AG Bill Barr blasted for speech suggesting police in Trump's America are like ‘a gang running a protection racket’

Attorney General Bill Barr gave a controversial speech on Tuesday, the same day he was repeatedly mentioned in the impeachment report.

Barr appeared to threaten that police can stop replying to calls in communities who do not show enough deference to law enforcement, according to a new report in the HuffPost.

“But I think today, American people have to focus on something else, which is the sacrifice and the service that is given by our law enforcement officers,” Barr said. “And they have to start showing, more than they do, the respect and support that law enforcement deserves ― and if communities don’t give that support and respect, they might find themselves without the police protection they need.”

Adam Serwer, a staff writer for The Atlantic, blasted the comments.

"Ah, so the attorney general of the United States believes police are not sworn officers of the law, civil servants bound by an oath, but a gang running a protection racket," Serwer posted on Twitter.

"'Petition the Government for a redress of grievances' is right there in the First Amendment, incidentally, if our mob consigliere attorney general ever wants to take some time to read it," he continued.

He added, "Bill Barr, almost verbatim: 'nice community you got there. Shame if something happened to it because you said the police shouldn't murder innocent people.'"

Read the rest of his thread: