As someone who has worked in law enforcement, I support the valuable roles of our police, first responders and federal officials in protecting our homes, businesses and communities. I do not support efforts to defund the police; in fact, given the rise in crime, we need to make sure our local police forces have the resources they need to keep us safe. Meaningful reform of our criminal justice system, however, is necessary. We need to ensure practices and policies are in place to prioritize public safety, fairness and equal justice.
My opponent Ken Calvert claims that he supports law enforcement even though he voted against additional federal funding for our local police departments in Riverside County last year. Similarly, after 140 police officers were injured at the January 6th insurrection, Calvert voted to decertify the results of the 2020 presidential election and then went on to say that charges should be dropped against the insurrectionists. More recently, Calvert impugned our nation’s top law enforcement agencies without any evidence, writing: “All of us should be extremely concerned about what is happening to institutions – the DOJ and FBI – that must be above reproach. Should House Republicans regain the Majority, it will be incumbent upon us investigate to [sic] and root out the rot that has infiltrated these agencies.” His words are both disgraceful and dangerous, and threaten the safety of the men and women working to investigate domestic terrorism, cyber-crimes and foreign interference in our elections.
At the Justice Department, I focused on counterterrorism and counterintelligence cases in Southern California. When I helped respond to the attack on the U.S. Capitol last year, I saw firsthand how conspiracy theories and lies turned to violence. I left my job at DOJ to challenge an entrenched incumbent who helped spread those lies.
Priorities:
- Keep handguns and assault rifles away from felons and others who pose a threat to the community by requiring basic violent history checks for all firearm purchases, implementing red flag laws and banning high-capacity magazines.
- Support adequate federal funding for the Departments of Justice, HHS and other agencies aimed at preventing, investigating and prosecuting violent crimes, including the rising number of hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community, religious minorities and communities of color.
- Strengthen federal, state, and local law enforcement task forces that target violent gang crime and white-collar fraud rather than nonviolent, low-level drug offenses.
- Work to establish independent oversight and accountability for law enforcement misconduct, enhance transparency and data collection, and establish best practices and training requirements to keep both our communities and officers safe.
