Texas Gov. Abbott vows to 'defund cities' that defund their police: 'We believe in law enforcement'

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How Texas governor plans to combat defund police movement? 'Defund cities'

Governor Greg Abbott tells Sean Hannity his plan to combat Texas cities that attempt to defund law enforcement

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott told "Hannity" Wednesday that he will not tolerate municipalities in the Lone Star State defunding their law enforcement apparatus.

"You've seen and you have documented what happened in Portland, in Seattle, in Chicago, New York, and cities across the country," Abbott told host Sean Hannity. "Now Austin, Texas, has defunded law enforcement [and] police ... despite the fact that over the first six months of this year, the city ranked number one in the United States for the highest percentage increase in murders was Austin, Texas."

According to the Texas Tribune, Austin's city council unanimously approved a $150 million police budget cut last week. The outlet reported the vote came after complaints about use of force against anti-police demonstrators and the Austin Police Department's handling of a high-profile case involving a man who shot and killed an alleged protester who was carrying an AK-47 rifle.

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Abbott said legislation proposed on Tuesday prescribes the freezing of tax revenue for any city that defunds their police or law enforcement department.

"[T]hey will lose the lifeblood of the revenues they receive from property taxes in Texas," Abbott explained. "What this does, in English, is it is going to defund cities and cities' ability to operate at all if they try to defund law enforcement.

"We believe in law enforcement in Texas and we are not going to allow a replication of the types of policies we've seen destroying cities like Seattle and Portland and others."

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Abbott accused such liberal precincts of "caving to the forces of socialism" even as crime increases, and added that some are allowing their municipalities to be "hijacked."

"So Texas is laying down a marker and that is, whether it be the city of Austin or another city, such actions are not going to be tolerated. In Texas, we embrace law enforcement, we will not accept turning power over to these socialistic forces that seek to abandon the rule of law and abandon the law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line to keep our communities safe."