'Clown show': House Republicans slammed over bill seeking to send anti-Israel college protesters to Gaza

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Reps Andy Ogles (R-Tenn), Randy Weber (R-Texas), and Jeff Duncan (R-SC) on Wednesday, May 8 introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that seeks to send "any person convicted of unlawful activity on the campus of an American university" to Gaza for at least six months. 

According to Fox News, the bill was brought up in response to anti-Israel protests raging on college campuses across the United States, some of which have taken a chaotic turn and resulted in clashes between law enforcement officials and activists.

Purpose of the new bill

While the text of the bill does not mention Israel or anti-Israel groups, it is specifically aimed at unlawful activities on college campuses after October 7, 2023, when the Hamas attack took place and which set off a counter-assault by Israel.

If passed, the legislation would force a convicted person to serve a minimum six-month community service sentence in Gaza,which is facing a humanitarian crisis at present as a result of Israel's relentless assault led by Benjamin Netanyahu.

Statements of the lawmakers

Speaking with Fox News, Ogles stated, "Students have abandoned their classes to harass other students and disrupt campus-wide activities, including university commencement ceremonies nationwide. Enough is enough."

"That’s why I introduced legislation to send any person convicted of unlawful activity on the campus of an American university since October 7th, 2023, to Gaza to complete a minimum of six months of community service," he added.

Weber slammed the protesters in his statement, saying, "If you support a terrorist organization, and you participate in unlawful activity on campuses, you should get a taste of your own medicine. I am going to bet that these pro-Hamas supporters wouldn’t last a day, but let’s give them the opportunity."

Internet reacts to the proposed legislation

Netizens slammed the bill online, as the following tweets against it demonstrate.

"How would that be legal?" inquired a user.

"Israel is now writing all our laws it seems? Whoever supports this should be deported to israel," stated another.

"What a clown show," jibed a third.

"Something else that will never happen. Congress is a joke," chided a fourth user.

"Deporting Americans for protesting against a foreign nation 🤡🤡🤡", mocked a fifth.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.