Tennessee state Sen. Frank Niceley used the false claim that 'Hitler decided to live on the streets for a while' as an illustration of someone who turned his life around after homelessness.

A Tennessee Republican state senator on Wednesday cited Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler as a positive example of someone who was able to make a life for himself after experiencing homelessness.

Sen. Frank Niceley used the example to voice his support for a Tennessee Senate bill that would criminalize encampments or soliciting on public property, making it a misdemeanor to camp, for example, under highways or bridges. The bill would provide for a $50 fine and a sentence of 20-40 hours of community service.

"I wanna give you a little history lesson on homelessness," Niceley said in a speech on the Senate floor in support of the legislation. "In 1910, Hitler decided to live on the streets for a while. So for two years, Hitler lived on the streets and practiced his oratory and his body language and how to connect with the masses and then went on to lead a life that got him in the history books. So a lot of these people, it's not a dead end. They can come out of this, these homeless camps, and have a productive life ... or in Hitler's case a very unproductive life. I support this bill."

S.B. 1610, the bill criminalizing encampments, ultimately passed in the Tennessee Senate by a vote of 22-10, and now heads to GOP Gov. Bill Lee's desk for signature.