Press Releases

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) today urged the Trump Administration to expel the Turkish Ambassador to the United States after President Erdogan’s bodyguards attacked peaceful protesters outside the Turkish Embassy earlier in the week.

“President Trump should immediately expel the Turkish Ambassador to the United States,” said Rep. Don Beyer. “President Erdogan’s attacks on human rights and democratic institutions in Turkey are disgraceful, but condoning such attacks on American soil betrays our deepest values.

As someone who has represented my country abroad as an ambassador, I have a special appreciation for the vital role that envoys play and the expectations for honorable behavior that come with this responsibility.  These actions fall grievously short of that standard, and the US must take a stand.”

Rep. Beyer was appointed by President Barack Obama to be the United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Lichtenstein in 2009 and served in that post until 2013.

Video of the violent confrontation on Tuesday, May 16, which took place on Embassy Row in Washington DC, showed that President Erdogan watched from a car as his bodyguards assaulted peaceful protesters across the street.