GOP rep suggests way to ID people ‘funding’ attacks at Texas immigration facility

Republican Texas Rep. Beth Van Duyne called for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act to be enforced against suspects charged in an “ambush” plot against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to identify who’s in their “organization,” she said Tuesday on Fox Business’ “The Bottom Line.”

Officials on Monday released mugshots of 10 suspects arrested and charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection with the attack on an ICE facility Friday in Alvarado, Texas. Fox Business host Dagen McDowell called out the gear the suspects had on them at the time of their arrest, asking Van Duyne how much time “will they get behind bars to send a message and teach them a lesson?”

“Right now, I think they’re facing 10 years for assault on a law enforcement officer, but I’d like to see them locked up for life. Quite honestly, we need to start sending a message that this is not going to be tolerated. And, quite honestly, what we need to do is enforce the RICO Act, which means not just going after these onesie twosie, in this case, 10, don’t tell me this was not organized,” Van Duyne said.

“We have to start looking at who is doing the organization, who is calling these people, who are funding these efforts, and go after them,” Van Duyne added. “I think it’s only when you start enforcing those types of acts that people are going to be deterred, because right now it’s just showing a weakness. If you could have soft targets that could be picked off, you’re seeing the rhetoric just be inflamed.”

On Friday, the 10 suspects, reportedly connected to a North Texas Antifa “terror cell,” showed up at the Alvarado facility dressed in “all black” before shooting fireworks at the building and vandalizing the center and parking lot, writing “ICE pig,” according to a criminal complaint.

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According to the DOJ, officials allegedly attempted to talk to the group; however, two suspects then began to fire 20 to 30 rounds at officers, ultimately leaving a local police officer shot in the neck.

“We’re seeing that rhetoric be inflamed further and further by my Democrat colleagues. Even in Congress, you see some of the things that are coming out of their mouths that just absolutely shock me. They’re calling for violence,” Van Duyne said. “They’re precipitating this. They are incentivizing it in some cases. But I think we need to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to not only enforce the law but make sure that the people who are organizing this type of crime against our law enforcement officers face the full extent of the law.”

Following the incident, acting U.S. Attorney Nancy Larson told reporters at a press conference that the attack had been “a planned ambush with the intent to kill ICE corrections officers.”

Just days after the incident in Alvarado, Texas, 27-year-old Michigan resident Ryan Louis Mosqueda was killed after opening fire on Border Patrol agents arriving at an annex facility in McAllen, Texas. In June, Breitbart released a report saying ICE agents have seen a 500% increase in assaults against officers attempting to arrest illegal migrants.

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