Metro Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said on Tuesday that the city may sue the federal government over the recent immigration enforcement operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), should Director of Law Wally Dietz determine wrongdoing on behalf of the federal government.
The mayor’s announcement, made during his recent appearance on WPLN‘s “This is Nashville,” came as U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) has called for a congressional probe to determine whether the efforts by O’Connell to provide assistance to illegal immigrants amounts to a violation of federal law.
O’Connell confirmed he and Dietz are considering a lawsuit when asked by the program’s host, Cynthia Abrams, why the city was demanding the names and charges of those detained by ICE.
“When we have the names and charges, we will be making validations there,” said O’Connell. “My suspicion would be that you’re going to have people there who, if there has been a violation of rights, it’s going to lead to additional lawsuits.”
He added, “If our Department of Law makes an independent determination that federal action has violated constitutional rights in a way that we have a legal pathway to pursue litigation, we are absolutely going to do that.”
O’Connell also asserted during the interview, without providing evidence, that federal law enforcement may have arrested foreign-born U.S. citizens who did not have proof of citizenship while operating a motor vehicle.
“I think there is a strong probability that people have been detained who are here legally but simply did not have documentation with them as they were driving on the streets in Nashville. So, we want to validate that,” said the mayor.
The mayor also expanded on his office’s recent executive order, which mandated that Metro employees submit any interaction with federal officials related to immigration enforcement to O’Connell and the Nashville Office for New Americans.
“We are looking to tighten up both training and communication for frontline Metro employees,” said O’Connell. “We reissued an executive order that is focused on our awareness as a local government about immigration-related activity, this type of activity happening, and trying to make sure that we have comprehensive communication ability to respond.”
O’Connell also noted his office’s involvement with the establishment of the “Belonging Fund,” which he said is “focused on supporting people who have been impacted by an immigration crisis here on the ground in Nashville.”
It was these moves that drew the attention of Ogles, who suggested earlier this week that O’Connell could be prosecuted for interfering with federal law enforcement, and on Wednesday said he would ask the House Judiciary Committee and House Homeland Security Committee to probe the mayor’s actions.
“Mayor O’Connell is obstructing ICE and protecting criminals, including traffickers and a convicted child predator. That’s not leadership—it’s lawlessness. If any Nashville agency undermines federal enforcement, I’ll use every tool in Congress to hold them accountable,” said Ogles. He later added, “I will be formally requesting that the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees investigate Mayor Freddie O’Connell and Nashville city officials for their repeated obstruction of ICE operations.”
Watch O’Connell’s full interview on WPLN:
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
a couple of TN whistleblowers are chomping at the bit for this to happen.
Good mornin’ Judge !
Well, he became the mayor so that’s something. He’s Pete Buttigieg less the masculine veneer and stellar military career.
O’Connell is inextriably linked to Mary Mancini. Everything she’s ever said and anything he said with her while they hosted Liberadio on 91.1fm for years. Download them, have Copilot transcribe them and have a ball.
I’d like to see a middle of the night FBI RAID on Freddie’s House for Obstruction of a Federal Operation to include helicopters & full blown Tactical RAID.
Freddie is a danger to the Legal Citizens of Nashville.
The oddball of a mayor has no leg to stand on for suing the Trump Administration. Just more tax dollars wasted on his failed administration. Good luck Nashvillians. You are going to need it with spend-it-all-and-more O’Connell.
The only thing a Democrat loves better than hating Donald John Trump is wasting taxpayers dollars 💸💸
Freddie is an amateur. And not a very bright one, at that.
This democrat ‘goof’ (i.e., Metro Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell) will probably want to be Tennessee’s Governor or a U. S. Senator or a U. S. Representative someday. If this ‘clown’ has violated federal law, investigate him and prosecute him and convict him before he has the opportunity to do real damage to the people of our State or the nation. These radical leftists are not just engaging in politics, they are waging WAR on the American people. In my opinion, O’Connell is an enemy and a foe of our country. In war, the enemy must be defeated and rendered harmless.