NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Two federal committees will be conducting an investigation into Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell for allegedly “aiding and abetting” illegal immigration, Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles announced on Monday.
The Congressman, along with a gaggle of Tennessee elected officials at the state level and representatives from law enforcement agencies, announced the Homeland Security and Judiciary committees will look into the mayor, his conduct and whether or not the city used federal dollars “in criminal enterprise” related to immigration.
“I will not back down. I will not relent. I will always stand with law enforcement,” Ogles said during a Memorial Day press conference inside the state capitol building. “I want my community, and I want my country back.”
The investigation stems an ongoing escalation between community members and federal immigration authorities. Ogles called for an investigation into the mayor’s office after O’Connell criticized a “joint safety operation” conducted by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials and troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol at the beginning of May.
The operation ended with 196 people arrested, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that also claimed the Nashville mayor “stands by pro-illegal policies.”
O’Connell’s criticism involved how members of the Metro Nashville Police Department have “been delivering safety to this community by reducing crime multiple years in a row,” and pointing out federal officials have “shown us no proof” that those arrested in the early May operation were people “with criminal histories or criminal intent.”
“We don’t even know the names of who they’ve arrested, much less the charges,” O’Connell said earlier this month. “What we have seen is a violation of due process and the defiance of court orders.”
The mayor also affirmed MNPD had no part in the operation.
After the mayor’s comments, Ogles lashed out on social media, declaring he would call for the committees to investigate him.
Now, he’s made good on those threats.
“I choose my community, my state, and my family over this type of nonsense,” Ogles said during the press conference. “Which is why, due to the remarks of Freddie O’Connell and the potential of aiding and abetting illegal immigration, the Homeland Security and the Judiciary committees will be conducting an investigation into the mayor of Nashville, his conduct, and whether or not federal dollars have been used in criminal enterprise.”
Additionally, a Metro Councilman has called for an audit of a fund designed to support immigrants in Nashville. CM David Benton, who represents District 28 in Metro Nashville, has called for either a state or federal audit of the fund in order to “clarify whether any funds are inadvertently supporting” illegal immigration.
The Belonging Fund is an effort launched by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee in partnership with Metro Nashville after the May ICE raids.
According to Metro, the fund gives money to nonprofit organizations that assist immigrants in times of crisis with things like housing instability, child care, transportation, food insecurity, or other urgent needs. The fund does not support legal services.
According to CFMT, no government dollars are used for the fund, only tax-deductible donations by “generous individual donors and private organizations.”
Benton wants either the state or the federal government to look at all the organizations who receive Belonging Fund money to ensure no local dollars have been supporting illegal immigration.
“Stop making a mockery of Memorial Day. Defend Nashville. Defend Tennessee. Defend this country, and stop the invasion,” Benton said during the press conference.