'Reckless failure': Biden admin does nothing when leftists vandalize federal property, says watchdog
Agitators have damaged several federal properties during demonstrations
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Biden administration is "failing" to protect federal property from wanton destruction at the hands of left-wing protesters, says a conservative government watchdog.
In a letter sent to the inspector general for the Department of the Interior (DOI) on Thursday morning, Michael Chamberlain of the nonprofit group Protect the Public's Trust outlined several instances of protests that ended in some sort of disturbance to land or cultural symbols.
In October 2021, protest groups occupied the DOI headquarters. In June 2024, anti-Israel protesters vandalized federal properties in Washington, D.C., and clashed with police. In July 2024, similar protesters vandalized Columbus Plaza, burned federal property, and assaulted police and bystanders.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HURRICANE HELENE WREAKS HAVOC ACROSS ASHEVILLE, NC; NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYED, 119 RESCUED
An anti-Israel demonstrator sprays graffiti on Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain at Union Station amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas on the day of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on July 24, 2024. (REUTERS/Nathan Howard)
"Is the continued failure of Secretary Haaland’s Department to enforce the law or even the provisions of the permits it provides mere negligence? Or could it be an outgrowth of sympathy among DOI political leadership with the agendas of violent protestors?" Chamberlain asked Fox News Digital.
"When you look at the behavior of some Department leaders -- including multiple determinations by the Inspector General of ethics violations -- neither possibility can be dismissed out of hand," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Protesters burn an American flag outside of Union Station following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address during a joint session of congress in Washington, D.C., on July 24, 2024. (MATTHEW HATCHER/AFP via Getty Images)
In each instance, especially during the June and July 2024 protests, Chamberlain's letter charges that the National Park Service (NPS) failed to enforce the law and maintain order, allowing key symbols of national history and culture to be defaced and destroyed, "symbols that it is a part of NPS’s core mission to steward and protect."
"These failures appear to be enabled by a reckless failure to properly enforce demonstration permit conditions and provide the United States Park Police ("USPP") with the resources they need to effectively do their jobs," the letter states. "We call upon you to immediately investigate these failures, including determining whether political considerations played an improper role in leaving cultural resources vulnerable to damage and destruction."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The DOI has also drawn the ire of some Republican lawmakers over their handling of protests.
"The Union Station rioters over the summer chanted terrorist slogans, hurled what appeared to be human feces at U.S. Park Police officers, destroyed government property, burned American flags and an effigy of Prime Minister Netanyahu, and raised a Palestinian flag in its place," Rep. Bruce Westerman, chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, told Fox News Digital.
"D.C. is no stranger to protests and free speech demonstrations, but clearly in this case something went horribly off the rails," the Arkansas Republican said. "The organizers of this event knowingly violated nearly every one of the terms and conditions of their permit, and DOI and NPS also failed to provide critical support for the Park Police. This despite the history of the ANSWER Coalition and knowing well in advance that protests were expected. Oversight is imperative to ensure a security failure of this magnitude does not happen again."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo, also demanded answers from the DOI Secretary Deb Haalan in June over its handling of violent protests that engulfed National Park Service property outside the White House.
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National Park Service workers attempt to remove graffiti at Union Station on July 25, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
Barrasso demanded that Haaland account for the lack of arrests by describing how she is working with law enforcement to identify suspects. He also called on the department to implement explicit measures to protect federal park rangers on-duty.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No arrests were made following the chaos, but NBC News reported one individual who had scaled a statue slipped away from a law enforcement officer who was attempting to detain them.
Statuary honoring two key French figures in the American Revolution – the Comte de Rochambeau and Marquis de Lafayette – were vandalized during the protests. Ironically, President Biden happened to be in France at the time.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The watchdog group also criticized the DOI earlier this year for allocating $120 million to tribal governments to combat the impacts of climate change.
The DOI declined to comment to Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital's Charles Creitz contributed to this report.