The third-ranking House Republican is calling for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s security men to be denied entry to the United States — or expelled — for beating U.S. citizens after his last visit to the White House.
Fifteen of Erdoğan’s guards were criminally charged for attacking Americans in Washington in May 2017. The guards were allowed to flee, but two Turkish-American collaborators were sentenced to one year in prison.
Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, chairwoman of the House Republican Caucus, wrote Monday to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that those involved in 2017 attacks should be barred from returning this week, or “immediately expelled.”
“This behavior is sadly routine for President Erdoğan on Turkish soil,” Cheney wrote in a letter first reported by the Washington Examiner. “It is wrong and disturbing there, and it is an affront to American values and entirely unwelcome here. The Erdoğan regime’s use of violence against innocent civilians anywhere is inhumane, uncivilized, and unacceptable.”
Shortly after meeting with Trump two years ago, Erdoğan appeared to relay a command and watched as his guards broke through a D.C. police line to attack a small group of people chanting against him. The men kicked senior citizens in the head and choked a woman.
A coalition of Kurdish-American, Armenian-American, and anti-authoritarian protesters intends to protest Erdoğan on Wednesday. Many of the 2017 attack victims told the Washington Examiner they intend to return.
“I am scared myself for my life, but I am not going to give up. I am going to definitely protest him again the way we did two years ago in Sheridan Circle,” said Sayid Reza Yasa, 62, a Turkey-born Kurdish American who was kicked in the head by three men outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence in May 2017.
Trump never condemned the 2017 attack, but footage of the event contributed to a sharp downturn in U.S.-Turkish relations. The House passed a unanimous resolution calling for perpetrators to be prosecuted.
Although 15 of Erdoğan’s guards were criminally charged, 11 cases were dropped under circumstances that remain unclear. The State Department had worked with law enforcement to match photos to travel documents before charges were made.
Authorities have said little about how they will handle visas or arrest procedures for guards accused of assault. The State Department, the White House, and Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department have avoided offering specifics on planning for the Wednesday visit.
Immediately before the May 2017 attack, protesters chanted that the Turkish president was a “baby killer” in response to his crackdown on Kurds in Turkey. His attack on Kurds in northern Syria is expected to be one of the top focuses Wednesday. Vice President Mike Pence brokered a ceasefire last month after Trump threatened to destroy the Turkish economy.
Turkish officials said Trump apologized to Erdoğan after his guards were criminally charged, but the White House denied it.
