DHS Secretary Noem in LA: “We Are Not Going Away, We Are Staying Here To Liberate The City”
This is what DHS Secretary Kristi Noem was saying as she was interrupted by Sen. Alex Padilla on Thursday at a press conference in Los Angeles.
HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY KRISTI NOEM: We did see before that assaults against law enforcement and ICE officers go up over 400 percent. In this situation, we’ve seen that increase even more. It’s not acceptable. If you assault a law enforcement officer, we’re going to come after you. We will arrest you, prosecute you, and put you away. That is not going to work. Under this administration, with President Trump’s leadership, one person is not better than another just because you think you’re here as a citizen, or because you’re a member of a certain group, or you’re not a citizen. It doesn’t mean you will be protected and not face consequences under the laws that this country stands for. We have a Constitution; we follow that Constitution and the laws passed by Congress, and we’re going to make sure they are equally applied to every single person as it applies under the Constitution here in Los Angeles but also across the country. Our law enforcement officers have been assaulted-they’ve been pelted with rocks and bricks. Cars have been set on fire. Molotov cocktails have been used. We’ve seen people throw bottles and hammers at them. They have been attacked, verbally spit on, punched, or assaulted-and it’s just not acceptable. The Department of Homeland Security-and the officers, agencies, departments, and military personnel working on this operation-will continue to sustain and increase our presence in this city. We are not going away. We are staying here to liberate the city from the socialist and burdensome leadership that this governor and this mayor have imposed. I want to say thank you to every single person who has been able to do this. I also want to speak directly to the rioters and to the politicians in Los Angeles. How many of our ICE agents have been docked for doing their duty? How have they been targeted, and how have their families been put in jeopardy? We will not allow that any longer. Those individuals who purposely endanger our ICE agents, law enforcement officers, and their families will be prosecuted for perpetuating violence against them.
