The parents of a student killed in the 2018 Parkland school shooting were forcibly removed from a congressional hearing Thursday, and Capitol police pinned the father to the ground.
Manuel and Patricia Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed in the attack, were in Washington DC for the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee hearing titled: ‘ATF Attack on Second Amendment: When is enough?’
Pat Fallon, a Republican congressman representing Texas, said increased gun control was not a solution to gun violence, noting the high level of gun ownership in Mexico even though it is extremely difficult to buy guns legally.
“You can’t legislate to eliminate evil,” Fallon said.
Patricia Oliver is seen Thursday confronting Republican lawmakers who insisted there was nothing they could legislatively do to end gun violence.
Manuel Oliver is seen Thursday being pinned to the ground by Capitol Police
‘Arms control in Mexico is very strict. All firearms in Mexico are supposed to be registered.
‘Mexico has 124 million people -‘
He was then interrupted by Patricia Oliver, who reportedly yelled that her son had been taken.
The Olivers were evicted from a White House event last year after Manuel Oliver interrupted Joe Biden for not doing enough on gun control.
‘Uh-woah, ma’am. ma’am Very well, please remove that woman. You are eliminated. You are breaking protocol and disorder in the committee room. Officers, please remove it.
Manuel Oliver yelled that the committee was ‘full of shit’.
Fallon said, ‘And take off the gentleman too.’
Patricia Oliver is removed from the audience
Her husband is seen being dragged away by the Capitol Police
Pat Fallon is seen arguing with Democrat David Cicilline during Thursday’s hearing.
Fallon then read into the room the committee rules, which prohibited interruptions.
Outside the committee room, Manuel Oliver was manhandled by Capitol Police and pushed to the ground. Supporters chanted: ‘He’s not violent!’
Fallon, hearing the commotion, called for a recess.
Maxwell Frost, the youngest member of Congress at 26, condemned Fallon’s actions.
Frost, from Orlando, served as the national organizing director for March for Our Lives, the student activist group created by Parkland survivors.
“Losing a child to gun violence, seeing the pictures of your child sitting in a pool of blood, I can’t imagine that,” she said.
“You know, Manny and Patricia have dedicated their lives to fighting for a world where true justice can be achieved, because unfortunately, there is no justice for the dead, and true justice is ensuring that this never happens again.”
Frost, in whose office hangs a piece of art created during his campaign by Manuel Oliver, called the couple “American heroes.”
“And what they always say is that they don’t want their son Joaquín to be remembered as a victim, they want to remember him as an activist.”
Frost noted that the leading cause of death for American children is gun violence.
“Today, the Republicans on this committee chose to sit across from those parents, and the survivors, organizers, and advocates who are sitting in the audience right now, people who are reliving their trauma listening to this, people affected by gun violence across the world”. nation, and show that their priority is lobbying gun money, manufacturers profiting from death, and creating false narratives for political gain,’ he said.
He then walked out of the hearing, saying it “didn’t make sense” while Republicans are still slaves to the gun lobby.
