washington, D.C. — Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today introduced the Saving Treasured Artifacts Through Uniform Enforcement (STATUE) Act, legislation that would impose mandatory minimum prison sentences for defacing statues on federal land. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) is co-sponsoring the legislation.

Senator Cotton introduced the legislation after protestors damaged the area surrounding the White House, including painting pro-Hamas and antisemitic slogans on statues in Lafayette Square Park.

“Any protestor who defaces statues of America’s heroes must face the full extent of the law. As Joe Biden seeks to appease the pro-Hamas wing of the Democratic Party, it’s clear his administration won’t do anything to punish the protestors who defaced the area around the White House recently. The Senate should take up my legislation to punish these pro-Hamas lunatics,” said Senator Cotton.

Text of the legislation may be found here.

The STATUE Act would:

• Impose a minimum sentence of five years imprisonment and a $1,000 fine or a fine equal to the amount of damage to the property, whichever is greater.

• Amend the Veterans’ Memorial Preservation and Recognition Act so that it applies to all monuments or property under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

###