The Honorable Muriel Bowser
September 2, 2020
Page 1

September 2, 2020
The Honorable Muriel Bowser
Mayor
District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Mayor Bowser:
Like other Democrat-run cities, the District of Columbia (D.C.) under your leadership has
allowed radical left-wing violent extremists to commit senseless acts of violence and destruction.
By your inaction in response to their mayhem, these left-wing agitators have become
emboldened to be even more aggressive and more dangerous. The recent violent confrontations
on District streets and in District businesses dramatically underscore this fact. You must restore
order and peace to the District before the left-wing violent extremism gets further out of hand.
On August 24, 2020, mobs of left-wing agitators confronted diners at District restaurants,
demanding that the diners say or do things to signal support for certain leftist causes.1
Approximately 150 individuals confronted diners in several restaurants in northwest D.C.2 These
individuals berated diners for “enjoying ‘White privilege,’” crowded around diners’ tables and
shone lights in their eyes, and demanded that they raise their fists in apparent support for the
agitators.3 One participant made clear that the crowd’s intent was to coerce the diners into taking
certain action, saying to one diner who refused to raise her fist that “They all did – all the other
tables. You were literally the only one of 20 other people” and “[w]e’re not going to change this
[expletive] for people like you.”4
On August 27, 2020, several individuals departing the White House were surrounded by
left-wing agitators who sought to threaten and intimidate them for attending the Republican
National Convention—some individuals even needed help from the District’s Metropolitan
Police Department officers to safely leave the area.5 One attendee, Senator Rand Paul, said that
he and his wife, Kelley, were surrounded by left-wing extremists, who threatened them by saying

1

See, e.g., Fredrick Kunkle, Protestors target D.C. diners, triggering backlash after heckling woman, WASH. POST
(Aug. 25, 2020), https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/08/25/dc-protesters-blm-diner-confrontation/.
2
Id.
3
Id.
4
Id.
5
See, e.g., Antonio Olivo et al., Chants, marching and music in D.C. as demonstrators protest Trump speech,
WASH. POST (Aug. 28, 2020), https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/protests-in-district-as-trump-to-deliveracceptance-speech-at-white-house/2020/08/27/69af4eec-e8b3-11ea-bc79-834454439a44_story.html.

 The Honorable Muriel Bowser
September 2, 2020
Page 2
“[w]e’re not going to let you go alive unless you’ll say you’re for criminal justice reform.”6
Senator Paul said later that he thought the left-wing mob—which may have included paid
agitators—“would have killed us had the police not been there.”7 Prior to these attacks, the leftwing mob that had crowded around the White House showed its acceptance of political violence
by bringing a guillotine with an effigy of the President secured in its stocks.8 This same tactic
was used earlier that day outside Jeff Bezos’s D.C. home in an apparent effort to intimidate
Amazon into paying a $30 minimum wage.9
On August 29, 2020, rioters set fires, assaulted police officers, and threatened and
intimidated residents in the District. Left-wing agitators used lasers in an attempt to blind the
police officers seeking to restore order, resulting in the hospitalization of one officer.10 In total,
five officers were injured on the night of August 29 and six officers were hospitalized between
August 27 and August 29.11 Rioters also entered residential neighborhoods, set fires, and
threatened residents who came out of their homes.12 The Washington Post reported that “a
protestor holding a baseball bat . . . warn[ed] bystanders and members of the media not to take
video while marchers damaged cars or set small fires.”13
Your choice to surrender the streets of D.C. to violent left-wing extremists and agitators
so that they can intimidate, coerce, and assault innocent people places at risk all who live, work,
and patronize businesses in the District. Your actions also highlight the wisdom of the Founders
to ensure that the seat of the federal government is not beholden to a particular state. Therefore, I
ask that you produce the following information:
1. All documents and communications referring or relating to D.C.’s response, if any, to
violent left-wing agitators harassing peaceful individuals within D.C. between June 1,
2020, and the present; and,
2. All documents and communications referring or relating to D.C.’s examination, if any, of
whether the perpetrators of the recent violence and intimidation within D.C. have been
paid or otherwise induced to commit these acts of violence by a third party.
Please provide these documents by September 16, 2020.
See Caleb Parke, Rand Paul calls for FBI arrests, investigation into ‘mob’ he believes ‘would have killed us,’ if not
for police, FOX NEWS (Aug. 28, 2020), https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rand-paul-attack-police-arrestinvestigation-white-house-rnc-protests.
7
Id.
8
David Aaro, Sen. Rand Paul thanks DC cops for saving him from ‘crazed mob’ after RNC, Fox News (Aug. 28,
2020), https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sen-rand-paul-thanks-dc-cops-for-saving-him-from-crazed-mob-after-rnc.
9
Justine Coleman, Protesters demanding higher wages set up guillotine outside Bezos’s house, THE HILL (Aug. 27,
2020), https://thehill.com/policy/technology/514020-protesters-demanding-higher-wages-set-up-guillotine-outsidebezoss-house.
10
See Clarence Williams et al., Five arrested after protesters march through D.C., start small fires and engage in
tense standoff with police, WASH. POST (Aug. 30, 2020), https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-mdva/2020/08/29/protesters-start-fires-in-adams-morgan/.
11
Id.
12
Id.
13
Id.
6

 The Honorable Muriel Bowser
September 2, 2020
Page 3
The Committee on the Judiciary has jurisdiction over matters concerning subversive
activities affecting the internal security of the United States under House Rule X. The Committee
on Oversight and Reform is the principal oversight Committee of the U.S. House of
Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House
Rule X.
If you have any questions about this request, please contact Judiciary Committee staff at
(202) 225-6906 or Oversight Committee staff at (202) 225-5074. Thank you for your cooperation
with this inquiry.
Sincerely,

Jim Jordan
Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary

cc:

James Comer
Ranking Member
Committee on Oversight and
Reform

The Honorable Jerrold L. Nadler, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary
The Honorable Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman, Committee on Oversight and Reform