Mayor Mike Johnston’s pointed comments last week about Denverites resisting a federal mass-deportation effort — including a suggestion that he would mobilize the Denver police department to face off with federal and National Guard troops — have generated blowback in Colorado and across the country.
Even billionaire Elon Musk, President-elect Donald Trump’s most visible benefactor and adviser, appeared to weigh in on Saturday on X, the social media platform that Musk owns.
“Those who break the law will be arrested, and that includes mayors,” Musk posted in response to another post about the mayor’s comments.
On Monday, Johnston reiterated his commitment to resisting what he views as a desire by Trump to abuse the power of the presidency by initiating a nationwide roundup and mass deportation of undocumented immigrants.
But the second-year mayor stopped short of providing any specifics of what that resistance might look like.
“Denver is proud to be a welcoming city, and we will do everything in our power to protect those who live here,” Johnston said in a statement. “We are considering a number of options to strengthen protections for all our residents, and we continue to provide education about the rights of our immigrant community so they can best protect themselves from any unlawful actions.”
In the days following Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential race this month, Johnston told The Denver Post that the city would not cooperate with the incoming Republican president’s stated goal of deporting millions of undocumented immigrants in the country.
He defended the city’s policies as a so-called sanctuary city that for years has refused to work with federal immigration officials on enforcement actions. He also touted his office’s program that has supported hundreds of asylum seekers from the U.S. southern border — mostly Venezuelans fleeing economic and political strife in that country — with housing, food and job training this year. They were among tens of thousands of migrants who have come to Denver in the last two years.
But in an interview with Denverite published Wednesday, Johnston took his rhetoric to another level.
He invoked pro-democracy protests in China’s Tiananmen Square in 1989 as an analogy for Denver residents who would stand up against the federal government, should Trump follow through on threats to mobilize the military against communities that do not cooperate with his deportation plans. He also suggested the city’s police could be part of a resistance action.
“More than us having DPD stationed at the county line to keep them out, you would have 50,000 Denverites there,” Johnston said in that interview. “It’s like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right? You’d have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants. And you do not want to mess with them.”
The comments generated near-immediate blowback in Colorado.
George Brauchler, a conservative talk radio host and newly elected district attorney for Colorado’s 23rd Judicial District in south metro Denver, reacted to Johnston’s comments on Thursday morning by posting on his X account a portion of the oath Denver police officers take when they are sworn in.
“Denver PD Oath: ‘I do swear by the ever-loving God to that I will support the Laws and Constitution of the United States and…’ Now what?” Brauchler wrote, pointing to the conflict between supporting the Constitution and following mayoral orders that could defy a presidential action.
By Friday, Johnston was walking back some of his comments. But he also doubled down on his commitment to resist the Trump administration’s deportation plans.
In an interview with 9News reporter Marc Sallinger, Johnston said he regretted invoking the image of Denver police officers facing off with federal troops.
“I want to be clear, we have no plan for armed conflict with the federal government. We have no desire to do that. There is no interest and we have no plan to do that,” Johnston said.
But in response to questions from Sallinger, Johnston said he would be willing personally to protest federal deportation actions — and, if necessary, face arrest.
“If I believed that our residents are having their rights violated, if I think things are happening that are illegal or immoral or un-American in our city, I would certainly protest it, and I would expect other residents would do the same,” Johnston said. “I’m not afraid of (being arrested) — and I’m also not seeking that. I think the goal is we want to be able to negotiate with reasonable people (on) how to solve hard problems.”
That interview did not tamp down the criticism from some quarters nationally.
After the right-wing account End Wokeness shared the clip on X of Johnston saying he did not fear arrest, Donald Trump Jr., the president-elect’s oldest son, reposted the clip with the comment: “Your terms are acceptable.”
U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, the far-right congresswoman who next year will take a new seat representing Colorado 4th Congressional District, has posted on her X account about Johnston’s comments on three of the last four days.
On Monday, she shared the same interview snippet of Johnston saying he did not fear arrest for opposing deportation efforts, adding the comment: “If only the Left was as interested in taking care of Americans as they are in taking care of illegals. We could achieve great things working together. Instead, we have this!”
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