Bernie Sanders is holding a rally in Arizona tonight, and in his opening remark, he made an outrageous open statement addressed to Sheriff Joe Arpaio that you have to hear to believe.

“Maybe I just begin by saying to your Sheriff here, Mr. Arpaio: Why don’t you pick on people who have the power to fight back.”

Why don’t you, Mr. Police Officer, arrest the people who can fight back against you. That’s Bernie’s message to the cops?

Law enforcement isn’t a schoolyard scuffle, Senator Sanders, and the idea is for the police to have more authority and protection than the criminals they are apprehending. For police officers – and their parents and spouses and children – people who fight back are their worst nightmare. It’s how officers are killed in the line of duty. Bernie, do you even hear yourself?

What a disgustingly stupid thing to say.

When Sanders made this idiotic comment, he had just been introduced by Katherine Figueroa, who’s parents were arrested by Sheriff Joe, as he is often called, during a workplace raid. They were illegal immigrants and eventually faced deportation hearings, the result of which was they were allowed to continue to live and work in the United States. The deportation proceedings were dropped.

They won, in other words. So they had the means to fight back against the lawyers. So who did Bernie think they needed the power to fight back against? The police officers arresting them?

First his supporters attack a Trump rally. Now he wants cops to only arrest people with the power to “fight back.” What exactly is Bernie Sanders encouraging in his supporters?