Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Tuesday accused the government of playing a “charade” by sending “goons” to block people from visiting the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

A group of veterans entered the memorial, which was closed off due to the government shutdown, on Tuesday morning. Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS) and Rep. Steve King (R-IA) reportedly helped the group gain access to the memorial.

“If Harry Reid and the president want to keep the parks closed — I mean, did you read the story today?” Paul said on Fox News’ “Hannity.” “Some idiot in the government sent goons out there to set up barricades so they couldn’t see the monument. People had to spend hours setting up barricades where there are never barricades, to prevent people from seeing the World War II monument, because they’re trying to play a charade.”

“They’re doing it because they just aren’t serious about this,” he added. “They like the shutdown.”

Paul said that despite passing a bill to fund the military, Democrats see the shutdown as a “parlor game” and are trying to stop a Republican-led effort to fund portions of the government, such as Veterans Affairs, in smaller bills.

“We’re trying to fund government and they’re trying to stop any funding because they think it’s a parlor game and they’ll win politically,” he said. “But they are not willing to negotiate and I think that’s an untenable position.”