Wisconsin GOP Congressman’s Bill Defunds Cities Deemed ‘Anarchist’

A northeast Wisconsin congressman has introduced legislation that would strip federal funding from state and local governments that the U.S. Department of Justice deems to be “anarchist jurisdictions.”

U.S. Rep. Tony Wied, R-De Pere, announced Wednesday that he introduced the measure in response to unrest in Los Angeles.

The bill, dubbed the “Stop Anarchists From Endangering Cities Act,” would codify a 2020 memorandum from President Donald Trump aimed at restricting funding for any state or local government identified as allowing “anarchy, violence or destruction.”

“If radical leftwing governors and mayors continue to prioritize criminals and fail to protect their citizens from violent extremists, it is up to the federal government to step in and restore law and order,” Wied said in a statement. “What we see happening in California is nothing short of anarchy and we will not tolerate it there or anywhere else in the United States.”

Wied’s office did not respond to requests for an interview Friday.

Julie Hancock, chair of the Democratic Party of the 8th Congressional District of Wisconsin, said Wied’s bill would create a “slippery slope” if it were to become law.

“What happens when the people of Green Bay get angry because of all of this that’s going on? They’re watching this — they’re not blind — they see rights being infringed upon,” she said. “Suddenly one or two people decide to get anarchist in the streets, and suddenly Tony Wied’s district is an anarchist district.”

Protests broke out in LA late last week in response to federal immigration raids. While the protests have largely remained peaceful, they’ve also seen violence and vandalism.

The BBC reports more than 400 people have been arrested in LA since Friday. That number includes 330 immigrants living in the country illegally and 157 people arrested for assault and obstruction. For context, thousands of people have gathered for some of the protests.

In response to the protests, Trump deployed troops to LA. The Associated Press reported Friday that 200 marines, out of the 700 deployed to the protests, joined some 2,000 National Guard troops who have been in the city since last week. Another 2,000 Guard members were notified of deployment earlier this week.

Federal officials have said those troops will be tasked with protecting federal officials and buildings — and about 500 National Guard troops have been trained to assist with immigration raids.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass have both opposed the use of troops in the city, warning that it would inflame tensions. Los Angeles Police Department officials also said earlier this week that the department had enough resources to handle the protests without additional help from the federal government.

The last time the National Guard was deployed to a state without the cooperation from that state’s governor was in 1965, when Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson sent the Guard to Alabama to protect civil rights demonstrators — against the wishes of the state’s segregationist governor.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers was one of more than 20 Democratic governors who issued a joint statement on Sunday calling Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in California an “ineffective and dangerous” abuse of power.

“It’s important we respect the executive authority of our country’s governors to manage their National Guards — and we stand with Governor Newsom who has made it clear that violence is unacceptable and that local authorities should be able to do their jobs without the chaos of this federal interference and intimidation,” the Democratic governors stated.

But Republicans, including Trump, have tried to frame the protests as a form of rebellion against the U.S. government.

In a statement earlier this week, Wied accused Newsom and Bass of refusing to protect their citizens, saying it was “up to the federal government to step in and restore law & order.”

U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, who hosted a virtual town hall with Wied earlier this year, issued a statement in support of the bill.

“Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize anarchist jurisdictions,” Tiffany stated. “If radical Democrat governors and mayors fail to protect their citizens from lawlessness, they have no business receiving federal funds.”

But Hancock said she believes the bill is an attempt to punish communities for their citizens using their free speech rights. She said the violence and vandalism in Los Angeles has been committed by a small group of bad actors, rather than the larger movement protesting mass deportations.

“To criminalize an entire city for the actions of a few people — it’s just really hard to understand the logic behind that, and it feels very unconstitutional,” Hancock said. “It’s like everything the Constitution stands against. That document is there to protect the people from overreach by the government, and I would call this overreach by the government.”

Listen to the WPR report

Wisconsin GOP congressman’s bill would defund states and cities deemed ‘anarchist’ was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.