Athas wishes Pamela Geller would not have chosen Garland for the American Freedom Defense Initiative event.
“Certainly in hindsight, we as a community would be better off if she hadn’t. It was an event not for Garlandites or Texans.
“Her actions put my police officers, my citizens and others at risk. Her program invited an incendiary reaction.
“She picked my community which does not support in any shape, passion or form, her ideology.
“But at the end of the day, we did our jobs. We protected her freedoms and her life.”--Garland Mayor Douglas Athas
“Certainly in hindsight, we as a community would be better off if she hadn’t. It was an event not for Garlandites or Texans.
“Her actions put my police officers, my citizens and others at risk. Her program invited an incendiary reaction.
“She picked my community which does not support in any shape, passion or form, her ideology.
“But at the end of the day, we did our jobs. We protected her freedoms and her life.”--Garland Mayor Douglas Athas
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