'Firing squad': GOP lawmaker doubles down on 'vile death threat' against House Democrat

AZCentral reports that Republican Arizona state representative John Gillette stands behind his call to execute Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) after she appeared to post a video about coordinating "nonviolent resistance actions that are going to make a difference over the next coming months."

Gillette, a Republican from Kingman, said he used a "poor choice of words" when he said on social media that Jayapal should be "tried, convicted and hanged" for what he described as advocating "for the overthrow of the American government."

"I should have said 'firing squad,'" Gillette told The Arizona Republic, adding that he doesn't regret the point he made.

AZCentral reports Gillette's comment about Jayapal in a recent post on X received worldwide attention, coming days after he drew headlines for calling Muslims "savages" and used a racial slur to compare Democrats to the Japanese in Pearl Harbor and 9/11 terrorists.

“The two-term state lawmaker doesn't like the policies advanced by liberals and Democrats,” said AZCentral. “He thinks they're tied too closely to communists, Muslims, undocumented immigrants and criminals.”

House Ethics Committee Chair Rep. Lupe Diaz (R-Benson) declined an ethics complaint against Gillette, but Gillette blames his critics for getting offended.

Using the term “hanged” caused people to unfairly target Gillette as a “racist,” the lawmaker said, and he remains irritated at critics because Jayapal is “not Black" and does not deserve to be offended by the ‘hanging’ metaphor.

AZCentral reports House Democratic Leader Rep. Oscar De Los Santos is unconvinced of Gillette's reasoning, arguing that calling for Jayapal "to be executed is not a legitimate political opinion.”

“It is a vile death threat that must be condemned by all in the strongest possible terms,” De Los Santos said. “Yet House Republicans have said absolutely nothing. Silence in the face of calls for execution is complicity and cowardice.”

Read the AZCentral report at this link.