Mike Johnson: Mayor Perkins Controversy ‘Looks Like Petty Politics’ VIDEO]
Congressman Mike Johnson talks with 101.7 / 710 KEEL's Robert J Wright and Erin McCarty about the controversy regarding Mayor Adrian Perkins and allegations that he ordered a stand-down of Shreveport first responders assigned to Thursday night's Presidential visit.
Johnson also details his conversations with Perkins regarding the situation and the mayor's addressing the situation at a Wednesday news conference.
Johnson addressed the Perkins move in a social media post:
"When I heard on Capitol Hill this morning that Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins had instructed Shreveport's police and fire units they are forbidden from assisting with protection services during President Trump’s visit--I assumed it was a mistake. I called him myself to verify the rumor. The mayor told me he believes he is required to make that decree.
I just can't believe it!
The Shreveport Police and Fire Departments receive huge amounts of federal funds each year, and prohibiting our city's finest public servants from assisting with the first visit by a sitting President of the United States in 15 years is simply absurd.
Oh, and, those same departments have a long history of providing protection services for many other, much less important political figures who have visited our area in the past (including even controversial individuals like Louis Farrakhan!).
I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments of Councilmen Nickelson, Boucher and Flurry: "'When it comes to defending and protecting the Office of the Presidency, we are not Republicans and Democrats--we are all Americans.'"