Senator Hawley Confronts Secretary Mayorkas Regarding DHS Employee’s Support for Hamas Terror Attack
Senator Josh Hawley from Missouri raised concerns to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas regarding a government employee who openly praised terrorists while still retaining their job.
On October 7, Hamas orchestrated a multi-faceted terrorist assault, targeting Israeli army bases, civilian communities, and even a music festival. Some individuals, such as the Chicago Black Lives Matter chapter, have portrayed the Hamas paragliders responsible for the music festival attack as a symbol, even going so far as to post a graphic on social media displaying a paraglider adorned with the Palestinian flag along with the statement “I Stand With Palestine.”
After inquiring about the possibility of revoking visas from foreign students advocating for the destruction of Israel and its Jewish citizens, Senator Hawley proceeded to read a social media post, seeking Secretary Mayorkas’ opinion on the rhetoric.
“What about individuals who express sentiments such as, ‘F Israel’ on October 7th? I’m censoring the language for clarity. They also wrote, ‘F Israel, its government, and its military. Are you prepared for your inevitable defeat?’ Furthermore, they stated, ‘F Israel and any Jew supporting Israel. May your conscience torment you until your last breath. Palestine will one day be free. F apartheid Israel.’ This type of rhetoric is undeniably extreme, wouldn’t you agree?”
While Mayorkas tried to distinguish between “espousing or endorsing terrorist ideology” and offensive speech, Hawley went on to provide pertinent details.
“This individual works for you,” Hawley revealed, highlighting that the mentioned DHS employee “posted these comments on October 7th.”
He continued, “But that’s not all they posted.” Hawley pointed out that this employee also shared a “fake graphic” depicting a “Hamas paraglider” armed with a machine gun and flying into Israel.
Hawley emphasized that the employee captioned the graphic with the celebratory message, “Free PALESTINE.”
The senator further addressed Mayorkas, questioning whether it is “typical of people who work for the DHS” to have an “asylum and immigration officer posting these, frankly, pro-genocidal slogans and images on a day when Israelis are being mercilessly killed in their sleep.”
Initially, Mayorkas denounced the insinuation made by Hawley, stating, “Your question, to suggest that such behavior is representative of the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security, is reprehensible.”
Unperturbed, Hawley retorted, “I apologize, but this individual does work for the Department of Homeland Security. Have you taken any action to terminate their employment?”
This update includes contributions from Alexander Hall at Fox News Digital.
