ON TUESDAY , Rep. Rob Gibbs, R-Ohio, declined to endorse Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s call for law enforcement to preemptively “patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized.”

Cruz’s statement came after this week’s terrorist attacks in Brussels, and was swiftly criticized by civil liberties activists and Muslim civil rights organization.

Speaking to The Intercept on Capitol Hill, Gibbs said that in response to the terror attacks, “We need to work with the Muslims because I think the majority of them are good people. … They need to be part of the solution.” Asked directly to respond to Cruz’s proposal, Gibbs said, “I don’t know what he’s thinking there. I think, hopefully, the Muslim community will come forward and work with the proper authorities, but we shouldn’t have a police state, no.”

Watch Gibbs’s remarks below:

