Then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York at a rally outside the Supreme Court on March 4, 2020.
Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images
- A man who said he wanted to kill Kavanaugh was arrested early Wednesday morning near the Justice’s house.
- Republicans are blaming Schumer for comments he made at a rally outside the Supreme Court over 2 years ago.
- GOP Sen. Roger Marshall said Schumer “called for this violence” and that the “armed lunatic” was “simply following orders.”
Senate Republicans are pointing fingers at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer after an armed man who made threats against Brett Kavanaugh was arrested near the Supreme Court Justice’s home on Wednesday.
“Chuck Schumer called for this violence,” wrote Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas on Twitter. “The armed lunatic who showed up at Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home was simply following orders. Justice cannot be served under the threat of mob violence.”
—Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) June 8, 2022
Marshall and other Republicans highlighted comments made by Schumer outside the Supreme Court in March 2020 at an abortion rights rally.
“I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh: you have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price,” Schumer said at the rally. “You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”
Schumer apologized for the comments in a floor speech the following day.
“I should not have used the words I used yesterday. They didn’t come out the way I intended to. My point was that there would be political consequences — political consequences — for President Trump and Senate Republicans if the Supreme Court, with the newly confirmed Justices, stripped away a woman’s right to choose,” he said. “I shouldn’t have used the words I did, but in no way was I making a threat.”
The man, who reportedly appeared to be in his mid-20s and is from California, was carrying burglary equipment and at least one weapon when he was stopped by police on a street near Kavanaugh’s Maryland home.
“At approximately 1:50 a.m. today, a man was arrested near Justice Kavanaugh’s residence. The man was armed and made threats against Justice Kavanaugh. He was transported to Montgomery County Police 2nd District,” Supreme Court spokesperson Patricia McCabe said in a statement.
The man was upset about last month’s leaked Supreme Court draft opinion showing the court set to overturn Roe v. Wade, as well as recent string of mass shootings around the country, according to The Washington Post.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee overseeing the courts, said that leaders “must weigh their words more carefully” especially “when they might incite violence.”
—ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) June 8, 2022
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said that Democrats “need to stop their irresponsible and incendiary rhetoric on Roe and condemn the violence coming from their supporters.”
“Cause and effect,” he later tweeted over a clip of Schumer’s 2020 remarks.
—Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) June 8, 2022
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri rhetorically asked whether Schumer was “still proud of personally threatening Supreme Court Justices” in light on the incident.
—Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) June 8, 2022
Meanwhile, top Republican senators are urging the Democratic-controlled House to quickly pass a single-page bill that would extend security protections to families of Supreme Court justices. The Senate passed the measure via unanimous consent nearly a month ago.
“The arrest of this individual proves these threats to the Justices’ lives are horrifyingly real, and it’s unconscionable for House Democrats to leave their families without police protection for even one more day,” said Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas in a statement. “Speaker Pelosi must keep the House in session until they pass my bill.”
McConnell echoed Cornyn in floor remarks on Wednesday.
“This is exactly why the Senate passed legislation very shortly after the leak to enhance the police protection for the Justices and their families,” he said. “House Democrats need to stop their multi-week blockade against the Supreme Court security bill and pass it before the sun sets today.”
