Megyn Kelly shuts down Trump supporter on Muslim registry 'precedent'

A Trump supporter and former Navy SEAL has cited Japanese internment camps during World War II as a precedent for Trump's proposed Muslim registry -- but was immediately shut down by Fox News host Megyn Kelly.

Carl Higbie of the pro-Trump PAC Great America claimed the controversial registry, which comes less than a year after Trump first proposed a "complete shutdown" on Muslims entering the U.S., would be legal.

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"I know the ACLU is going to challenge it, but I think it will pass. We've done it with Iran back a while ago. We did it during World War II with Japanese. Call it what you will, maybe wrong," Higbie said during an interview on Fox News.

"You're not proposing we go back to the days of internment camps, I hope," a disbelieving Kelly responded, adding, "You can't be citing Japanese internment camps as precedent for anything the president-elect is going to do."

But Higbie responded: "Look, the president needs to protect America first and if that means having people that are not protected under our constitution have some sort of registry so we can understand...until we can identify the true threat and where it's coming from, I support it."

Since announcing the "shutdown" on Muslims, President-elect Trump has shifted its parameters, calling it "extreme vetting" of persons from "territories" with a history of terror.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach told Reuters he's been participating in calls with Trump's advisers on immigration policy and they've been discussing the possibility to reinstate a national registry of immigrants from countries with extremist activity.

The registry was canceled in 2011 because the Department of Homeland Security said it was redundant.

In a statement Wednesday morning, Democratic National Committee National Press Secretary Mark Paustenbach criticised the Muslim registry proposal calling it a "shameful and dangerous start" to Trump's presidency.