Democrat Freddie O’Connell, who has positioned himself as a progressive mayor of Nashville, Tennessee, is currently under investigation for allegedly obstructing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
Republican Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles announced on Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and congressional judiciary committees are investigating whether Mayor O’Connell used federal tax dollars “in criminal enterprise” to obstruct ICE operations while allegedly aiding and abetting illegal migrants. As Breitbart News reported, O’Connell made “waves nationally after making Metro Immigration Interactions public”:
According to WZTV, the public information includes “federal immigration authorities’ names.” The Democrat maintains he is doing this as a form of “transparency,” but Republicans are warning that this fundamentally puts agents in danger.
“@freddieoconnell is putting ICE agents and law enforcement in harm’s way by releasing their names for criminal gangs to see,” Blackburn said in a social media post, explaining why the move is so risky.
“These men and women have risked their lives to make our communities safer by removing gangs, rapists, and other heinous criminals from our communities. Shame on him,” she continued.
In a Monday press conference at the Tennessee State capital, Ogles claimed that the mayor has been aiding “murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, sexual predators, child traffickers.”
“I will always stand on the rule of law and with ICE. And I don’t just stand with ICE; I’ll stand in front of ICE because we the people have had enough,” Ogles said. “Due to the remarks of Freddie O’Connell and the potential for aiding and abetting illegal immigration, the Homeland Security and the judiciary committees will be conducting an investigation into the mayor of Nashville, his conduct and whether or not federal dollars have been used in criminal enterprise.”
According to the New York Post, ICE agents “working with the Tennessee Highway Patrol had busted nearly 200 immigrants — many criminals with gang affiliations — in a joint operation earlier this month.”
“After the arrests, O’Connell signed an executive order requiring city departments to inform the mayor’s office within a certain time frame after communicating with federal immigration authorities,” noted the NY Post.
Hellbound and Down 