‘Son, I’m Going To Ask You To Leave!’ Chaos Breaks Out at Athens, Georgia Mayor’s Presser

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During his Wednesday press conference, multiple people shouted down the mayor multiple times. One man who Girtz asked to leave at one point screamed, “this is an invasion!”

The comment came as Girtz addressed what has become a controversial 2019 resolution he signed welcoming all migrants, no matter their legal status, into the city of Athens.

“We unflinchingly defend the human rights of all people, including citizens, noncitizens and those without documentation,” Girtz said at the time.

At Wednesday’s press conference, Girtz pushed back against new scrutiny over the resolution, chalking it up to Donald Trump’s presidency.

“I want to say that we center our work here in Athens-Clarke County on people’s humanity and part of everybody’s humanity is the expectation of human dignity. While 2019 was not that long ago, you might remember the dynamic we were living in in the late teens in this country where you had the president of the United States speak in the most vile terms about people who were foreign born and you had that notion metastasizing —” he said before groans from a pair of protesters stopped him.

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“Oh, please stop it! This is an invasion!” a man said.

The demonstrator continued: “I was a criminal and you know what I thought about doing? Crossing the border to Mexico to get away from my crimes!”

“Son, I’m going to ask you to leave!” Girtz said as the demonstrator spoke about giving up crime when he was saved by Jesus Christ.

“You are lawless, mayor!” the man said.

The mayor responded by saying he’d schedule some time with the man to discuss his concerns.

The mayor was also interrupted when he argued that the term “sanctuary city” means “different things to different people depending on the context.”

“We know what it means,” one protester said.

“Liar!” another added.

A small group then took turns calling the mayor a “liar.”

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“You’re the one guilty! You got blood on your hands for this murder, sir!” a man yelled.

At another point, Girtz reacted with shock when the same man yelled repeatedly, “you’re fired!”

During his presser, Girtz claimed there is no connection between crime and his city’s migrant policies.

“I caution against conflating immigration and crime. The data demonstrates that the two are not connected,” he said.

Girtz announced on Wednesday an investment of more than $7 million in campus security. That will include new investments in the police department and recruiting, as well as further campus safety officers and surveillance measures.

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