Republican state Rep. Phil Covarrubias this week twice appeared to offer a limited defense of Japanese-American internment camps during World War II, before apologizing that his comments were “taken out of context.”

Covarrubias was speaking against a Democratic bill that would prevent the state from cooperating with federal authorities on a number of actions the bill deemed unconstitutional — to include detaining people for the purpose of internment camps.

“For anybody that has never been in the heat of combat, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and all of that was going on, there’s not time to ask questions and find out who’s a citizen and who’s not,” said Covarrubias, a former Marine who lives in Brighton. “It’s easy to sit here and say this stuff now. But if you’re in that moment, it looks a lot different than being able to be in a nice suit and tie.”

Later in the hearing on Wednesday, he returned to the subject, and referenced the terrorist attacks in Orlando and San Bernadino, Calif.

“What happened prior to (the internment camps) that kicked all this off? I think we were attacked in Pearl Harbor,” Covarrubias said. “I think we need to look at the Americans that are in fear from the terrorism and the things that we’ve seen over the last few years, especially.

“Everybody’s talking about the immigrants being in fear or the other people being in fear, what about our own people? What about Florida? What about San Bernadino?”

The remarks drew national attention, with The Washington Post, among others, saying they appeared to amount to a defense of Japanese internment camps.

Colorado has deep roots in the issue. One of ten internment camps for Japanese-Americans in the U.S. was in southeastern Colorado, and the state’s governor at the time, Ralph Carr, was a singular figure at the time in both accepting the prisoners and speaking out on their behalf.

On Thursday, Covarrubias attempted to clarify his remarks on the House floor. He was absent Friday and could not immediately be reached for comment. A House GOP spokesman said Covarrubias would not comment further on the matter.

“Under no circumstances should anyone, regardless of who they are, be treated the way the American Japanese people were treated during World War II. President Roosevelt’s reaction to the attack was the wrong reaction, and I’m sad that any of that is a part of our history,” Covarrubias said. “Sorry it was taken out of the context that it was delivered.”

The measure passed on second reading on a voice vote that appeared to fall along party lines. Republicans said the measure went too far in prohibiting cooperation with federal immigration laws and in extending protections to all Colorado residents, regardless of citizenship status.

The bill also would have prevented the creation of a Muslim registry similar to one proposed by President Donald Trump during last year’s campaign.