A moderate Democratic member of Congress spoke out Tuesday, about 24 hours after he was allegedly carjacked by multiple armed, masked men outside an apartment building that houses several other federal lawmakers.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, told FOX News that despite criticisms of Democrats on the crime issue, he personally has always supported law enforcement and rule of law – and hopes the perpetrators of his carjacking are captured and prosecuted to the fullest extent.
Of the District of Columbia's crime crisis, Cuellar – who represents Laredo and a swath of the southern border – said he speaks often about the immigration crisis and the importance of border security.
But, he told "Jesse Watters Primetime" he finds Washington to be "two to three times more dangerous" than his area.
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"A society without law and order is not a society," he added.
Host Jesse Watters also played a clip of then-Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee from earlier this year, when he urged that "we need to keep violent people in jail."
The host criticized U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matt Graves for what he considered insufficiently prosecuting serious crimes falling within his purview.
Cuellar said he agrees with Contee in terms of prosecuting criminals and locking them up, adding that if people break the law, "you've got to lock them up and keep them there."
He added he has a Black Belt in Karate, but analyzed the situation of three armed men pointing guns at him and said he made the conscious decision not to fight back for his own safety in the moment.
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Cuellar was allegedly ousted from his car at gunpoint by three men he described as "punks with guns," and separately quipped that he was further disappointed they had stolen his sushi dinner.
The lawmaker was in his car on New Jersey Avenue about a mile from the Capitol. House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., was also seen at the scene while police were taking a statement.
Cuellar's vehicle was later recovered in Anacostia, a high-crime area of Southeast Washington.
He becomes the next lawmaker who has been a crime victim in D.C. after Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota was attacked in her apartment building's elevator in February. Craig successfully fought off the attacker.
Congressional staff have also been victims of the District's burgeoning crime crisis, including an aide to Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who was stabbed in Northeast Washington. Phillip Todd was left with a potential brain bleed and punctured lung in March after leaving a restaurant.
A staffer for Rep. Brad Finstad, R-Minn., was also attacked by an armed man following this year's Congressional Baseball Game.
Cuellar separately said Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has since reached out to him. Bowser, a fellow Democrat, complained only one day prior that the Metropolitan Police Department is short about 400 officers.
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