‘I’ve not seen them cross the line yet’: Mike Johnson seems perfectly fine with Trump’s federal agents shooting pastors in the face

House Speaker Mike Johnson basically told a reporter he doesn’t think Trump’s federal agents have done anything wrong, even after a Chicago pastor was shot in the head with a pepper ball during a crackdown on protesters. That’s the main news, and honestly, it’s a pretty startling admission. I was law enforcement, and headshots aren’t generally what you want when dealing with civilians.

When you hear about federal law enforcement officers using aggressive tactics, like tear gas, pepper balls, and even rubber bullets, on unarmed demonstrators, journalists, and members of the clergy, you’d think that would be enough to warrant some serious questions from Congress. However, for the top House Republican, it looks like there’s nothing to see here.

Johnson made his stance crystal clear when asked about congressional scrutiny into how federal law enforcement was treating these protesters. His exact quote according to NewRepublic, when talking about the agents’ actions, was, “I’ve not seen them cross the line yet.” It’s a statement that completely dismisses the reports and videos that have been circulating for weeks, showing a truly untenable situation with federal agents deploying riot control weapons against people who are supposed to be protected.

You can really hurt demonstrators people if they disagree with Trump, according to the GOP

The sheer volume of reports detailing the aggressive tactics used by agents from departments like Homeland Security should have raised some red flags, but for Johnson, it hasn’t “risen to that level” for an investigation. We’re not talking about a small issue here; there are documented cases of agents targeting those who can’t defend themselves.

In fact, one particularly disturbing incident circulated widely in a video clip last week: a Chicago pastor was shot in the head with a pepper ball fired by a federal agent from a rooftop of the Broadview, Illinois, ICE facility. This is awful for anyone who believes in the right to protest and worship freely. Yet, Johnson seems to be viewing the whole thing through the lens of supporting law enforcement no matter what, even when a federal judge had to temporarily bar the use of such extreme tactics against reporters and members of the clergy.

Instead of acknowledging the serious overreach by federal agents, Johnson quickly shifted the focus and the blame entirely onto the demonstrators. He labeled the protesters as “radical leftist activists” and accused them of abusing law enforcement officers. To be fair, Johnson did not completely slam the door on congressional oversight, saying lawmakers were watching the situation “closely,” but he strongly signaled that House Republicans are completely in lockstep with the agents.

The contrast between Johnson’s attitude and the facts on the ground feels like night and day. On the one hand, you have video evidence and reports of a pastor being shot and journalists being targeted. On the other hand, you have the House Speaker praising the federal law enforcement officers as “valiant, brave, patriotic Americans who step up to serve in these dangerous law enforcement positions” and saying they “deserve our respect and support.”

He’s framing the issue as a line that “has to be maintained” against people who would “assault law enforcement officers,” completely ignoring the fact that it’s the federal agents who are being accused of crossing the line first with unarmed demonstrators. It makes you wonder what, exactly, the line is for congressional oversight. If shooting a pastor in the head with a pepper ball doesn’t meet the standard, what does?