Anger over the thuggish behavior of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s security guards who brutally assaulted protesters outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington shows no sign of abating as more US lawmakers call for the administration to take action against them. 

In a letter dated May 19 addressed to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on behalf of 28 members of the House, Carolyn B. Maloney, a Democratic representative for New York’s 12th congressional district, said that the Turkish security guards should be “arrested, prosecuted and jailed.” Maloney noted that the guards had “kicked men and women crouched on the ground and disregarded numerous commands by police to cease and desist.”

Maloney cited “incredibly disturbing” video footage documenting the violence around Sheridan Circle. She urged Tillerson to "use all tools at your disposal so that these men are denied diplomatic immunity and prosecuted to the fullest extent of U.S. law.”

In an interview with Fox News May 21, Tillerson called the incident “simply unacceptable.” He reminded the audience that the State Department had summoned the Turkish ambassador, Serdar Kilic, to discuss the matter. He said, “There is an ongoing investigation … we'll wait and see what the outcome of that investigation is.”