The mayor of Lancaster, California has gone viral for comments he made about the city's criminal homeless population.
R. Rex Parris said he wanted to "purge" that segment of the population by giving them "all the fentanyl they want."
"What I want to do is give them free fentanyl," Parris said during a city council meeting in February when asked about a plan to enclose all the homeless in an old golf course. "I want to give them all the fentanyl they want."
"I was talking about the criminal element that were let out of the prisons, that have now become 40 to 45% of what's referred to as the homeless population," Parris told FOX11. "They are responsible for most of our robberies, most of our rapes, and at least half of our murders. There is nothing we can do for these people."
He noted that while Lancaster has a wide range of options for homeless people, he was referring to those who had refused the services.
"Quite frankly, I wish the president would give us a purge, because we do need to purge these people," Parris continued. "Is it harsh? Of course it's harsh, but it's my obligation as the mayor of the city of Lancaster to protect the hardworking families that live there."
The mayor said despite the backlash, he did not regret saying what he said, doubling down on his earlier point that the people in question were wreaking havoc on his community.
"It's a problem that's endangering lives of our citizens," he added, "and I think we should treat it that way."