06 13 25 Denver Mayor Mike Johnston discusses anti ICE protest safety and response

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Is Mayor Mike Johnson Warren that violent actions could invite
the type of federal intervention President Donald Trump has brought
to Los Angeles. The mayor did emphasize that Denver police
would arrest anyone engaging in violence or property damage.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Mayor Johnson joins us now in the KA Comma Spirit
Health hotline a little later than usual an hour later.
We appreciate your time, mister mayor, Thanks for joining us.

Speaker 3 (00:19):
Yeah, you bet, guys, thanks for having me.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
I wanted to get your reaction because you were you were,
i say, miffed about the protests, saying, man, this is
putting a bulls eye on the city. I already think
Denver kind of is under the bulls eye of the
Trump administration. You probably would agree with that, but share
a little more your reaction to the protests and Denver
earlier in the week.

Speaker 4 (00:36):
I mean, first of all, we're really proud of the
fact that we've had protests almost every single week of
this administration. We've had them for almost every week in
the last two years, with you know, protests the Palace
on and others, and our police Parker has done a
fantastic job with those protests. We haven't had a single
arrest in years so that I can remember leading up
to it. And I think ninety nine percent of the
protesters who came out this week were peaceful, were thoughtful.

(00:58):
We're the same folks we see normally, and then you
add a small group of folks who came here to
try to cause trouble, and I think, you know, I'm
less worried about what the President.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
Does or doesn't think.

Speaker 4 (01:07):
What I'm worried about is I don't want people throwing
rocks and bottles at are Denver police officers in the
city County Denver. That doesn't That's not who Denver is,
That's not how we operate. If people want to raise
their voice, stakes can. There's no reason to out their
frustrations on federal immigration policy on our police department, who's
done a fantastic job of keeping the city safe.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
We've seen it over the generations in this country. But
there are right ways and wrong ways to engage in
protest and really get your message out there. What is
your message to people who want to come in and
maybe cause some of that trouble, throw rocks and do
different things like that, maybe block traffic, try to get
to high twenty five like we saw earlier this week.

Speaker 3 (01:43):
Yeah, we're just not going to tolerate it here.

Speaker 4 (01:45):
And I think that was clear Tuesday that if you
come here and you assault officers or you assault other protesters.
We had folks who are assaulting other protesters, or you
break you know, you're going to break windows of small businesses.
There's nothing a small business owner did in the city
on federal immigration policy.

Speaker 3 (01:58):
They don't deserve to be punished for that. Yeah, if
you do that, we're gonna rest you and we're gonna
charge you.

Speaker 4 (02:02):
But I would say, you know, I talked to the
folks that organize the protest. They feel the same way.
They had no idea that these folks were If they
want a part of their group, they don't speak for them.
And I know that the protest organizers are just as
committed that I am to making sure the folks that
come come peacefully. I think Saturday will be a great
event and I'll look forward to it going as well
as all the protests have the last two years.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
Have you had conversations with Ice officials of late or
ever in the process and talk with them.

Speaker 4 (02:27):
I have. We met with them a couple months ago
early on, to help organize, to make sure theytically understanding
what we were doing and what they were doing. If
there was any way we could work better together within
the limits of what Denver does and doesn't do. We're
not going to share information with ICE. That's not what
our city or state law allows. But we do want
to help keep our officers safe in there, so we've
kept open communications and if they want to have a

(02:49):
reasonable conversation with us about things we'll do within our rules,
we'll do that. But we're not going to ask people's
status when they come to a protest. We're not going
to ask people's status when they get stop for a
speeding ticket. We're not going to support the idea that
they should do raids and churches or schools or hospitals
or you know, home depot parking lots for folks coming
off their shift. So I understand why folks are angry
when you've got American citizens being picked up off the

(03:11):
street and detained for no reason. Plenty of reason to
be angry, But I think the people to be angry
at are not our officers. They are the ones who've
done an incredible job to help keep the city safe
in the midst of all the folks who have arrived.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
Los Angeles has been in the national cases international spotlight
over the past week or so with these protests and
how the Trump administration has responded. A lot of that
was a deployment of the National Guard and announcing that
seven hundred marines we're going to go there and try
to de escalate the situation. If that happened here, and
I want you to put yourself in the shoes of

(03:42):
Lamay or Karen Bass, what would you do and what
would you do? Maybe differently after seeing what has transpired
in Los Angeles.

Speaker 4 (03:52):
I think what we're going to do is we're not
going to arrive at that stage. You know, we're not
going to have folks burning police cars here or you know,
throwing rocks and bottles into buildings.

Speaker 3 (04:00):
We're not going to do that here.

Speaker 4 (04:01):
But I think it's also clear that that action is
both illegal and immoral. No time in our adult life
has there ever been National Guard deployed into a city
or a.

Speaker 3 (04:10):
State without the explicit request of that mayor or governor.

Speaker 4 (04:13):
The last time that happened was literally to help folks
like Ruby Bridges get into school, to integrate education programs
in the South, and that was National Guard coming in
to help support access people rights for folks. There is
no reason to have to turn American soldiers on American
citizens in American cities. There is no need for that,
and we're going to show Denver does need their help.

(04:35):
We don't need their assistance or interference. We will do
just fine here on our own.

Speaker 2 (04:39):
Denver Mayor, Mike Johnson, thank you for your time.

Speaker 3 (04:41):
Be Beck. Guys, thanks for having me