Featured Image Credit: JRE/Spotify
Topics: Joe Rogan, Donald Trump
Luke Davies
A senior Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official has responded to Joe Rogan’s comments after the podcaster defended protesters who have taken to the streets following the killing of Renee Nicole Good.
Good, who was 37, was killed by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis last week (January 7), which has since sparked widespread protests across the nation.
BBC News reported that federal officials said Good had tried to run over immigration agents with her car, but the city mayor, Jacob Frey, suggested that the agent who shot her had acted recklessly.
US President Donald Trump’s administration branded Good a “domestic terrorist” who tried to “weaponise her vehicle” to “run a law enforcement officer over”. But this stance is heavily debated by the Democrats.
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Frey described the US Government’s stance as “bull****” and suggested this was an effort by homeland security officials to paint the officer’s actions as self-defence.
Since Good’s death, protests have taken place in several cities across America, with a number of high-profile figures, including Rogan, saying that they understand the “point of view” of critics of ICE.
Speaking on episode number 2437 of ‘Joe Rogan Experience’ alongside Rand Paul, Rogan said: “You don’t want militarized people in the streets just roaming around, snatching people up — many of which turn out to actually be US citizens that just don’t have their papers on them.”
Rogan previously endorsed Trump during his second election campaign and recorded a podcast episode with the 79-year-old.
“Are we really gonna be the Gestapo? ‘Where’s your papers?’ Is that what we’ve come to?” the UFC commentator added.
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany during World War Two, which played a huge role in the Holocaust, in which approximately six million Jews were killed.
“It's very ugly to watch someone shoot a U.S. citizen, especially a woman, in the face… It just looked horrific to me," the 58-year-old continued.
"When people say it's justifiable because the car hit him, it seemed like she was turning the car away.”
Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, has since responded to Rogan’s claims during an appearance on FOX and explained how she feels ICE are important to keep criminals, including what she described as “illegal aliens,” under control.
McLaughlin listened to a clip of Rogan speaking about ICE during her appearance on the news channel before she said: “If Tim Walz and Mayor Frey would let us in their jails, we [ICE] wouldn’t have to be there at all.
“Currently, there are 680 illegal aliens that includes murderers, that includes rapists, child pedophiles, people, who whether you’re Republican or Democrat, you would never want these people to be on your streets or your neighbours.
“That’s the people who we are targeting and we’re trying to get out of Minneapolis because we don’t have state and local law enforcement’s help. We have to have a physical presence on the ground there.”