Florida Republican Representative Carlos Giménez suggested this week that China is backing some of the recent pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses in the U.S.
On Wednesday, Giménez appeared on Fox Business Network's Mornings with Maria and spoke about some recent pro-Palestinian protests, such as the one at Columbia University in New York City and said, "don't be surprised if you actually look really deep into who's funding, that the CCP is involved, the Communist Chinese Party."
When asked by host Maria Bartiromo if there's a way to verify that China is involved in the protests, Giménez said, "I got some information that, yes, that somehow, through another organization, the CCP actually funds that organization who is funding these people."
Newsweek reached out to Giménez via email for comment.
The Context
Over the past few days, pro-Palestinian protests have taken over parts of the Columbia University campus in a "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" to demand that the Columbia administration divest from companies affiliated with Israel.
Tensions across university campuses have been high over the past six months as Israel continues its war in Gaza, which began after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7 that left 1,200 people dead and saw more than 200 taken hostage. More than 34,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since the war began, the Associated Press reported, citing local health officials.
What We Know
On Tuesday, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry said on WNYW's Good Day New York that police are investigating who could be "behind" the ongoing protests.
"Look at the tents," Daughtry said. "They all were the same color, they all were the same type of tents. The same ones that we saw or NYU, the same ones that we see in Colombia. To me, I think somebody's funding this."
"Somebody's behind this, and we're going to find out who it is," Daughtry added.
Views
Some have recently called on federal and local officials to deploy the National Guard to respond to the protests at Columbia.
"The nascent pogroms at Columbia have to stop TODAY, before our Jewish brethren sit for Passover Seder tonight. If [Mayor] Eric Adams won't send the NYPD and [Governor] Kathy Hochul won't send the National Guard, [President] Joe Biden has a duty to take charge and break up these mobs," Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley said: "[President Dwight] Eisenhower sent the 101st to Little Rock. It's time for Biden to call out the National Guard at our universities to protect Jewish Americans."
Hochul said this week that she has no plans to deploy National Guard troops as NYPD officials were recently authorized to begin arresting some protesters.
What's Next
Columbia University announced this week that classes will be on a hybrid model for the remainder of the spring semester. University President Minouche Shafik also announced that school officials were planning to meet with protest organizers to discuss ways to deescalate.
Update 4/24/24, 9:56 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with further information.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
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