Rep. Roy's statement on HR 55

I issued the following statement Tuesday regarding my vote on H.R. 55:

Lynching is an unspeakably heinous crime. But This bill doesn't have anything to do with lynching, other than its name.

It does not make lynching a federal offense. In fact it creates no new federal offenses. It simply raises the punishment for things that are already federal crimes, including those that are unrelated to lynching — such as gender identity — in an effort to advance a woke agenda under the guise of correcting racial injustice. 

Congress and the media should be honest with the American people about what bills do and don’t do. As much as I favor harsher penalties for violent offenders, this is a matter for the states and I will not vote for legislative deception. I will also not support enhancing the power of a federal government that so often abuses it.