Rep. Chip Roy Waxes Poetic About Lynchings in Hearing on Violence Against Asians: ‘Find All the Rope in Texas and Get a Tall Oak Tree’

Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) waxed poetic about lynchings in the middle of a hearing held to address a rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans.

The House Judiciary Committee held the hearing on Thursday — a proceeding which comes two days after six Asian women and two others were killed by a gunman who attacked multiple spas in around Atlanta.

Roy spoke about how “all Americans deserve protection and to live in a free and secure society” and that the Atlanta victims deserve justice, but then he diverted to an old saying that fondly recalled lynchings in Texas.

We believe in justice. There’s old sayings in Texas about find all the rope in Texas and get a tall oak tree. You know, we take justice very seriously, and we ought to do that. Round up the bad guys. That’s what we believe.

Roy went on to slam the hearing as a political exercise infringing on free speech and criminal justice. He further diverted from the matter at hand in order to go on a harangue against China.

Mediaite reached out to Roy for comment, and he offered this defense of his remarks:

Apparently some folks are freaking out that I used an old expression about finding all the rope in Texas and a tall oak tree about carrying out justice against bad guys. I meant it. We need more justice and less thought police. We need to stop evil doers – such as those who carried out the attack in Atlanta this week, or cartels abusing little children, or those who kill our cops on the streets. We should restore order by tamping out evil actors… not turn America into an authoritarian state like the Chinese Communists who seek to destroy us. No apologies.

Watch above, via CSPAN.