Denouncing the Antisemitic Terrorist Attack in Boulder, Colorado
Floor Speech
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Mr. EVANS of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of this resolution to denounce the anti-Semitic terrorist attacks that occurred in Boulder, Colorado, on June 1, 2025.
First and foremost, let me say my heart goes out to the Jewish community, who were peacefully advocating for the release of hostages held by Hamas. This anti-Semitic terror attack was disgusting, and this type of hate has no home in Colorado. As we have heard, this man yelled anti-Semitic language while harming innocent people who had peacefully gathered.
We stand in strong opposition and denounce this attack, but this attack was not an isolated instance. It is part of a surge in anti- Semitism that is going unaddressed. Whether it is the Pennsylvania's Governor's mansion; a couple in Washington, D.C.; or peaceful protests in Boulder, Colorado, these attacks should not happen, and it is a tragedy that they continue to happen.
I can speak directly to that as a cop and a soldier for 22 combined years. I spent the better part of a year in a combat zone deployed in support of the global war on terror. I have responded and helped with tragedies in Boulder, Colorado, both as a National Guardsman fighting wildfires, putting together the crews, and deploying the aircraft. I also served as a police officer on the honor guard who has stood with our colleagues in Boulder when they lost an officer in 2021 in an active shooter event.
I am focused on making sure that we have a conversation around how do we prevent this from happening again. Unfortunately, in sanctuary States like Colorado, local law enforcement is prohibited from sharing information with their Federal counterparts, Mr. Speaker. This terror attack in Boulder is an example of why these sanctuary policies are dangerous to the safety and well-being of Americans.
As a former police officer, I know that law enforcement must be able to work with authorities to keep Coloradans and Americans safe. In this particular case, the attacker was an illegal immigrant who was granted a driver's license by the State of Colorado. He had multiple contacts with law enforcement prior to the attack, most notably when he tried to buy a gun and failed a background check. This is on top of publicly espousing support for an organization that is known to have jihadist problems and jihadist leanings.
Colorado's refusal to allow law enforcement to share basic information with Federal immigration authorities highlights the danger of these policies, and it is a contributing factor to the rise in crime rates which are impacting the life and safety of all Coloradans. Colorado now ranks second in the Nation as the most dangerous State. Without Colorado's sanctuary laws, this attack might have been prevented.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand in defense of American values and join me in passing this resolution, which is focused on keeping Americans and Coloradans safe, and having the discussion around the solution to have the policies to accomplish that.
Mr. GOLDMAN of New York. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman from Colorado would indulge a quick question before he leaves.
Yesterday, there was a rally with thousands of people in Boulder, Colorado, commemorating the victims and celebrating Jewish culture and people. The two Senators from Colorado were there. Mr. Neguse was there. I would just ask if the gentleman who is introducing this resolution to commemorate, ostensibly, the victims of Boulder was in his neighboring district to be with the victims and the community.
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Mr. EVANS of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I, unfortunately, had other engagements that had been scheduled.
The resolution was introduced to, again, focus a component of the dialogue. Of course, our thoughts and our condolences go out, but we need more than thoughts and condolences. We need to have the conversation about how to prevent this from happening again. We need to have the public safety dialogue. That is what the resolution does.
Mr. GOLDMAN of New York.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for answering.
According to reporting this morning, the other previous obligation that the gentleman from Colorado had was to appear at a political campaign conference of the Speaker here in Washington, D.C., with three other Members who flipped districts.
Mr. Speaker, I am sure it was essential for the gentleman from Colorado to be the fourth Republican Member to have flipped a district last time to speak with donors in Washington, D.C., so that he could not return to Boulder, Colorado, to commemorate the victims who were the subject of this resolution that he so misguidedly introduced because this resolution is the exact opposite of Mr. Van Drew's resolution.
This resolution uses anti-Semitism, uses Jews, for a political objective. This was an anti-Semitic attack. The victims were Jewish. One victim was a Holocaust survivor. There is no question that the motivation of the perpetrator was anti-Semitism. It has nothing to do with how he got into this country.
If you want to have an immigration enforcement conversation, let's have an immigration enforcement conversation because this has nothing to do with that.
For the gentleman from Colorado to break precedent in the House of Representatives to prevent the Member representing the victims of this horrific attack from leading a resolution representing the families, I hope it is simply because he has been here for only 6 months and does not understand the traditions of this institution.
It would be a shame if this is where this institution has gone, if the partisanship has gotten so deep, so raw, and so uncontrollable that we can't follow the custom of having the victims' Representative introduce a resolution condemning such a horrific attack like this.
On top of that, to use this for some bogus immigration argument where he falsely characterizes Colorado as a sanctuary State and falsely represents that there were law enforcement contacts with the perpetrator when the only information we have is that there were some 911 hang-ups that traced back to an address where the perpetrator was living, to argue that somehow this is a reflection of our immigration system uses Jews as a partisan pawn.
It is the exact opposite of what we Jews in this country need. I get that we are in a political body. I get that they like to put these resolutions--Mr. Evans wasn't here last term, but there were about 10 anti-Semitism resolutions that effectively said the same thing, solely to score political points.
We Jews are sick and tired of being used as pawns. Anti-Semitism is rising to such a degree that people are now being murdered because they are Jewish. We are not just talking about protests on campus anymore. Every single Jewish institution has to significantly increase security. We all have to worry when we go into a synagogue whether we will be the next victim.
Here we are, dealing with this resolution, trying to convert anti- Semitism and anti-Semitic violence into some immigration gotcha game.
What are we thanking ICE agents for in a resolution commemorating and condemning anti-Semitism and remembering and honoring the victims when there were no ICE agents there? ICE has nothing to do with it. It is because ICE is spending so much time pulling nonviolent, noncriminal immigrants out of court, where they are going through a lawful process to come in here, so that they can be removed in expedited removal; so that they can have their asylum claims, a lawful pathway, voided; and so they can be kicked out of the country with minimal due process just so Republicans and President Trump can meet their quota of mass deportations.
Mr. Speaker, we were promised they were going to go after convicted criminals. These people are not convicted criminals.
This resolution says that there is cooperation between State, local, and Federal law enforcement. Really? As far as I know, the President of the United States ordered the National Guard to go into California over the objection of the Governor of California, something that has not happened since 1965. In 1965, it happened because the Governor of the State was not following Federal law.
Is that the kind of cooperation that we are looking for here?
This resolution should be pulled immediately.
Mr. Van Drew and Mr. Neguse have offered resolutions that properly honor the victims, condemn anti-Semitism, and give the American people the sense of Congress that we, as a unified body, will not tolerate anti-Semitic violence. Instead, we are voting on an immigration gotcha resolution that uses anti-Semitism as a political pawn.
Mr. Speaker, I urge you and my colleagues on the other side to come to your senses. Stop using anti-Semitism as a partisan weapon. Pull this resolution. Allow Mr. Neguse's resolution to be introduced and voted on, as is the tradition of this body, in parallel along with Mr. Van Drew's, which accurately reflects the threat not just in Boulder, Colorado, but in Washington, D.C., in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and all around the country.
We still can do the right thing. It is still possible, and I am certain the American people would greatly appreciate seeing some bipartisanship out of this body on a topic that is so important to so many.
Mr. VAN DREW.
Mr. Speaker, let me just address a couple of things before we move on. Let me say that, first of all, as we all know, it was referenced over there something about Mr. Evans and what bills get to the floor. As a freshman Member of Congress, I can guarantee you that he is not determining what bills get to the floor in the United States House of Representatives.
Secondly, sometimes the simple truth is something, most especially in Washington, D.C., that we here in Congress just avoid or don't see with clarity. Here is the simple truth, and this is what Mr. Evans was trying to get at: His resolution, yes, it is different than mine. Mine focused purely on anti-Semitism here in the world, but he brings up a valid point, not only for Jews but for many innocent victims, whether it was Laken Riley or whether it was the women who were raped, the women and men who were killed, those who were beaten, or those who were hurt who were in law enforcement.
Illegal immigration is not a good thing. Yes, there are a few illegal immigrants who came to this country who are illegal but just trying to make their way but doing it the wrong way, but there are also real bad folks who got in.
The simple truth is--let's get back to what happened--the man, the individual human being, who did this atrocious act, who made these Molotov cocktails, and who fashioned a flamethrower was an illegal immigrant with a bad history.
There would be people who are good human beings in this country who would be alive if we didn't have an open-door border policy. That is the simple truth. It is not complicated.
That is not using Jews. It happened to be Jews that got hurt this time. It is not using women when it was women who got raped. It is not using children when children were beaten and raped by these illegals. It is not using them. It is stating the facts of how awful and terrible what it is that we have been doing in this country by allowing known murderers to exist and to stay in the country and not detaining them, giving them due process, and then, at the very least, deporting them.
That is Mr. Evans' point here. That is what he is trying to say. That is what he is trying to bring forth. It is a simple but important truth that somehow we are trying to avoid.
Finally, again, I will address it because my friend, and he is my friend, my friend from New York addressed what is going on in California. Here is the other rule in the United States of America. In the United States of America, you can rally, demonstrate, and express your viewpoint. You have freedom of speech. It doesn't mean you beat people. It doesn't mean you put cars on fire. It doesn't mean you destroy buildings. It doesn't mean that you are allowed to hurt other people.
We are a nation of the rule of law. There is a simple truth.
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