'I Meant It': Chip Roy Responds to Outrage Over Comments Extolling Lynching - Mediaite

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) responded to complaints about his comments extolling the virtues of lynching at a hearing on violence against Asian Americans Thursday.

Speaking at a Judiciary Committee hearing on violence and discrimination against Asian Americans, held two days after a gunman shot dead eight people — including six Asian women — at Atlanta area massage parlors, Roy extolled the virtue of justice.

“All Americans deserve protection and to live in a free and secure society,” Roy said, adding the victims of the Atlanta shootings deserve justice.

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

The comment sparked some outrage on social media as it was seen as an endorsement of lynching. In a statement to Mediaite, Roy stood by his comment.

“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,” he wrote in a text to Mediaite’s Sarah Rumpf. “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.”

The expression about ropes and trees in Texas has something of a controversial history. It features in Toby Keith’s 2003 song “Beer for My Horses,” which was later decried as an “ode to lynching” in the Huffington Post.

“The song was a hit and the words ‘lynch’ and ‘racism’ has never come up until this moron wrote this blog,” Keith said in response. “It’s about the old West and horses and sheriffs … and going and getting the bad guys. It’s not a racist thing or about lynching.”

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Published On: Thu, 18 Mar 2021 15:44:00 GMT