Denver mayor criticized by hometown paper over vow to resist Trump deportations

Democrat Denver Mayor Mike Johnston's hometown newspaper scolded him for "amping up violent rhetoric" with his vow to resist President-elect Trump’s deportation of illegal immigrants.

The editorial board at the Denver Post on Monday published an editorial with the headline, "Denver’s mayor was wrong to threaten armed conflict to protect immigrants," referring to Johnston’s recent suggestion of using the Denver police to resist federal immigration officials attempting to carry out their job.

"We are not surprised Johnston recklessly elevated the rhetoric around protecting Coloradans without legal immigration status. But that doesn’t make it OK," the editorial said.

The newspaper said the mayor "must choose his words carefully" rather than joining "Trump’s arms race of amping up violent rhetoric around illegal immigration."

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"Johnston should keep his remarks far away from violent conflict and focus on peaceful resistance," the editorial said.

Johnston said during a recent interview with Denverite that he was prepared to protest against anything he believes is "illegal or immoral or un-American" in the city, predicting the use of city police against federal officers and a "Tiananmen Square moment."

The mayor was then asked if he was prepared to go to jail for standing in the way of policies enacted by the administration.

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"Yeah, I'm not afraid of that, and I'm also not seeking that," Johnston said. "I think the goal is we want to be able to negotiate with reasonable people [on] how to solve hard problems."

Tom Homan, Trump's "border czar" designate, told Fox News' Sean Hannity last week that he would jail Johnston if he broke the law in shielding illegal migrants. 

"All he has to do is look at Arizona v. U.S., and he would see he's breaking the law. But look, me and the Denver mayor, we agree on one thing: He’s willing to go to jail, I’m willing to put him in jail."

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.