Washington AG Bob Ferguson ‘painted a giant target on himself’
Mar 2, 2017, 10:40 AM
After successfully challenging President Donald Trump’s travel ban, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson is now under 24-hour police protection.
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One of Ferguson’s neighbors told KIRO 7 they’re not surprised the court battle brought threats.
“When he challenged that travel ban, he effectively painted a giant target on himself,” she said.
Ferguson says the threats come with the territory.
According to a Reddit post from someone claiming to be his neighbor, the police have had a 24-7 presence for the past two weeks.
If true, that means that despite the threats, Ferguson hasn’t been quieted. It was just last week when the state’s attorney general said he’s willing to continue his fight for immigrant’s rights while ramping up a fight with the federal government over legalized marijuana.
After White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer — vaguely — discussed a federal crackdown on marijuana, Ferguson said individual states should have the freedom to continue experimenting with new ideas. When asked if he was ready to fight the White House on two fronts, Ferguson simply responded: “Yes.”
Bob Ferguson gained national attention when he filed a lawsuit targeting President Trump’s executive order that banned immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries and paused the U.S. refugee program. After a court battle, a U.S. judge imposed a nationwide hold on the ban.
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Since then, Trump said he will issue a new order, which was expected as soon as Wednesday. A draft suggested it would target people from the same seven predominantly Muslim countries but would exempt travelers who already have visas to come to the U.S. Trump advisers have reportedly advocated for removing Iraq from the list.
Trump signaled he may go along with a path to citizenship for people already here legally. He will also set up an agency that would highlight crimes of people he calls the “bad ones.”
“We are removing gang members, drug dealers, and criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our very innocent citizens,” Trump said. “Bad ones are going out as I speak.”
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