United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said in a statement to The Tennessee Star on Wednesday that it is committed to maintaining peace ahead of August’s special session of the Tennessee General Assembly after far-Left agitators said they plan to wreak havoc at ICE’s Nashville office.
Last week, The Star reported that Left-wing activists plan to protest outside ICE and that one of their tactics is to disable ICE vehicles.
“ICE respects the rights of people to voice their opinion peacefully without interference. That being said, ICE is committed to ensuring the safety and welfare of all those in the agency’s custody and will ensure that detained individuals reside in, and ICE employees work in, a safe, secure environment,” said Sarah Loicano, an ICE public affairs officer.
“To ensure public safety, ICE and federal law enforcement partners are committed to maintaining the peace with the deployment of Special Response Teams and the Federal Protective Service (FPS),” she said. “The FPS uses its security expertise and law enforcement authority to protect federal government facilities and safeguard the millions of employees and visitors who pass through them every day.”
During an activist training session on May 13, hosted in Nashville by Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood, Left-wing agitators laid out their plans for August’s special session.
The Star obtained secretly recorded audio of the event.
“I think there’s increased risk with it being a federal building and beholden to federal laws on federal property,” one agitator said when discussing the likelihood of getting arrested while protesting ICE. “I also think there’s significant risk to any undocumented folks who would want to be a part of that action. I also think that, you know, if we are disabling vehicles, I think there’s a way to do it without being caught – and I’m a strong proponent of ‘it’s only illegal if you get caught’ – but it would be property damage at the minimum, and I do think that with further planning there would be ways to make this a safer action.”
The training session leader explained that there was a high probability for arrest protesting ICE.
“Because you’re at a federal building, and you’re actively blocking them, like, trying to do their jobs, right?” another person said. “So if a police officer is doing something and I stop him, then I’m obstructing justice. If we’re here to actively stop people from being deported we are obstructing justice, and that’s a homeland security issue, that’s not a state-level issue. We are definitely in the red, and I want everyone to be conscious of that because we wouldn’t want volunteers to show up, do the action, and be caught off guard by the big, like, false imprisonment charges, even if they don’t stick. That’s a huge thing on your family.”
One even worried that domestic terrorism charges could be levied against the far-Leftists.
“I would add that domestic terrorism charges is a possibility for ICE,” that activist said.
Gov. Bill Lee (R) called for a special session in August to address gun control, and has even called for red flag laws, which have already been vocally opposed by Republicans in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
Listen to the audio clip of the far-Left organizers’ meeting:
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
Thank you Bill Lee for giving the radical left every chance to act like the thugs they are!
But Bill Lee your push to violate the rights of law abiding citizens, which opens the door to these left wing malcontents, is all on YOU!
When was the last time that a window was broken during a protest at the General Assembly? Hint: it wasn’t the “Far Left” doing the protesting….
Is Mayorkas going to let ICE protect their Nashville headquarters the same way he lets them protect our Southern border? If so, have the fire department standing by.