National File “They have the time to show up every day at some of these violent protests like in Washington, D.C. and they’re getting $600 a week of unemployment to do it, and that’s got to stop.”
House Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) is reportedly planning to introduce legislation to Congress this week that will remove the ability of violent Antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters to collect federal unemployment checks, as well as force them to pay the cost of policing at the riots they instigate.
The story was obtained by Breitbart on Friday, amidst a new wave of looting and violence in the upper Midwest.
Banks appeared on local radio for an interview about the Support Peaceful Protest Act on Friday, and talked about what led him to craft the legislation.
“Antifa thugs are descending on suffering communities, disrupting peaceful protests and leaving violence, looting and vandalism in their wake. They turned Milwaukee, Seattle and Portland into warzones, and now they’re moving the chaos to Kenosha, Wisconsin,” Banks said. “Who knows which community is next?”
“Due to enhanced federal benefits, taxpayers are giving wages to jobless rioters that are destroying our communities. We need to cut them off from their funding and make them feel the full financial consequences of their actions.”
Banks also noted that “Many of these people are not working. They have the time to show up every day at some of these violent protests like in Washington, D.C. and they’re getting $600 a week of unemployment to do it, and that’s got to stop.”
The assault of Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) by Black Lives Matter protesters Thursday night was mentioned by Banks on Twiter as an example of a case where rioters would be forced to pay the cost of riot policing.
“Threatening the life of a US Senator is a felony. Under my bill, the Support Peaceful Protest Act, Sen. Paul’s attackers would be forced to cover the cost of policing the protests & lose access to federal benefits. Enough already!” Banks wrote.