Do you think former President Donald Trump or groupies like U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs and Kari Lake feel even a teeny tiny bit responsible when another gullible dope is sentenced to prison for threats against Arizona officials after falling for the conspiracy theories and BS about rigged election?
Naah … me neither.
I’m guessing these political flamethrowers, and many like them all across the country, have convinced themselves that they have nothing to do with the intimidation, harassment and death threats that have rained down on the Maricopa County supervisors, Recorder Stephen Richer, Gov. Katie Hobbs and on and on.
On Monday, an Iowa man was sentenced to 2½ years in prison for threats against Supervisor Clint Hickman and former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich.
Others will go to prison for death threats
Among other things, Mark Rissi left a voicemail message for Hickman saying in part, “You’re gonna die, you piece of [expletive]. We’re going to hang you. We’re going to hang you.”
Yeah, not exactly the brightest bulb in the MAGA marquee.
This comes on the heels of a Massachusetts man who has pleaded guilty to sending a message to an Arizona government website warning then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs to resign … “or the explosive device impacted in her personal space will be detonated.”
This dope could get five years in the slammer.
And that came after a man enflamed by the conspiracy nonsense disseminated about Arizona’s elections was caught and sentenced to 3½ years in prison for threatening the lives and families of Richer and County Attorney’s Office Civil Division Chief Tom Liddy.
Trump made it OK to spew violent rhetoric
We know how this all got started.
At least we know how it all became accepted.
It became OK for Republicans to spew violent rhetoric the moment Trump scored big with the GOP base by talking about how Mexico was sending us drug dealers, criminals and rapists.
Since then, he has demonized just about everyone he views as a threat.
Montini: Why the prosecution of a bomb threat is no bombshell
And that attitude has spread to his political sycophants like Biggs and Lake (and a whole bunch more.)
This explains why Biggs felt comfortable tweeting out after Trump was indicted, “We have now reached the war phase. Eye for an eye.”
And it explains how Lake at a Republican Party gathering in Georgia said she had a message for Attorney General Merrick Garland, special counsel Jack Smith, President Joe Biden and the media.
What about Lake, others who spread lies?
Lake said, “If you want to get to President Trump, you’re going to have to go through me, and you’re going to have to go through 75 million Americans just like me. And I’m going to tell you, most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA. That’s not a threat, that’s a public service announcement.”
That kind of vitriol has consequences. It puts good people at risk.
These ongoing prosecutions hopefully send a message to the dopes who fall for the lies.
But what about the politicians spreading the bogus conspiracies who inspire them?
They still don’t seem to have gotten any message.
How many stooges have to go to prison before the agitators back off?
Would that even happen if someone died?
Wait … don’t answer that.
Reach Montini at [email protected].
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Trump, Biggs and Lake’s election lies send another idiot to prison
