McEachin condemns use of tear gas against protestors in Richmond, Washington, D.C.

Congressman A. Donald McEachin today issued the following statement regarding the unwarranted use of tear gas to dispel peaceful protests in Richmond and Washington, D.C.

“Non-violent resistance to demand better from our government is a pillar of our democracy that must be protected and valued at all costs.

“American citizens exercising their Constitutional rights – among them freedom of speech and assembly – is law and order. We cannot ask protesters to make themselves heard in a peaceful, constructive way, then tear gas them while they are lawfully assembled.

“Whether in Richmond, VA or Washington, DC, or anywhere in our nation, there is no justification for the use of tear gas against citizens engaging in a peaceful protest, obeying the law.

“It is alarmingly authoritarian, un-American and utterly unacceptable.”