The threat of political violence is reaching a fever pitch.
Democrat lawmakers say their voters are enraged at the lack of ability to counter President Donald Trump‘s agenda, with some sounding the alarm that they could potentially resort to “violence,” Axios reported Monday.
The outlet says it spoke to over two dozen House Democrats to measure the temperature of the Democrat base and what it uncovered was red-hot anger and a desire to circumvent the rule of law.
“We’ve got people who are desperately wanting us to do something… no matter what we say, they want [more],” Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) told the outlet.
Axios noted that most of the lawmakers spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Our own base is telling us that what we’re doing is not good enough… [that] there needs to be blood to grab the attention of the press and the public,” one such lawmaker said.
Another said their constituents are convinced that “civility isn’t working” and that they should prepare for “violence… to fight to protect our democracy.”
A third lawmaker described some of the messages from people online as “crazy ****,” saying that some told them to “storm the White House and stuff like that.”
Another lawmaker compared Democrat voters to the “Roman coliseum,” saying, “People just want more and more of this spectacle,” the lawmaker said.
Other constituents have insisted that lawmakers take on the risk themselves, with one lawmaker saying they were told they should be willing to get “shot.”
“What I have seen is a demand that we get ourselves arrested intentionally or allow ourselves to be victims of violence, and… a lot of times that’s coming from economically very secure White people,” another lawmaker said.
A seventh lawmaker recounted a meeting they had with constituents that laid bare the desire for escalation.
“I actually said in a meeting, ‘When they light a fire, my thought is to grab an extinguisher,'” the lawmaker detailed. “And someone at the table said, ‘Have you tried gasoline?'” they added.
The concerning report highlights the recent rise in political violence. (RELATED: Report: Suspected Minnesota Lawmaker Assassin Vance Boelter Captured)
In June, a man assassinated two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses while posing as a law enforcement official. Vance Boelter, 57, was captured in Sibley County after a two-day manhunt. He allegedly killed Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, early Saturday morning at their Brooklyn Park home in Minneapolis before allegedly shooting State Sen. John Hoffman, also a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, in their nearby Champlin home in a related attack.
