FIRST ON FOX: Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is currently investigating the National Park Service (NPS) for the July 24 pro-Hamas protests in Washington, DC.

Despite advance notice and a broad permit for the left-leaning anti-Israel group ANSWER Coalition, the NPS deployed only 29 officers, vastly outnumbering the crowd. In contrast, Amtrak Police, which is responsible for security at Union Station, significantly increased its presence and successfully kept the area under control, Cruz said in a letter sent to the NPS on Friday.

In his letter, Cruz also criticizes the NPS for not coordinating with other agencies, underestimating the scale of the protests, and not requesting additional support. He also demands detailed answers about the NPS’s preparations, coordination efforts, and plans to prevent future pro-Hamas demonstrations in the country’s capital.

Anti-Israel activists stage massive protest during Netanyahu’s US visit to Washington, DC

A person sprays the base of the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain with spray paint during an anti-Israel demonstration near the U.S. Capitol as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint session of Congress on July 24, 2024. (Andrew Thomas/AFP via Getty Images)

“This should never have happened,” Cruz wrote in his letter, first seen by Fox News Digital. “The National Park Service (NPS) had advance notice of the large anti-Israel protests that coincided with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress and had ample time to prepare.”

Additionally, Cruz is seeking information on the intelligence information available to the NPS regarding the protests, including details on the activities of the ANSWER Coalition and the steps the NPS took to prepare for the protests and potential unrest at Columbus Circle. This includes the number of officers deployed, any bodycam footage of U.S. Park Police officers responding to the unrest, any NPS incident reports or similar documents, and information on how the NPS coordinated with local authorities prior to the protests.

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Senator Ted Cruz (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images/File)

Cruz said the NPS had left its U.S. Park Police “hopelessly outnumbered.”

“The NPS’s use of inadequate resources despite advance warning of the massive protest and the risk that pro-Hamas demonstrations would turn violent was negligent,” Cruz wrote. “Even if every USPP officer in the Washington metropolitan area were deployed, the many other demands on that force would leave far too few USPP officers available for a large protest that could turn violent, and the Park Police union is not aware of any efforts to obtain additional officers.”

On July 24, anti-Israel agitators marched into Washington DC to protest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress. Several monuments and historical sites were defaced and damaged. They set fire to American flags, scrawled graffiti outside Union Station, and chanted “Allahu Akbar.”

Anti-Israel agitators burn American flags and accuse Netanyahu of being a “war criminal” in his speech to Congress.

Activists cheer as they burn flags and a puppet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an anti-Israel protest near the U.S. Capitol on July 24, 2024. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Protesters burned an American flag and vandalized a statue bearing the words “Hamas is coming” at Union Station near the U.S. Capitol. They also removed American flags and replaced them with Palestinian flags.

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A protester sprays graffiti on the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain at Union Station in Washington, DC on July 24, 2024. (REUTERS/Nathan Howard)

Netanyahu delivered a speech to the US Congress last month as his country has been raging in war against Hamas since October 7. During his speech, Netanyahu also attacked the ceasefire demonstrations that have taken place across the US since the war began.

Fox News Digital has contacted NPS for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.