Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) issued the following statement on the shooting of four police officers in St. Louis overnight:
“The police officer shootings in St. Louis overnight are despicable. My prayers go out to the officers and their families. And my heartfelt thanks goes to them as well. These officers, and thousands more around our state, choose to put their lives on the line every day, and every night, to protect the neighborhoods we call home. The perpetrators who attacked them last night must be brought to justice. And we must bring order to our cities and towns now. Violence threatens to destroy the fabric of our communities and undermine our ability to live and act together. Every American has a right to assemble and protest peaceably, but mindless violence is not protest, it is further injustice that harms us all.”