‘Somebody’s going to get killed’: Dem lawmaker hammers GOP for refusing to punish Gosar for violent video
Connecticut Democratic Congressman Jim Himes appeared on MSNBC on Wednesday to discuss reports of violent threats against his 13 Republican colleagues in the House who voted in favor of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill last week.
"It's a really sad state of affairs," Himes said, noting that 15 years ago, nothing would have been less controversial than an infrastructure bill to address roads and bridges.
"Now this being turned into a betrayal of Donald Trump," Himes said. "We know where Trump's coming from, right? Joe Biden got this done. Donald Trump will never be able to live with that."
He noted that critics of the 13 Republicans, including GOP Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, have referred to them as "traitors" and "communists" and accused them of destroying America.
"You're hearing this from someone who lived through Jan. 6," Himes said. "It's a matter of time before a less responsible follower of Donald Trump, or a less responsible Republican, is going to pick up a weapon and kill someone, and I never imagined that I would be concerned about that, but here we are, and I think that's a very real threat. If Republicans can't dial back their rhetoric, that's where this is going to end."
Host Nicole Wallace pointed to a Department of Homeland Security intelligence bulletin issued Wednesday, which warned of threats from anti-government extremists, saying DHS had "reached the same conclusion" as Himes, who sits on the House intelligence committee.
"We've just been through four years where the president of the United States gave license to those groups," Himes said, pointing to Trump's refusal to denounce the Proud Boys by telling them to "stand back and stand by," as well as his statement that there were good people "on both sides" of the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally.
"They've been given license, they've been encouraged by the establishment wing of the Republican Party. What the president of the United States said matters," Himes said, before turning his attention to GOP Congressman Paul Gosar, who posted a meme earlier this week showing him killing Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
"No one's calling for him to be sanctioned," Himes said. "They're calling for the folks who helped with bridges and roads to be sanctioned. If this continues, somebody's going to get killed, and while my colleagues will try to wash their hands of the responsibility, make no mistake, the language that is being used, the rhetoric that is being used, is going to result in people being killed or hurt."
"I want to hear from the Republican leadership saying, 'We will not tolerate this because someone is going to get killed,'" Himes added. "People need to start saying that loud and clear, starting by the way with (House GOP leader) Kevin McCarthy. If leaders keep tolerating this stuff, somebody's going to get killed."
Watch below.
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