Reports of Islamic extremist groups allegedly praying and washing up in the U.S. Capitol during a government shutdown have sparked outrage among conservative lawmakers.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, are sounding the alarm over claims that members of the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas-linked individuals from Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJPAction) were using Senate bathrooms for ritual cleansing and praying on mats inside the Capitol while the government was at a standstill.
Breitbart reported that these allegations first surfaced through investigative journalist Laura Loomer, who took to the social media platform X to detail the reported activities, including individuals in Islamic attire roaming the Capitol halls.
Tuberville and Roy aren’t sitting idly by; they’ve announced plans to reach out to Capitol Police next week to request surveillance footage from inside the building to verify these claims.
Loomer’s posts suggest that the public deserves transparency about which congressional and Senate Democrats may have met with these groups during the shutdown, a sentiment echoed by the lawmakers.
Staff members from Tuberville’s office reportedly witnessed women in niqabs and men engaging in prayer on the Senate floor, alongside using restrooms for foot-washing rituals tied to Islamic practices.
Sen. Tuberville didn’t mince words when connecting these events to broader fears, referencing the tragic Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives due to radical Islamic extremism.
“Twenty-four years ago, September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 innocent Americans were murdered in a coordinated terrorist attack carried out by radical Islamic extremism,” Tuberville said. “That day changed this country forever.”
His point hits hard, reminding us that such ideologies, in his view, continue to challenge Western values and freedoms—an argument that’s tough to ignore when history looms so large.
Tuberville also pointed to other attacks as evidence of persistent extremist threats, framing them as direct assaults on the American way of life and cultural norms.
“They were using the bathroom for an opportunity to prepare for their prayer,” Tuberville noted, expressing frustration over public displays of faith that he believes clash with American customs. Talk about a cultural disconnect—while religious freedom is a cornerstone, using public spaces for such personal rituals raises eyebrows.
Meanwhile, Rep. Chip Roy has taken legislative action by introducing the Preserving a Sharia-Free America Act earlier this month, co-sponsored by several Republican colleagues, aiming to restrict entry to foreign nationals adhering to Sharia law.
On a parallel track, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, reintroduced the Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation Act of 2025 this past July, seeking to officially label the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization due to its ties to groups like Hamas.
This isn’t just posturing; it’s a response to real concerns about national security and the influence of organizations that lawmakers argue pose a direct threat to American safety.
While the debate over religious expression and security rages on, Tuberville and Roy’s push for transparency via Capitol footage could be the key to uncovering whether these activities crossed a line—or if this is much ado about nothing in a tense political climate.
