Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) tweeted out Thursday morning criticizing Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to revive the federal civil asset forfeiture program, calling it “unconstitutional.”
What I'm most concerned about though is the Attorney General's actions yesterday to push forward with federal asset forfeiture.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 20, 2017
Asset forfeiture is an unconstitutional taking of property without trial. It's wrong and I call on the AG and the Adminsitraion to stop.
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) July 20, 2017
Sessions announced Wednesday that the Department of Justice will allow federal officials to seize property that they believe to be connected to illegal activity, even if the people haven’t yet been charged with a crime.
The department defended the action, labeling it as a necessary tool to fight crime, but civil rights advocates say that the law can be easily abused.
Paul has long advocated against civil asset forfeiture.
Originally published by the Daily Caller.