'Sooner or later it cracks': Journalist denounces Republican apathy toward right-wing violence

06 April 2023

Following former President Donald Trump Manhattan indictment over hush money payments to adult film star, Stormy Daniels, there has been an influx in threats of violence, and right-wing lawmakers have not flinched, Charles P. Pierce, a columnist for Esquire argues.

Pierce writes:

Nobody on that side of the political spectrum, from the duckboot militias to the Congress, seems willing or able to control the mounting wildness. The thin wall of individual consciences isn't impermeable. Sooner or later, it cracks.

The journalist and author offers two recent examples of violence — both of which have gone without consequence — noting each occurred days after the former president's indictment; one at the Tennessee home of Justine Kanew, founder of progressive news outlet, The Tennessee Holler, and another outside the home of New York Judge Juan Merchan, the presiding judge over Trump's case.

According to Esquire, The Tennessean reports Kanew said in a statement on social media:

On Saturday night, someone targeted our home by shooting several bullets into our house while my family was sleeping. This violence has no place in civilized society and we are thankful no one was physically hurt. The authorities have not completed their investigation and right now we do not know for sure the reason for this attack. We urge the Williamson County Sheriff's Office to continue to investigate this crime and help shed light on Saturday's unfortunate events and bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice.

Regarding the second incident, NBC reports, Merchan "received multiple threats" just 24 hours post-indictment.

According to NBC, Trump criticized Merchan on Truth Social before appearing in court Tuesday, "as a 'highly partisan judge,'" calling he and his family 'Trump haters,'" also adding, "'HIS DAUGHTER WORKED FOR 'KAMALA' & NOW THE BIDEN-HARRIS CAMPAIGN.'"

Threats against Merchan come as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg continues to receive threats as well, "in the form of calls, emails and letters."

Considering the Jan. 6 attack, the former president has been known to proudly incite violence, which many Republicans have yet to denounce.

Other GOP leaders have even encouraged violence, such as Matt Taibbi, a Republican congressional candidate in Minnesota, who "called for an armed violent revolution in response to the highly publicized information drop about the handling of Hunter Biden's laptop."

Furthermore, regarding Trump's influence on the insurrection, The New York Times reports:

There is little evidence that Republicans and right-wing media figures have tempered their rhetoric, even as Congress and the Justice Department investigate the Jan. 6 attack. Several defendants charged in the riot have said they were moved to act by Mr. Trump's words. Still, many Republicans have sought to minimize his role.

Esquire's full report is available at this link (subscription required). The New York Times' report is here (subscription required).

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