Anger is mounting in Lancaster, California, where residents are rallying to remove their longtime mayor following his controversial proposal to give free fentanyl to homeless people as a solution to the city's crisis.
Rex Parris, who has served as Lancaster's mayor since 2008, made the incendiary remarks during a heated city council meeting in February. When questioned about his plan to relocate the city's homeless population to an abandoned golf course, Parris offered a blunt response.
'Just give them fentanyl for free. That's my solution,' he told stunned attendees.
A petition to remove him from office has so far collected just 6% of the 20,000 required signatures, but activists remain determined to oust him after 17 years in power.
One local resident who has lived in Lancaster for over three decades said she was 'physically sickened' by the mayor's comments. 'I've disagreed with Rex plenty of times over the years, but suggesting we basically poison people who need help? That's beyond the pale,' she said.
'Like Something From A Horror Film'
If Parris's original remarks weren't disturbing enough, he doubled down during a Fox 11 interview last Friday, delivering a statement that quickly went viral.
'Honestly, I wish the President would authorise a purge,' he declared, referencing the dystopian film franchise in which crime is legal for one night each year. 'We need to purge these people.'
Pressed on his inflammatory language, Parris attempted to clarify, claiming he was referring only to 'the criminal element' among the homeless population.
'Look, 40 to 45 percent of so-called homeless people are ex-cons,' he claimed, without citing evidence. 'They're behind most robberies, most rapes, half our murders.'
Parris dismissed ethical concerns, insisting his remarks weren't meant to be taken 'literally' and arguing that fentanyl is already so easily accessible that official distribution wouldn't make much difference.
From Surveillance To Scripture: A Mayor's Controversial Legacy
This is far from the first time Parris has courted controversy. During his extended tenure, he has been criticised for increasing term limits and covering Lancaster in surveillance cameras, which civil liberties advocates have labelled invasive.
In one particularly eccentric crusade, he tried to ban workplace necktie requirements in 2018, claiming that ties reduced blood flow to the brain.
More recently, he has leaned on scripture to defend his hardline stance on homelessness, quoting the verse: 'If a man will not work, he shall not eat' — a move condemned by faith leaders like Pastor Davina Martinez of Hope Community Church.
'Jesus Christ taught compassion for the vulnerable, not condemning them to death,' Martinez said. 'The mayor's twisting of scripture for political purposes is appalling.'
A City Of Contradictions
The mayor's remarks have shone a light on Lancaster's stark disparities — a city home to aerospace giants like Boeing and Lockheed Martin, while unhoused residents live in makeshift tents just blocks away.
'It's ridiculous,' said one local baker. 'All these defence billions flowing through town, and the mayor's solution is to drug the homeless rather than house them? Shameful.'
Although Parris insists that Lancaster has more 'innovative' solutions to homelessness than other cities, he failed to name a single successful initiative during his Fox interview. Instead, he reiterated his desire to remove homeless people from Lancaster 'by any means necessary'.
'My job is protecting the hard-working families here,' he said. 'I'm open to anything... I just want these people gone.'
Echoes Across California
Parris's remarks reflect a broader trend across California, where cities including San Jose and Fremont are increasingly criminalising homelessness, even while lacking sufficient shelter beds.
In Los Angeles — just 70 miles south — Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom have faced criticism for aggressive clear-outs that homeless advocates say do little more than shift people from one neighbourhood to another.
As Lancaster's recall effort creeps forward, Parris appears undeterred by the backlash, telling Fox 11: 'I've been mayor for 17 years. The voters know what they're getting.'
