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WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Attorney General William Barr suggested the idea of lockdowns to combat coronavirus were the “greatest intrusion on civil liberties” in history “other than slavery.”

Barr made the controversial statement Wednesday night minutes after taking aim at his own Justice Department, criticizing prosecutors for behaving as “headhunters” in their pursuit of prominent targets during political probes. The comments came during a speech at Hillsdale College in Michigan.

“You know, putting a national lockdown, stay at home orders, is like house arrest,” Barr said. “Other than slavery, which was a different kind of restraint, this is the greatest intrusion on civil liberties in American history.”