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Who’s Committing Election Violence?
Never ones to let a “crisis” go to waste, President Biden and his fellow travelers are working overtime to accuse Republicans of being behind election violence threats.
“President Joe Biden urged Americans to vote in favor of democracy, reject election-denying candidates, and be patient with results ahead of the first national Election Day held since the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol,” screamed CNBC in its coverage of Biden’s Union Station speech last Wednesday.
“It’s estimated that there are more than 300 election deniers on the ballot all across America this year,” Biden said, speaking at Washington, D.C.’s Union Station. “We can’t ignore the impact this is having on our country. It’s damaging, it’s corrosive and it’s destructive.”
Biden’s omen came with less than a week to go until Election Day and five days after an assailant with a history of sharing right-wing conspiracy theories broke into the home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacked her husband with a hammer, causing serious damage to his head.
In his speech Wednesday evening, Biden said Pelosi’s attacker David DePape used the same rhetoric the rioters did on Jan. 6. Biden, without naming Donald Trump, said the former president had the rioters “whipped up into a frenzy” by his big lie that the election of 2020 had been stolen. The lie, Biden said, has led to further political violence and voter intimidation seen over the last two years.
Facts never seem to get in the way of the mainstream media’s penchant for promoting political narratives, even when they contradict facts. Pelosi’s attacker was a deranged individual who once thought he was Jesus. Michael Shellenberger, a former Independent candidate for Governor of California, does better reporting here than CNBC:
DePape lived with a notorious local nudist in a Berkeley home, complete with a Black Lives Matter sign in the window and an LGBT rainbow flag, emblazoned with a marijuana symbol, hanging from a tree. A closer look reveals the characteristics of a homeless encampment, or what Europeans call “an open drug scene.” In the driveway, there is a broken-down camper van. On the street is a yellow school bus, which neighbors said DePape occasionally stayed in. Both are filled with garbage typical of such structures in homeless encampments. People come and go from the house and the vehicles, neighbors say, in part to partake in the use of a potent psychedelic drug, ibogaine.
Neighbors described DePape as a homeless addict with politics that was, until recently, left-wing, but of secondary importance to his psychotic and paranoid behavior.
“What I know about the family is that they’re very radical activists,” said one of DePape’s neighbors, a woman who only gave her first name, Trish. “They seem very left. They are all about the Black Lives Matter movement. Gay pride. But they’re very detached from reality. They have called the cops on several of the neighbors, including us, claiming that we are plotting against them. It’s really weird to see that they are willing to be so aggressive toward somebody else who is also a lefty.”
But the facts must never get in the way of the narrative, especially at taxpayer-funded outlets such as National Public Radio. From KOSU, an Oklahoma NPR affiliate:
As Election Day nears, the recent attack on Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their San Francisco home is increasing concerns over political violence around the midterms.
Those concerns were further emphasized by the release of an internal bulletin within federal agencies — on the same day as the Pelosi attack — warning of a heightened threat from domestic violent extremists in the coming weeks.
While troubling indicators — such as growing support for political violence, a rise in threats against elected officials and election workers, and the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol — have clearly signaled the path of the country’s political environment over the past two years, many see the current election cycle as a crucial test of how much those factors will affect the practice of democracy in the United States.
While the internal bulletin warned federal agencies of a heightened threat period, it identified “lone offenders” as the most likely to commit violence, rather than organized extremist groups. It outlined a number of grievances that may motivate those actors, including debunked claims of widespread election fraud and polarizing social topics such as abortion and LGBTQ rights.
But the alert did not indicate that federal law enforcement is aware, at this time, of any specific plans for coordinated or targeted violence.
And it’s everywhere, even in Oklahoma. Daily Oklahoman reporter Chris Casteel:
These will be the first statewide elections since the 2020 presidential contest led to unsubstantiated charges of fraud in some states and a riot at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump.
The Justice Department has put U.S. attorneys and FBI field offices on election duty across the country for Tuesday’s voting.
“The Department of Justice is dedicated to protecting the integrity of the election process,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson, of the Northern District of Oklahoma. “Eligible voters must be able to cast their vote free from interference or discrimination. Likewise, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence.”
There may be no “specific plans for coordinated or targeted violence.” Still, you don’t need to travel very far to see where the most recent attacks and threats are directed: Republican candidates for Governor in New York (Lee Zeldin) and Illinois (Darren Bailey) and US Senate in New Hampshire (Don Bolduc).
US Representative, GOP gubernatorial candidate, and former Marine Lee Zeldin (NY) personally fends off an attack on stage. That’s quite a weapon (not the microphone)
Not to mention over 100 violent attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the US Supreme Court. “More than 100 crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs), pro-life organizations, and churches have been attacked, some more than once, since the May 2 leak of the Supreme Court draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade,” reported Fox News. “Fox News Digital previously reported that while more than a dozen attacks have been claimed by the left-wing pro-abortion group Jane’s Revenge, not a single member of the underground group has been arrested.”
This is one of over 100 pro-life pregnancy centers that have been vandalized. “Abortion is liberation,” the spray paint says on this Minnesota clinic.
But GOP candidates aren’t the only ones being attacked. So are their volunteers. The New York Post:
A female protester at a Gov. Kathy Hochul rally in Manhattan was choked by a man during a skirmish Saturday evening that also involved a New York City lawmaker, footage shows.
The melee occurred near the landmark Stonewall Inn, where the Democratic candidate Hochul was appearing with Bravo host Andy Cohen to shore up LGBTQ support in the days before the gubernatorial election.
Footage captured by the independent Viral News NY showed the middle of the altercation, in which a man in shorts and a plaid short-sleeve shirt choked a woman wearing a black sweatshirt.
Councilwoman Crystal Hudson, a Democrat who represents Prospect Heights in Brooklyn, was also seen tussling with the woman, who at one point shoved the lawmaker. Hudson did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The 24-second clip did not show how the fight began, but the unidentified woman told the photographer it started when someone took her sign, which featured pictures of Hochul and other Democrats with the tagline “Vote Them Out.”
Imagine the headline if a white Republican male choked a Democratic Black woman at a political rally. But the white male here supports Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, and the woman does not.
Republican canvassers, be careful in Florida. From the Daily Signal:
Police have arrested a second suspect in connection with an assault Sunday night on a campaign volunteer for Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., that occurred while he was canvassing neighborhood voters in Hialeah, Florida.
Rubio volunteer Christopher Monzon, 27, suffered a broken jaw and internal bleeding in the attack and will have to undergo facial reconstructive surgery, the senator said Monday.
“Crime and violence is out of control across America,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., told The Daily Signal. “No one should have to fear for their safety when they volunteer to support a candidate in an election. Political violence is disgusting, and everybody should condemn this horrific attack.”
Scalise, the No. 2 House Republican, was nearly killed in a politically motivated mass shooting in 2017 at an Alexandria ballfield during practice for the Congressional Baseball Game.
In the Florida assault, Fox News reported that Hialeah police arrested a man identified as Jonathan Alexander Casanova two days after the arrest of another man, identified as Javier Jesus Lopez, at the scene of the attack on Monzon.
Volunteer Christopher Monzon, 27, was canvassing in Hialeah, Florida for incumbent US Sen. Marco Rubio.
And GOP candidates might be careful when walking up to debate stages. Also, from the New York Post:
Republican New Hampshire Senate candidate Don Bolduc dodged a punch from a would-be assailant before stepping onstage to debate Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) on Wednesday, according to reports.
Bolduc, 60, a retired Army brigadier general, was apparently unharmed, and the individual who attempted to assault the Senate candidate was arrested, according to his campaign.
“As the general said on stage tonight, it’s time to lower the temperature of the political discourse in this country. Prior to the debate, an individual in the crowd gathered outside attempted to punch the general and was quickly apprehended and arrested,” a Bolduc campaign spokesperson told Boston 25 News.
GOP US Senate nominee and “Lion of Kandahar” Gen. Don Bolduc (NH)
Who would be stupid enough to throw a punch at one of the legendary “Lions of Kandahar,” a retired Special Forces officer who served ten tours of duty in the US Army, earned five bronze stars, was awarded two Purple Hearts, and fought his way out of helicopter crash against the Taliban? Stupid is as stupid does, I suppose.
Somehow, if Republicans were committing violence against Democratic candidates, I think we’d know about it. Democrats and the mainstream media would be all over it. Instead, they’re forced to fabricate about the Paul Pelosi assault and regurgitate Department of Justice news releases about “Election Day Programs” focused on potential violence against election workers.
Too bad the Justice Department during the Obama administration refused to prosecute a blatant attempt to intimidate voters in the Philadelphia area in 2008 by a so-called “Black Panthers” group. A Biden Administration-led “Election Day Program” doesn’t inspire confidence in the integrity of the election.
If the “red wave” happens as predicted, it’s not violence from conservatives we should fear – it’s the left. And one only needs to go back to 2020 to see what they’re capable of and how the media will spin it.
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Well said
I value patterns over time.
So let’s remind people of the extensive rioting that took place in Washington, D.C. on and around January 20, 2017 as Donald Trump was sworn in as President, including the “Women’s March” and its explicit calls for violence.
And let’s also remind everyone of the extensive defensive riot preparations taken also in Washington, D.C. leading up to the Presidential election of that year [edit – I meant 2020]. It was clear to all that there was zero expectation that Republicans would riot should Donald Trump lose the election. The defensive riot preparations were taken only because everyone expected leftists to riot should President Trump be reelected.
If you want to know what they are up to, look at what they are accusing us of doing.
That picture should have been printed on about a million t-shirts.
I’ve been planning forever (but haven’t done it) to look into those 2017 inauguration day riots in DC to see how much damage was done in comparison to the January 6 three hour riot. I wouldn’t be surprised if the 2017 riots had a dollar value of damage.
One clear difference is that the 2017 riots destroyed or damaged mostly businesses owned by human beings, as opposed to government property. The one I most vividly remember is the destruction of a limousine that was the business of an immigrant.
Burning down Uncle Hugo’s SF Bookstore/Uncle Edgar’s Mystery Bookstore in Minneapolis was a crime in many ways. Fortunately, they seem to be coming back.
Y’all are forgetting January 6, 2021.
What, no fires? What a disappointment!
The Pelosi thing stinks and they are trying to bury it. This is about eight minutes. Very good..
Pelosi and the FBI are going to jail for traitorous sedition and conspiracy, after the upcoming real January 6 hearings.
Given all of the widely discussed controversies around January 6, it is inexplicable that they haven’t released the 14,000 hours of surveillance video of the riot.
Violence like these instances and its celebration by leftists is directly caused by Biden’s repeated assertions that MAGA Republicans are indeed fascists that must be stopped. This didn’t occur in a vacuum, and is likely to worsen after the Democrat losses projected for today.
Swift justice for those attacking conservative Americans is crucial in preventing an all-out assault by guerrilla warfare on us already characterized as fascists who must be stopped before we destroy this country.
But it is only one step, Those describing us in those vile terms, saying we are evil incarnate and to destroy us is necessary to save the country, have to be stopped from spewing their hatred.
And it needs to start at the top. Biden needs to roundly condemn this violence, then go and specifically tell the story of all the conservative victims of political violence in the last three months. (I thought at first that he may not capable of saying this, but then I remembered his red speech where he had the energy and wherewithal to demonize us MAGA Republicans, and I think if he and his team wanted to, they could make it happen.).
As each victim’s story is told, they will become human again and not just a faceless fascist deserving of death. Along with the cessation of extreme hate-filled rhetoric against us conservatives, this humanization of the victims and by extension the rest of us MAGA Republicans is what will help curb the violence.
Biden still has enormous influence among his followers, who ignore his dementia, incoherence, and harmful policies, and instead still see him as their President trying to save them from us. So his decrying political violence and specifically sympathizing with the recent victims of it would go a long way to calm down the anti-conservative hatred and prevent further violence.
I know I’m wishing for something as likely as Biden reversing his course on fossil fuels, but it’s what he should do, and what any president in his position who cared about his country would do. If Republicans as a united front were to call on him to do this, then he would look churlish to refuse, and it would at least show the some of the less rabid Democrats that maybe the fascist Republicans are really not all that evil after all.
And you know what? Republicans already on their own could run ads showing the victims of Democrat violence as people, which also would help humanize them (the victims and the Republicans). This message may not have the same impact as it would coming from Biden, but it is a step the Republicans could take now, today, to help forestall future violence.
One can hope.
Would the media accept such ads? They don’t have to, you know.
If they were done more as a way of introducing each victim and simply but plainly describing his or her story, maybe these ads would be palatable. I don’t know. Those with more knowledge than I have about advertising might have better ideas of how to spread the message where Democrats would hear it.
Nobody is forgetting it, Gary. The point of Kelly’s post is that Democrats and the press talk about January 6th all the time, but want people to forget all the left-wing riots.
Remember Ashli. RIP.
I deplore all violence on both sides of the political spectrum. However, to not mention January 6, 2021 is a huge omission.
I am so sorry that she was crawling through the opening which caused her to be shot. I wish that there had been another alternative, however the prime directive of the Capitol Police was to protect members of Congress.
She was no immediate threat. That’s why they protected the shooter as long as they did.
There are tons and tons of posts on Ricochet about January 6th. That is not the focus of this post. Is it OK if someone writes a post that isn’t about your favorite subject?
Nope.
Gary needs to mitigate ricochet’s pro-Trump reputation. lol
I’d say it’s pretty unnecessary.