Congressman Andy Ogles Says Nashville Mayor ‘Enabling Nashville Liberals’ to ‘Obstruct ICE’ amid Call for Congressional Probes

U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) on Tuesday highlighted videos recently uploaded to social media by State Representative Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville), during which the state lawmaker appears to take credit for briefly impeding the recent joint immigration enforcement operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP).

According to Ogles, such behavior is enabled within Metro Nashville by Mayor Freddie O’Connell.

“This is Nashville State Representative Aftyn Behn,” wrote Ogles in a post to the social media platform X, containing a clip from Behn’s account on Instagram. 

“She just posted a 15-minute video of her and a friend stalking the Tennessee Highway Patrol as they carried out official duties—openly admitting they were trying to stall law enforcement from stopping illegal aliens,” Ogles wrote. 

As The Tennessee Star reported last week, Behn (pictured above) appeared on an Instagram live stream on May 10, when she seemed to take credit for successfully delaying THP vehicles during the agency’s joint immigration enforcement with ICE.

“Let’s be clear: Freddie O’Connell is enabling Nashville liberals to actively obstruct ICE and law enforcement operations,” wrote Ogles. “This isn’t just reckless—it’s aiding and abetting.”

In another post to X including a video of Behn from May 10, Ogles wrote, “She literally admitted—on video—to stopping ICE agents.”

He added, “Why hasn’t Mayor O’Connell condemned this yet? A letter isn’t enough. Real accountability is coming. STAY TUNED.”

Ogles formally requested the U.S. House Judiciary and Homeland Security committees open probes into O’Connell over the mayor’s responses to the recent immigration enforcement operation, which included the modification of an executive order and the establishment of a fund designed to help illegal immigrants affected by deportations.

While O’Connell signed the executive order after learning a police dispatcher was contacted by U.S. Department of Homeland Security to request additional patrols outside an ICE facility days ahead of the enforcement operation, he has since claimed the executive order is not aimed at providing advanced notice of federal enforcement activities to illegal immigrants.

Similarly, though O’Connell announced the “Belonging Fund” as a joint project between Metro Nashville and the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, he claimed last week that no taxpayer funds were directed to the fund.

Though it may not have directed money to the fund, Metro Nashville last year gave more than $1 million each to both the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) and Conexias Americas, which O’Connell’s office said provided seed funding for the “Belonging Fund” when it was established.

Nearly 200 illegal immigrants were detained as a result of the THP and ICE operation in Nashville.

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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo ” Aftyn Behn” by Aftyn Behn.