Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said he believes Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell is actively making himself a target for the U.S. Department of Justice as he pushes efforts to interfere with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations conducted in Davidson County.
Last week, an operation conducted by ICE in conjunction with the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) in Nashville resulted in the arrests of 196 criminal illegal aliens.
Despite the operation seeing the removal of aliens with violent criminal histories, O’Connell has maintained that the enforcement operation was “not focused” on making Nashville “safer,” and, in response, launched a “Belonging Fund” to “support immigrants in Nashville during moments of crisis.”
O’Connell also signed an executive order establishing protocols for various Metro Nashville departments to provide his office with any information deemed “immigration communications” that might reflect forthcoming federal immigration enforcement in the city – essentially creating an early warning system for immigrants to evade federal immigration enforcement.
In response, Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), whose district includes parts of Davidson County, called on the U.S. House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees to investigate O’Connell and other Nashville city officials for their “repeated obstruction of ICE operations.”
Pappert said if the respective House committees found wrongdoing in O’Connell’s actions, they could refer the case to the Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“Andy Ogles said that he will be referring to the House Homeland Security Committee and the House Judiciary Committee an investigation for Mayor Freddie O’Connell. This, from my understanding, would need to determine that the mayor broke the law, at which point the Department of Justice under Pam Bondi would be referred to the case,” Pappert explained on Thursday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show.
“I have a hunch that this Justice Department would take such a referral seriously,” Pappert added.
Noting how city officials choosing which federal laws to enforce or ignore undermines the rule of law, Pappert said O’Connell’s case would set a national precedent if he were to be formally investigated and proceeded to be prosecuted by the Department of Justice.
“I think there’s an incentive to move quickly, especially as this law enforcement operation is underway and Freddie O’Connell has presented essentially the opportunity to make an example of him for other cities that may engage in such possibly illegal behavior,” Pappert explained.
Pappert said he believes the Department of Justice would take O’Connell’s case seriously and move swiftly, considering it would set a national precedent.
“I think the real question is how quickly could the Department of Justice move on this if they are given a referral. We’ve seen over the past Republican administrations, Departments of Justice that are very reticent to take these referrals and run with them, but I think this one would be a little bit different with Pam Bondi, Donald Trump and Stephen Miller in the White House,” Pappert added.
Tune in now to the The Michael Patrick Leahy Show – your AMERICA FIRST news talk!
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Image “Mayor Freddie O’Connell” by Metro Nashville.
Prosecute him. Lets get another mayor!
Mayor O’Connell and others in charge of blue cities were in silent acquiescence while the Biden Administration was in flagrant violation of our current immigration law; allowing, aiding and abetting the invasion of our country. This disloyalty to their own country and its people is nothing new:
“It is also a habit of tyrants to prefer the company of aliens to that of citizens at table and in society; citizens, they feel, are enemies, but aliens will offer no opposition.”
—Aristotle (384-322 BC)
And it violates our own Constitution to which they ALL take an oath:
“The United States SHALL …. protect the States against Invasion.. (Article IV, Section 4)
If there is no one more deserving of prosecution for immigration enforcement interference it’s Marxist Freddie.