U.S. senators say ‘pro-Hamas terrorist sympathizers’ must face consequences for destruction
During a Jan. 7 anti-Israel protest in Westwood, demonstrators spray painted the cemetery’s entrance with the Arabic word “IntIfada,” meaning uprising or shaking off, “Free Gaza” and a red, upside-down triangle, a design included in the Palestinian flag, according to a video posted online.
Officials with the Los Angeles National Cemetery, where veterans from World War I, World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars and others are interred, said on Facebook that the Los Angeles County Graffiti Abatement Team removed the spray paint.
“More proof that the people who hate Israel, also hate America,” he said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Here, at the Los Angeles National Cemetery in my district, they deface a cemetery for those who gave their lives to end slavery and protect the world from fascism.”
“Pro-Hamas radicals and terrorist sympathizers must immediately face consequences for their immoral and illegal tactics,” the senators wrote in the letter to Garland. “Therefore, we urge the DOJ to investigate the pro-Hamas activists responsible for defacing the Los Angeles National Cemetery, given their clear violation of federal law.”