In a fiery appearance on Face the Nation, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) issued a stern warning to Denver Mayor Mike Johnston over his open defiance of federal immigration laws and President Trump’s promised deportation efforts.
“You know, I’m 100% supportive of going after the 15,000 murderers, the 13,000 sexual assault perpetrators, rapists—let’s send them on their way to prison or back home to another prison,” Paul asserted.
However, he made it clear that such efforts must not involve deploying the U.S. Army domestically, a move Paul deemed both unconstitutional and dangerous.
“We’ve had a long-standing distrust of putting the Army into our streets,” Paul explained. “The police understand the Fourth Amendment. They go to judges, get warrants, and ensure specificity. So, I’m for removing these people, but through the normal process of domestic policing.”
Calling the mayor’s actions a “form of insurrection,” Paul declared that Johnston could face removal from office and potential legal consequences if he continues down this path.
“The mayor of Denver, if he’s going to resist federal law, which is a long-standing history of the supremacy of federal law, if he’s going to resist that, it will go all the way to the Supreme Court,” said Paul.
“I would suspect that he would be removed from office. I don’t know whether or not there’d be a criminal prosecution for someone resisting federal law, but he will lose. People need to realize that what he is offering is a form of insurrection where the states resist the federal government.”
Hellbound and Down 