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'His faith turned violent': Republican candidate panned after ad featuring 'angry Democrats in Klan hoods'
GOP congressional candidate Jerone Davison brandished an AR-15 in a new campaign ad where he wards off "a dozen angry Democrats in Klan hoods."
"Davison, a former NFL player and pastor, is one of five Republicans running for the GOP nomination in Arizona's 4th Congressional District, which includes parts of Tempe, Mesa and Chandler," The Arizona Republic reported Wednesday. "He posted the 24-second clip with the caption 'Make Rifles Great Again,' with an emoji of a bicep curl, which is often used to indicate strength."
In the ad, the Ku Klux Klan is armed with a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, a hammer, a hatchet, and a 4-tine garden cultivator.
Davison received harsh criticism online.
\u201c@Jerone4Congress Wait...you're a Republican and you're trying to say WE'RE the KKK risk. Rotflmao.\u201d— Jerone Davison for Congress #AZCD4 (@Jerone Davison for Congress #AZCD4) 1657120379
Not everyone was critical of the ad, self-described "Anarcho-Nihilist" Justin O'Donnell praised Trump for his role in inspiring the bit.
"Donald Trump's presidency normalized hyperbole and absurdity in political advertising. And that alone may stand as his greatest contribution to the world," he wrote.
But much of the commentary was harsh.
"What in God's name is wrong with these people?" wondered bestselling author Jeff Pearlman.
He asked Davison, "have you not seen what's going down with guns? With innocents getting slaughtered?"
"Is it JUST about being loud and toxic and attention-seeking on social media? Is that what this is? F*cking shameful," he wrote.
"Once upon a time, [Davison] used his faith for good. He saw people hurting, and aspired to help. Then, over the past decade, he became infected. His faith turned violent. Prayer morphed into threats. Machismo trumped humility. Like so many others. Honestly breaks my heart," he added.
\u201cOnce upon a time, @Jerone4Congress used his faith for good. He saw people hurting, and aspired to help. Then, over the past decade, he became infected. His faith turned violent. Prayer morphed into threats. Machismo trumped humility. Like so many others. Honestly breaks my heart.\u201d— Jeff Pearlman (@Jeff Pearlman) 1657145455
\u201cBy their ads, Eric Greitens is running for Senate with an assault gun to kill \u201cRHINO\u201d Republicans; Jerone Davidson is running for Congress with an AR15 to kill \u201cDemocrats in Klan hoods.\u201d\n\nThe rest of us\u2753\n\nWe\u2019re just running to AVOID getting killed. SMDH \n\u201d— Rev. & Prof. Cornell William Brooks (@Rev. & Prof. Cornell William Brooks) 1657151513
\u201cOnly in Arizona..... "When this rifle is the only thing standing between your family and a dozen angry Democrats in Klan hoods, you just might need that semi-automatic. And all 30 rounds."\u201d— Laurie Roberts (@Laurie Roberts) 1657145356
\u201c\u201cA dozen angry Democrats in klan hoods.\u201d\n\nYou can\u2019t even make this stuff up anymore.\n\nThe gaslighting, lies, projection, and ignorance are off the charts.\n\nJerone Davison is insane.\n\nArizona is a beautiful, magical state, but wtaf is going on out there?\n\n\u201d— The USA Singers (@The USA Singers) 1657141011
\u201cThis is sickening. Arizona Republican (of course) congressional candidate Jerone Davison releases campaign ad using his AR-15 to threaten killing \u201cangry Democrats in Klan hoods\u201d who are lurking outside his home for some reason.\u201d— Mike Sington (@Mike Sington) 1657148582
\u201cWeird that Republicans know where to get Klan hoods. Hmmm.\u201d— Martha Brockenbrough FRANK AND THE BAD SURPRISE (@Martha Brockenbrough FRANK AND THE BAD SURPRISE) 1657144348
The best part is he had to say "democrats in Klan hoods" because he knows his base (republicans) would be offended by a less specific description.
— Rod (@rodimusprime) July 6, 2022
Lindsey Graham's refusal to cooperate might actually make it easier to prosecute Trump: Former GOP congressman
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is moving to try to block a subpoena from the Fulton County, Georgia district attorney in an investigation into former President Donald Trump's attempt to force the state's elections chief to "find" extra votes for him — a move that has triggered outrage from some legal experts.
But, noted former Rep. David Jolly (R-FL) on MSNBC's "The ReidOut" Wednesday, Graham's resistance to the subpoena could actually end up putting Trump in even more legal liability.
Specifically, he argued, Graham is one of the only people who could testify in Trump's favor, and his refusal could force the former president to answer more questions of his own.
"I wonder if there's a sense that ... there are some Republicans who might be kind of rooting for this [investigation]," said anchor Joy Reid. "I'm thinking about Mitch McConnell who said — there was this quote, this was about the impeachment, that Mitch McConnell allegedly said, and this is a quote from the book 'This Shall Not Pass' — 'The Democrats are going to take care of this son of a bitch for us,' referring to his imminent impeachment. It's schadenfreude, because not it wouldn't be the January 6 Committee. It would be the Black lady in Georgia."
"Quite ironic," said Jolly. "You know who can help solve the threats of violence and racism? Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham. He should be the first to condemn the epithets coming toward the prosecutor in Fulton County, but he's not. He's hiding from her. It's almost comical how perfectly Lindsey Graham this moment is, the guy that lights the fire wants to run from it."
"Here is the other great irony in Lindsey Graham's behavior in this moment," added Jolly. "You know what ultimately will lead to the subpoena of Donald Trump? Lindsey Graham's lack of cooperation. If he said there was a legitimate legislative purpose, I wasn't doing this on behalf of the president — if he wanted to go under oath and say that was the nature of my phone call, it gets very hard for the Fulton County prosecutor to then subpoena Donald Trump. But it's very easy, without Lindsey Graham, for the Fulton County prosecutor to say, you know what, judge, because of the lack of cooperation of Lindsey Graham, we have reason to believe that we need to bring under oath the former president of the United States. It is perfectly Lindsey Graham, it's all about the senior senator from South Carolina, and it's about nobody else."
Watch below or at this link.
David Jolly says Lindsey Graham is making it easier to subpoena Trump www.youtube.com
Sheena Greitens’ attorney, Helen Wade, on Tuesday filed a notice that she intended to take a sworn deposition from Eric Greitens, which would have been the first time he has testified under oath about anything since he was elected governor in 2016.
In response, Eric Greitens’ attorney, Gary Stamper, filed objections with the court, citing conflicts in two other cases for the July 13 deposition date. One conflict is a trial in a divorce case, before the same judge and with Wade as opposing counsel, scheduled to begin an hour before the deposition time.
Wade set the deposition time and date without an agreement from Stamper that he and his client would be available at that time, Stamper wrote in a filing with the court on Wednesday.
The Greitens case “ is no more important than any other case,” Stamper wrote in his objections.
Because of the conflict, “good cause exists” for an order to protect Stamper’s clients “from undue burden occasioned by Petitioner’s counsel personal preferences.”
Stamper declined to comment on the filing.
Wade could not be reached for comment on Stamper’s objections.
The case is set for a July 15 trial before Associate Circuit Judge Leslie Schneider. Wade has said she intends to put Eric Greitens on the witness stand.
Sheena Greitens has made two sworn statements to the court alleging her ex-husband engaged in physical and psychological abuse in 2018 and that she had photos and other documents to prove it.
In response, Greitens has accused his former wife of lying and being manipulated by his Republican enemies who want to defeat him in the Aug. 2 Senate primary.
In June, Sheena Greitens gave an interview to The Independent and provided emails showing her concerns about actual and threatened violence during 2018, before and immediately after allegations of sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations forced his resignation as governor.
Sheena Greitens said she agreed to the interview, and to release the emails, because of threats she received after his Senate campaign published a video depicting him toting a gun and hunting his political opponents.
Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com. Follow Missouri Independent on Facebook and Twitter.
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