{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=D8F9EBE9-8D48-4979-B6B9-343F9BC0A867", "Graham, Colleagues Urge D.C. Mayor To Rename Plaza Following BLM Pro-Hamas Rhetoric", "2023-10-24", "2023", "2023-10", "Republican", "Senate", "SC", "Lindsey Graham", "G000359", "www.lgraham.senate.gov", "graham", "https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) joined his colleagues in Congress to urge Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to rename Black Lives Matter Plaza. In 2020, following the protests and riots, a plaza directly in front of the White House was renamed the \u201cBlack Lives Matter Plaza.\u201d\n\nFollowing the devastating October 7th attack against innocent Israelis and Americans, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) organization has demonstrated support for Hamas, the terrorist group responsible for the attack. BLM has circulated disturbing antisemitic rhetoric and images on social media and is encouraging the spread of pro-Hamas propaganda following the terrorist attacks.\n\nContinuing to honor terrorist sympathizers with a plaza in our nation\u2019s capital is a slap in the face to all Americans, especially Jewish and Israeli Americans.\n\nThey wrote: \u201cYou [Mayor Bowser] stated after the attacks that you \u2018reject terrorism in all its forms\u2019 and that \u2018antisemitism has no place in our institutions, our country, our world or our hearts.\u2019 We wholeheartedly agree with this statement. We further believe that movements that celebrate violent anti-Semitism should not be honored by the government with a plaza, especially one located directly outside of our nation\u2019s White House.\u201d\n\n\u201cBLM continues to openly celebrate the antisemitic Hamas terrorist attacks against Israel. This stance is irreconcilable with American values. America must clearly affirm its stance against antisemitism, wherever it appears. We therefore urge you to immediately rename the Black Lives Matter Plaza, to remove the associated street painting in the plaza, and to end the city\u2019s celebration of this terrorist sympathizer group.\u201d\n\nRead full text of the letter here.\n\nThe bicameral letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee), Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), Rick Scott (R-Florida), Josh Hawley (R-Missouri), and Steve Daines (R-Montana) and U.S. Representatives Jim Banks (R-Indiana), Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina), Josh Brecheen (R-Oklahoma), John Rose (R- Tennessee), Ronny Jackson (R-Georgia), Jeff Duncan (R-South Carolina), Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), Scott Franklin (R-Florida), John H. Rutherford (R- Florida), Elise Stefanik (R- New York), Earl L. \u201cBuddy\u201d Carter (R-Florida), Doug LaMalfa (R-California), Troy Nehls (R-Texas), Michael Waltz (R-Florida), and Claudia Tenney (R-New York).\n\n######", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:43:12Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=D8F9EBE9-8D48-4979-B6B9-343F9BC0A867"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6266541313380003, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}