The rise of menace as a mainstream political tool

[essentialsaltes]

Like who? Be specific.

"Beat the ███ out of them," Biden says in first joint event with Harris

While Phillips denied spitting in Carnline's face,

Hulk Hogan's rant about body slamming Kamala Harris

GOP Chair Dave Williams

Richard McLeod

Oklahoma state Sen. [and pastor] Dusty Deevers

 

[essentialsaltes]

Before Trump's town hall event in Pennsylvania on Sunday, a supporter named Andrew told Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN) that he was there "to represent the truth, Jesus Christ."

"I think [Harris] better get on her hands and her knees and start crying out to the one and true living God because if not, she's gonna meet her maker real quick."

Harris attend[ed] church earlier on Sunday

 

[Fantine]

Obviously the FBI and Secret Service need to be alerted, as they are to any threats against presidential candidates--and a sitting vice-president.

I am not surprised he advocates violence, because if he thinks that the Republican is the "godly" candidate in this race, he obviously has no idea of Jesus' Gospel message.

Christians are a diverse group, both theologically and politically. In my experience, progressive Christians have a live-and-let-live view of conservative Christians. If their churches help them become better people and bring them God's comfort and peace, that's good.

I see no such acceptance of progressive Christians by fundamentalists.

What I believe is important is having a regular prayer practice to remain in conscious contact with God and having the support and friendship of a group of like-minded believers.

I personally feel more "spiritual" than "religious," but nevertheless I think that being part of a loving, accepting, challenging (us to be Christ-followers, not rule-observers) faith community is important.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Democratic campaign office in Arizona closes down after being shot at 3 times in 3 weeks​

The gunshots into a Democratic office in Tempe, Arizona come after multiple instances of threats or violence during the 2024 election cycle.​

Man behind white powder on political signs also shot at Tempe DNC offices, police say​

A man has been arrested for hanging suspicious bags of white powder to political signs in Ahwatukee and is also connected to the shootings at a Tempe DNC office, police announced on Tuesday night.

Investigators didn’t release his name or say how they reportedly connected him to both series of crimes, but they said they’ll have more information on Wednesday afternoon.

Police identify man allegedly behind white powder on signs, shooting at Tempe DNC offices​

The suspect was identified overnight as 60-year-old Jeffrey Michael Kelly.

Phoenix police later said the signs were also lined with razor blades. The signs had messages referring to the Democratic Party and presidential candidate VP Kamala Harris.

[Charges at this time:]

• 2 counts- Unlawful discharge (class 6 felony)
• 2 counts- Shooting at a non-residential structure (class 3 felony)
• 3 counts- Terrorism Act (class 2 felony)
• 3 counts- Criminal Damage (class 1 misdemeanor)

 

[essentialsaltes]

Police identify man allegedly behind white powder on signs, shooting at Tempe DNC offices​

The suspect was identified overnight as 60-year-old Jeffrey Michael Kelly.

Jeffrey Michael Kelly, 60, allegedly had more than 120 guns and over 250,000 rounds of ammunition in his home, including a machine gun that was in his car, leading prosecutors to believe he was planning a "mass casualty" event.

In a search of Mr Kelly's home, along with the large seizure of arms, agents also found scopes, body armour and silencers, said Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Neha Bhatia. This led authorities to fear he was planning a bigger attack.

Mr Kelly “probably would fit the definition of a genius, and not the type of menacing, cartoonish one as described by the state,” [his defense] lawyer was quoted as saying by the New York Times.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Texas man arrested for allegedly punching poll worker who told him to remove political hat at early voting site​

A man allegedly punched a poll worker at an early voting site in Texas after he was asked to remove his red "MAGA" or "Trump" baseball cap, according to an incident report.

[The man initially complied, but put the hat back on after voting, violating the anti-electioneering law.]

"The early voting clerk then informed him that that was unacceptable, and then began to escort the person out," [Bexar County Sheriff Javier] Salazar said at a press briefing on Friday.

[A scuffle ensues.]

"The victim seemed to push off of the suspect. At that point, the suspect then turned and threw several punches right at the face of the victim," the sheriff continued.

Lutzenberger was booked into the Bexar County jail on injury to an elderly person, a third-degree felony, according to Salazar.

Salazar said there have been several minor incidents since early voting started in the county, including a "swatting-type call."

 

[essentialsaltes]

Driver accused of trying to run over Michigan election canvassers in St. Clair Shores​

Political campaigns sometimes use the VFW Bruce Post parking lot to hand out materials for both Democratic and Republican candidates. That's exactly what the St. Clair Shores Democratic Club was doing on Saturday, Oct. 12.

"As soon as he found out we were the Harris-Walz tent, he went from zero to 100 very quickly," she said.

"He said, 'When Donald Trump gets elected, we're going to exterminate people like you,'" said Michael Denomme, a volunteer with the St. Clair Shores Democratic Club.

A police report has been filed with the St. Clair Shore Police Department, and the case has been turned over to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office hate crimes division. The prosecutor's office says it still reviewing the case.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Trump suggests ‘war hawk’ Liz Cheney should have guns ‘trained on her face’​

“She’s a radical war hawk. Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, okay? Let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face.”

“President Trump was clearly explaining that warmongers like Liz Cheney are very quick to start wars and send other Americans to fight them, rather than go into combat themselves,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

(Trump has never been deployed to a war zone. He was exempted from military service during the Vietnam War because he claimed a diagnosisof bone spurs.)

 

[A2SG]

Trump suggests ‘war hawk’ Liz Cheney should have guns ‘trained on her face’​

“She’s a radical war hawk. Let’s put her with a rifle standing there with nine barrels shooting at her, okay? Let’s see how she feels about it. You know, when the guns are trained on her face.”

“President Trump was clearly explaining that warmongers like Liz Cheney are very quick to start wars and send other Americans to fight them, rather than go into combat themselves,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.

(Trump has never been deployed to a war zone. He was exempted from military service during the Vietnam War because he claimed a diagnosisof bone spurs.)

If Harris had said something like this, imagine the right wing freak out. Instead, I suspect they'll either support it, excuse it or just ignore it.

-- A2SG, wanna take bets on which?

 

[timothyu]

Remember when elections were run over issues rather than insults>

 

[A2SG]

Remember when elections were run over issues rather than insults>

-- A2SG, once upon a time there was a tavern....

 

[essentialsaltes]

How election conspiracy theories tore apart this remote Northern California county​

In five consecutive elections, voters in the rural county have selected her as their chief election official. [including 70% of the vote in 2022.] By those indicators, she seems pretty popular.

But she has received a steady stream of threats from a loud minority of Shasta County residents who falsely believe the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.

This red California county roiled by a far-right-insurgency braces for more trouble as election nears​

As a devoted Republican who runs a cattle ranch and proudly talks about owning a gun, Shasta County Supervisor Mary Rickert is an unlikely progressive icon.

But that is exactly what the 72-year-old devout Catholic and grandmother has become to some in this northern California county — which has been convulsed by conspiracy theories about voter fraud and other extremist ideologies over the last three years.

Rickert is still a staunch conservative. But she has also emerged as an often lonely voice on the Board of Supervisors against a far-right insurgency that has roiled her county.

[She's up for reelection.]

But no matter what happens in that race, there are signs that some chaos may continue. On Wednesday, the county announced that its new voting machines were failing to properly count ballots.

The county purchased the machines after it dumped Dominion and a new state law blocked it from hand-counting. The county also got a new registrar after Cathy Darling Allen, the only elected Democrat in the county, stepped down because she had heart failure and needed to reduce her stress.

Nevada County, which uses the same machines, is having a similar problem [with ink overspray on ballot printing], he said. He added that it is unknown how many of the 117,000 ballots his county issued have been affected; about 32,500 ballots have already been turned in by voters.

Also this week, a Shasta County elections official told the news website CalMatters that he had quit his job because election observers were crowding into the office in an intimidating manner.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Peace order filed after alleged harassment of election worker in Carroll County [MD]​

A Carroll County election official's claims of harassment at a polling place led to a peace order filed against a Republican Central Committee member.

In the peace order, Perrone called the encounter distressing and states that Adelaide's behavior toward her staff has been going on since mid-September.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Trump campaign defends his remarks about violence toward journalists​

"I have this piece of glass here, but all we have really over here is the fake news. And to get me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. And I don't mind that so much," he said at the event, just two days before Election Day.

Asked by ABC News about the remark, Campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump, saying, "Obviously he was joking."

...it is evident that Trump explicitly stated he would not "mind that so much" if reporters were shot, and laughed as his supporters cheered at his remark.

 

[essentialsaltes]

A Pennsylvania county finds itself at the center of an election denial storm​

The focus on Luzerne [County PA] has officials worried about the potential forpolitical violence. County manager Romilda Crocamo had large boulders installed around the downtown Wilkes-Barre government office that houses the Bureau of Elections to deter would-be car bombers or drivers from crashing into the building.

Crocamo said the county is trying to be as transparent as possible to preempt claims of election fraud. In 2021, she said, someone on social media spread false claims that she brought a U-haul filled with ballots to the bureau in the middle of the night. This time, she said, there is a live camera feed in the room where ballots are stored, and workers will be videotaping the movement of ballots on election night as well as the ballot-opening and counting process.

“Because of people like Scott Presler, who will be spouting lies, we will have the video evidence to show that he and his followers are absolutely wrong,” she said.

Presler did not respond to several requests for an interview. When approached at the Luzerne elections board meeting, Presler refused to speak to a reporter, saying he did not trust The Washington Post and hoped the media would “learn its lesson” when Trump wins.

When it was time for public comments at Luzerne County’s last board of elections meeting before the November vote, Scott Presler was the first to speak.

Over the more than two hours that followed, at least two dozen people came to the microphone to accuse the county of being unprepared to carry out a fair election. Denise Williams, the board’s chairwoman, sat stone-faced and silent, only letting her face betray her when the attacks turned personal. Williams, she said later, was determined to prove the skeptics wrong.

Republicans control the county government in Luzerne, and even the elected county controller, Walter Griffith, a Republican, joined the barrage of angry comments at the board meeting.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Threatening letters sent to Dem voters in Wisconsin​

One of the letters, images of which were shared with Wisconsin Examiner, opens with the line, “We see that you have Democrat[ic] signs on your property.” The letter asks, “are you not aware that when you die that you will be held accountable before almighty God for voting for an open border that allows millions of illegal immigrants to freely enter, many of which are felons and evil people that have been doing deadly harm and will continue to do so [?]” The letter goes on to warn that voters will be held accountable by God “for voting for communism to take over America,” ending that “we don’t want anyone going to horrible [heck], but you are on a fast path to it.”

After receiving multiple reports about the letters, Hawkins said that the Kenosha County Democratic Party decided to make a social media post, to ensure that people knew that they weren’t alone.

 

[timothyu]

Reaping What We Sow

 

[Trogdor the Burninator]

Remember when violence against election officials, threats to candidates, shootings during elections and riots over election results used to only happen in third world countries?

 

[timothyu]

Remember when violence against election officials, threats to candidates, shootings during elections and riots over election results used to only happen in third world countries?

Guess who has fallen like Rome and Great Britain once did.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Several Trump picks for top jobs targeted with bomb and 'swatting' threats​

Three senior law enforcement officials briefed on the swatting incident involving multiple Trump allies told NBC News that these were not credible threats. No devices or physical threats were found and some of the threats may have come in over social media, the officials said.

Democratic lawmakers from Connecticut report Thanksgiving bomb threats against their homes​

Police who responded said they found no evidence of a bomb on the lawmakers’ properties.

This happened a day after a number of President-elect Donald Trump’s most prominent Cabinet picks and appointees reported that they had received bomb threats and “swatting attacks,” in which perpetrators initiate an emergency law enforcement response against a victim under false pretenses.