A Democratic congressman from New York is now calling for political violence against President Trump.
During a recent town hall, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) suggested that his constituents should lead an armed insurrection against the President if they really wanted to make sure he followed federal law.
“I mean, this is where the Second Amendment comes in quite frankly, because you know, what if the president was to ignore the courts? What would you do? What would we do?” asked Souzzi. “It’s really a matter of putting public pressure on the president.”
If there was any ambiguity to what he was saying, he added: “The Second Amendment is the right to bear arms. That’s why we have it.”
Souzzi received shock and backlash from Republicans on social media. His office later put out a statement denying that the congressman had, in fact, called for a violent, armed uprising against the President of the United States.
“Taking a page from such great Americans as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, Congressman Suozzi explained why our founding fathers created the Second Amendment as a way for citizens to fight back against a tyrannical government that does not follow the rule of law,” Souzzi spokesperson Kim Devlin wrote in a statement.
She added: “To suggest his comments meant anything else or that he was advocating for an armed insurrection against the existing president is both irresponsible and ridiculous.”
