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To: U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics
Ask U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics to Investigate Senator Tom Cotton
On 6/1/20, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark) posted the following message on his Twitter account:
“And, if necessary, the 10th Mountain, 82nd Airborne, 1st Cav, 3rd Infantry - whatever it takes to restore order. No Quarter for insurrectionists, anarchists, rioters and looters.”
No Quarter is defined as showing no mercy, taking no prisoners and in military terms usually means killing your enemy. No Quarter orders are war crimes according to the Lieber Code Article 60 and is prohibited by the Genova conventions and the U.S. DoD Law of War manual. A No Quarter order would be murder under U.S. Law.
Why do we have a sitting Senator advocating for the US military to commit war crimes against the American people? This is at best irresponsible and dangerous, calling into question his fitness to remain a Senator and at worst a criminal act, inciting violence and encouraging National Guardsmen to kill American citizens as punishment for damaging property.
The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics MUST take action! Investigate Senator Cotton and hold him accountable for his actions. As a public servant he is held to a higher standard - his thoughtless and dangerous words are a violation of his oath to defend the Constitution of the United States by depriving American citizens of their right to due process as stated in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.
“And, if necessary, the 10th Mountain, 82nd Airborne, 1st Cav, 3rd Infantry - whatever it takes to restore order. No Quarter for insurrectionists, anarchists, rioters and looters.”
No Quarter is defined as showing no mercy, taking no prisoners and in military terms usually means killing your enemy. No Quarter orders are war crimes according to the Lieber Code Article 60 and is prohibited by the Genova conventions and the U.S. DoD Law of War manual. A No Quarter order would be murder under U.S. Law.
Why do we have a sitting Senator advocating for the US military to commit war crimes against the American people? This is at best irresponsible and dangerous, calling into question his fitness to remain a Senator and at worst a criminal act, inciting violence and encouraging National Guardsmen to kill American citizens as punishment for damaging property.
The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics MUST take action! Investigate Senator Cotton and hold him accountable for his actions. As a public servant he is held to a higher standard - his thoughtless and dangerous words are a violation of his oath to defend the Constitution of the United States by depriving American citizens of their right to due process as stated in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.
Why is this important?
Our elected leaders need to be held accountable for their words and actions. Senator Cotton is encouraging violence against civilians and improperly using his office as a senator to pressure the military to commit war crimes. The social media that he used to post this comment clearly identified him as a US Senator implying this was policy and not opinion. We cannot have federal leaders advocating for the mass murder of American citizens. The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics must take swift and appropriate action to address Senator Cotton’s abuse of public office and prevent him from advocating for the unconstitutional use of US military forces against American civilians.