Gaetz
© Graeme Jennings/Getty ImagesFlorida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz
Republican Florida Representative Matt Gaetz slammed some of his congressional colleagues during a hearing on police reform Wednesday, for helping raise money for a group that supports the abolishment of police and called officers "rebel scum," he said.
"Here's a tweet from two of our congressional colleagues supporting this group Black Visions Minnesota. And then here's that same group, Black Visions Minnesota that my congressional colleagues are raising money for, saying that we should end the police. And then here's that same organization retweeting 'rebel scum,' 'abolish the police'."
Gaetz then propped up another image of a tweet from that group. "Instead of police we need therapists, doctors and street medics, not cops." Gaetz paraphrased.

He then passed some of his time to Republican witness and former Secret Service Agent Dan Bongino, asking him:
"Mr. Bongino in your experience every time someone calls 911 would a therapist or a medic be sufficient, or sometimes do people need cops?"
Bongino responded:
"I'm quite unclear how a medic is going to help with an armed subject who's assaulting his wife in a domestic violence situation, or elsewhere. I'm not sure how that's going to be of any value."
Gaetz went on:
"Here again is that same group saying that we need lasers to disorient surveillance cameras and we need water balloons filled with milk to throw at people. Again this is the organization that my congressional colleagues are raising money to support."
Adding more fuel to the fire Gaetz propped up yet another tweet:
"Here again that same organization that multiple members of congress are supporting, saying 'It's not enough to only abolish police, or prisons. We need to abolish race, abolish ICE, abolish the military, abolish the state, abolish the borders.'"
He then went on to point out:
"It's not just any member of congress, it's actually one of our treasured colleagues on the judiciary committee, the gentlelady from Washington, raising money for this very same organization." (Referring to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal.)
Gaetz then spoke to witness, Angela Underwood Jacobs, who lost her brother when he was shot and killed during protests over the death of George Floyd, while guarding a federal building in Oakland, Calif. Gaetz asked:
"When you learn that my colleagues in congress are raising money for an organization that promotes defunding the police, destroying our borders, defunding our military and taking apart the state altogether, how does that make you feel?"
Jacobs said:
"Actually I find that conduct to be deplorable. We elect officials to represent everyone and the idea to have our communities without protection and safety is wrong. So my response to that would be for people to get out and vote and get the right person in office to ensure that we feel protected."