David Duke justifies violence against ‘journalist terrorism’ after reporter targeted by ‘gory’ threats

Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke complained that journalists had terrorized him for decades after a reporter was flooded with death threats for exposing the "obviously racist" creator of an animation shared by President Donald Trump.

The president tweeted out Sunday an animated GIF depicting himself body-slamming CNN, and writing professor and journalist Jared Yates Sexton revealed the social media meme was created by a Reddit user called “HanAssholeSolo.”

That person made frequent racist and threatening posts on Reddit, reported Sexton, including one earlier this month identifying Jewish employees of CNN.

Duke responded to Trump's tweet by justifying violence against journalists, who he accused of promoting violence against him dating back to his time with a neo-Nazi student group at Louisiana State University and as imperial wizard of the KKK.

Sexton tweeted Monday that he'd received numerous "gory" -- and frequently anti-Semitic -- threats since revealing the Reddit user's racist social media history.

Duke responded to Sexton's claims by suggesting journalists deserved violent threats for exposing his own racist statements and activity throughout his public life as a KKK leader and political candidate.

"I have literally been the target of 'Journalist' terrorism for 50yrs," Duke tweeted. "The climate of hated/violence your profession has created is shameful."

Duke, who lost his Republican bid in November for the U.S. Senate, sounded an awful lot like Trump at times as he continued his complaint against journalists.

"This same #FakeNews media wants gun control, open borders, infinity immigration and White replacement, while supporting Israel's ethnostate," Duke tweeted. "There have been millions of hit articles written against me by very dishonest, nasty journalists. Now they cry that they're being targeted."

After Duke's posts attracted sharp criticism, he insisted the tweets were "an experiment by showing the kind of hatred his profession sends my way" -- even as he justified violent threats against Sexton and other journalists.

"Let's face it, for decades, people like @JYSexton in the media had promoted the mass collective guilt of Whites and laughing about it," Duke tweeted. "The media has caused a radicalisation of minorities and weak minded Whites, which has led to the epidemic of violence in society against us."