The Department of Justice issued a warning to California after some of the state’s top Democrats said arresting federal agents for perceived violations of state law is on the table as immigration enforcement continues.
Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), alongside Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-Calif.), said, “While the president may enjoy absolute immunity courtesy of his rogue Supreme Court, those who operate under his orders do not. Our state and local authorities may arrest federal agents if they break California law — and if they are convicted, the president cannot pardon them.”
‘Illegal and futile.’
Brooke Jenkins, the San Francisco district attorney, revealed her office has drawn up plans to arrest federal agents should they use force in her city as they have during violent protests and riots in Los Angeles and Chicago. Jenkins explained that the San Francisco Police Department is on board with the idea in cases of “clear, excessive use of force,” according to the New York Times.
The SFPD did not respond to a request for comment from the Times.
In a letter to Pelosi and Jenkins, the DOJ wrote that it views “any arrests of federal agents and officers in the performance of their official duties as both illegal and futile. Numerous federal laws prohibit interfering with and impeding immigration or other law-enforcement operations.”
RELATED: House Democrats’ ICE ‘tracker’ will ‘put our lives in danger’: DHS agent
ICECHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images
The DOJ further promised to prosecute any state or local official who violates federal law in the case of any arrests.
Violent protesters have already gathered outside a staging area for federal agents in the Bay Area. On Thursday, protesters blocked the bridge that leads to Coast Guard Island Alameda, resulting in clashes and at least two arrests. Later in the evening, Coast Guardsmen had to shoot at a masked suspect who allegedly used a U-Haul in an attempt to ram the checkpoint and refused to listen to verbal commands to stop.
The Department of Homeland Security said no DHS personnel were injured in the incident. The driver was shot in the stomach and taken to the hospital. A bystander was hit with a bullet fragment and released from the hospital. The FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting.
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