It’s 2024, yet Democrat governors believe it is the early 1960’s (or 1860’s) and they are somehow no longer bound to follow federal law or obey the President of the United States, to whom the Constitution gives the power to enforce federal law.

Back in 1962, two Democrat segregationist governors attempted to defy the 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, outlawing racial segregation in public schools.

The Ole Miss Riot of 1962

The first event occurred in Oxford, MS at the University of Mississippi. The conflict arose when James Meredith, an African American Air Force veteran, sought to enroll as the first Black student at the university.

Meredith applied to the University of Mississippi in 1961 but was denied admission on racial grounds. With support from the NAACP, he filed a lawsuit that eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court. The court ruled in his favor, ordering the university to admit him. However, Mississippi’s governor, Ross Barnett, vowed to prevent Meredith’s admission, symbolizing the South’s broader defiance of federal desegregation mandates. The standoff quickly became a national crisis involving federal versus state authority.

On September 30, 1962, Meredith arrived on campus under federal protection. In response, a mob of segregationists gathered outside the university’s Lyceum building, where Meredith was escorted by federal marshals. The crowd swelled to around 2,000 people, including students, locals, and outside agitators. The gathering quickly turned violent, as rioters threw bricks, rocks, and Molotov cocktails, targeting federal marshals and even journalists. By the end of the night, two people were killed, over 160 marshals were injured, and extensive property damage occurred.

President John F. Kennedy intervened by sending 3,000 federal troops to restore order and protect Meredith. Despite the widespread opposition, Meredith successfully enrolled on October 1, 1962, attending his first classes with federal protection. His enrollment marked a significant victory for the Civil Rights Movement and underscored the federal government’s commitment to enforcing desegregation, despite local resistance.

The Stand in the School House Door

The second event occurred in Tuscaloosa, AL at the University of Alabama. Alabama Governor George Wallace, a staunch segregationist, stood in front of Foster Auditorium to prevent two Black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from entering and registering for classes. Wallace’s actions were part of his campaign promise to resist federally mandated desegregation and became symbolic of Southern resistance to the Civil Rights Movement.

On the day Malone and Hood arrived to enroll, Wallace, standing at the entrance of the auditorium, delivered a defiant speech in which he asserted states’ rights to regulate education without federal interference. In response, President John F. Kennedy federalized the Alabama National Guard, ordering them to enforce the desegregation order. Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach arrived on the scene and demanded that Wallace step aside, which he eventually did after a formal proclamation from the National Guard.

2024 Democrat Governors Set to Defy Federal Law Enforcement

Following Donald Trump’s re-election in 2024, several Democratic governors have vowed to resist potential federal actions on issues like immigration. Per The Hill:

Democratic governors are signaling their willingness to defy the new Trump administration, vowing to protect freedoms in their states and to wage legal and political battle if the president-elect follows through with controversial proposals. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said the Golden State is “ready to fight” and called a special section of the state Legislature after Trump’s win.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) promised that if “you come for my people, you come through me.”

In Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey (D) pledged her state’s law enforcement will not assist the Trump administration if it goes through with mass deportation plans…

Healey defiantly told MSNBC Massachusetts would “absolutely not” assist the future Trump administration in its promise to address immigration with mass deportations…

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D), also asked about the possibility of mass deportations, pledged in a press conference that “if it’s contrary to our values, we will fight to the death.” …

Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf sounded alarms that the president-elect could seek to crack down on the states whose leaders oppose him. 

“This is a dangerous game for the governors to play,” he said, adding that Republicans’ potential trifecta “increases the odds of punishment.”    

Apparently, these governors didn’t get the memo that President Trump won the 2024 election in a sweeping mandate, running primarily on securing the border and deporting illegal aliens. As Commander in Chief he has the power to enforce federal immigration law on the states just as President Kennedy had the power to enforce a federal judicial decisions on the states.

President Kennedy sent 3,000 federal troops to Mississippi and Federalized the National Guard without Governor Wallace’s consent in Alabama to get the job done. I suggest President Trump does the same to any state Governors who would try to impede the President’s enforcement of federal law.

As President Kennedy explained to the Governor of Mississippi: