PROVIDENCE — Four Rhode Island candidates for attorney general strove to distinguish themselves in a crowded field Thursday, weighing in on issues such as gun legislation, ICE raids, and domestic violence.
Democratic candidates Kim Ahern, Keith Hoffmann, and Jason Knight joined Republican candidate Alan Gordon in a policy forum hosted by Sojourner House at the Lincoln School. Another Democratic candidate, Joseph Solomon Jr., was unable to attend.
The candidates were asked to name one thing that sets them apart from their opponents.
Ahern, a Providence resident who was a special assistant attorney general and Cannabis Control Commission chairwoman, answered the question with “a moment of levity.”
“I am confident that I am the only person on the stage that has won a national championship in women’s rugby,” she said. “Go Providence College Friars!”
Ahern said the lessons she learned on the rugby field about teamwork and pursuing a common goal would help her as attorney general.
Gordon, a West Greenwich resident, said one thing that sets him apart is that he has been “locked in litigation, what they call lawfare” with the attorney general’s office.
Gordon said the office pursued charges against him and his campaign manager, but “not a single one stuck.” He and Anne Armstrong, who has run for governor, have faced cannabis charges, but they’ve argued cannabis is a holy herb used by members of the Healing Church of Rhode Island.
“I’ve got an advantage over these people because I’ve been abused by that office — they haven’t,” he said of his opponents.
Hoffman, a Providence resident who was chief of policy and senior counsel in Attorney General Peter F. Neronha’s office, said he’s the only candidate “with legal leadership experience across the whole breadth of the attorney general’s work.”
Under Neronha, the attorney general’s office has changed by maintaining an “important criminal function” while being active in areas such as the environment, civil rights, health care, and consumer protection, Hoffman said. “I have experience doing all of this work and helping to lead the office on the executive team and fighting the Trump administration and winning.”
Knight, a state representative from Barrington, said many things distinguish him from the field.
“I’m a veteran of the United States Navy,” he said. “I’ve been in the court system for 20 years, just about every day. I have 10 years under my belt as a legislator, putting my progressive values into real policy and law. The thing that distinguishes me from the rest of the candidates is that I am the whole package.”
The candidates are trying to succeed Neronha, a term-limited Democrat who has been an outspoken advocate for gun legislation, including a law sponsored by Knight that bans the sale, purchase, and manufacture of certain assault-style weapons.
Solomon, a Democratic state representative from Warwick, voted against that bill. He said he was unable to attend Thursday’s forum because of a “longstanding personal commitment,” and he will attend Thursday night’s forum hosted by the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association.
On WJAR’s “10 News Conference,” Solomon said he voted against the assault-weapons ban because it “is probably one of the most restrictive in the entire nation,” and he said states should focus on “bad actors” and “violent offenders” as opposed to ”lawful gun owners."
The candidates were asked to respond to Solomon’s argument and to identify any gun legislation they’d pursue as attorney general.
Ahern said, “It’s hard to respond to someone who’s not here — someone who wants to be your attorney general, who’s not here to talk about domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.“
But she said she gives credit to Knight and other advocates for pushing to “get weapons of war off the streets of Providence and the rest of the state.” She said she has prosecuted firearms cases and would work to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and those with documented mental health histories.
Gordon said the attorney general must enforce statutes “whether or not we feel one way or the other about a law.”
“I don’t think that these firearm restrictions are keeping guns out of the hands of criminals,” he said.
Hoffmann noted gun violence has taken a toll in Rhode Island, including the mass shootings at Brown University and a Pawtucket hockey rink. He said he has defended the state’s ban on large-capacity magazines, the “red-flag law,” and open carry restrictions in state parks.
“These laws are constitutional, and we have to strive to seek consensus on further gun safety reforms,” Hoffmann said.
Knight disagreed with Solomon, saying Rhode Island’s assault weapons ban “is not, in fact, the most restrictive in the nation.”
“But you don’t have to look at what people say — you just have to look at what they do," he said. “This was a vote to protect Rhode Islanders by limiting access to high-power assault-style rifles. And I’m proud to have sponsored the legislation, pushed for it, voted, and got it through.”
Knight called for backing Representative Jennifer Boylan’s bill to “reform” the state’s handgun safety certification or “blue card” process.
The candidates also responded to an audience question about how they’d use the attorney general’s office to hold ICE agents accountable for violations of criminal law and constitutional rights.
Knight said, “Nothing really shows off how despicable the Trump administration is and the MAGA movement is more than their approach to immigration. It is rooted in a profoundly racist effort to remove anyone who’s not white from the country.”
He said he’d enforce new laws, including one that prohibits civil arrests at state courthouses without a judicial warrant.
Hoffmann noted ICE agents shot and killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine, and Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota. “Under the Trump administration, ICE has become a killing machine,“ he said. ”It’s Donald Trump’s personal immigration army. We absolutely must hold anybody accountable when we can when they break the law, including ICE agents."
Gordon described himself as “pro-life,” saying, “When there’s an unborn visitor to Rhode Island from another jurisdiction, I’m going to look to expand the legal personhood of that unborn child, such that if they’re too mature to abort, they’re too mature to deport. I’m going to fight against their removal.”
Ahern said that as a parent and as an attorney, she is “horrified” by what videos show ICE agents doing across the country.
“I trained hundreds of police officers in criminal investigations and procedures, and I can tell you these ICE agents are acting outside the bounds of any law enforcement officer that I have worked with in the state of Rhode Island,” she said. “This isn’t just a tragedy — it’s a travesty of justice."
Ahern said she’d meet with the leaders of the state Supreme Court, the State Police, and the Sheriffs Division to make sure everyone is trained about who can go in and out of the courts.
Steve Ahlquist has posted a video and transcript of the forum online.
Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at edward.fitzpatrick@globe.com. Follow him @FitzProv.