Cotton Asks Why Social Distancing Is Called For During Pandemic But Not Riots

On Sunday, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton wondered why different standards were applied to the coronavirus pandemic than the standards that the media and government officials have allowed during the nationwide protests the past few weeks.

During an interview with Cotton on Fox News, host Maria Bartiromo asked the senator, “Just a couple of weeks ago, we had mayors and governors upset by the lockdown, upset by the shutdown. And now we have got all of these people on the ground protesting, many of whom are peaceful. But is there a worry that they’re going to get COVID, being so close to each other?”

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Cotton: ‘It cannot be the case that you can be arrested for opening a business, but not for looting one’

“Well, I hope that’s not the case,” Cotton replied. “We won’t know for a week or two, given the incubation period of the virus.”

“But I think we can say that the lockdowns and the most extreme form are going to have to be finished, whether de facto or not,” he continued. “You just can’t expect people to continue to voluntarily comply with what some of these mayors and governors are saying.”

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“It cannot be the case that thousands of Americans can exercise their First Amendment rights on the street, while dozens of Americans cannot exercise their First Amendment rights in churches,” Cotton said. “It cannot be the case that you can be arrested for opening a business, but not for looting one.”

‘Send in the troops’ controversy

Cotton sparked controversy last week after the New York Times’ published his op-ed titled “Send in the troops,” in which the senator argued that local law enforcement should be backed up by military force to quell the nationwide protests against police brutality, some of which have morphed into rioting and looting.

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When many members of the New York Times’ staff voiced their displeasure with Cotton’s op-ed, the paper apologized for publishing it and on Monday the Times editorial page editor resigned.