Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who two years ago pointedly warned Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh he would “pay the price” if he ruled against abortion, remains silent hours after an alleged assassin said Wednesday that he had tried to kill the justice.
In the middle of the night Wednesday, police arrested 26-year-old Nicholas John Roske carrying a bag full of weapons and burglary tools. Roske told police he planned to kill Kavanaugh in an attempt to prevent him ruling on abortion and Second Amendment cases.
His arrest put Schumer’s warning in chilling relief, prompting Republicans to accuse Schumer and activists of endangering the justices through “incendiary rhetoric on Roe.”
“I want to tell you, Gorsuch,” Schumer threatened the justices in March 2020, “and I want to tell you, Kavanaugh. You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.”
Judicial Crisis Network’s Carrie Severino called his comment “a call to action.”
“Senate Democrats, led by Senator Schumer, have waged a campaign for years to undermine and intimidate the Court,” she told The Daily Wire on Wednesday evening. “Schumer’s outrageous threat to Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh—on the steps of the Court after the June Medical decision no less—was a call to action.”
Mark Paoletta, the former general counsel for the Office of Management & Budget under President Donald Trump who worked on Justice Clarence Thomas’ confirmation, argued that Schumer’s comments were “chilling and criminally reckless.”
“The Dobbs leak was an outgrowth of this despicable threat,” he told The Daily Wire on Wednesday evening. “Do anything at all costs to stop the overturning of Roe v. Wade.”
Schumer was speaking in reference to the Supreme Court case June Medical Services v. Russo, an abortion case in which the court ultimately ruled with abortion advocates. His threats prompted a rare rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts, who called the remarks both “inappropriate” and “dangerous.”
The senate majority leader did not respond to requests for comment from The Daily Wire. In early May, he said that he supports protesting outside the justices’ homes “if protests are peaceful.”
As of Wednesday evening, Schumer and many major top Democrats had not weighed in on or condemned the would-be assassin.
Not all — Nancy Pelosi’s Deputy Chief of Staff Drew Hammill told The Daily Wire late Wednesday afternoon that the Speaker of the House “believes that violence against public officials has no place in civilized society” and that Pelosi “condemns this abhorrent criminal act.”
And though President Joe Biden did not issue a statement himself, his deputy press secretary told The Daily Wire on Wednesday morning that Biden “condemns the actions of this individual in the strongest terms, and is grateful to law enforcement for quickly taking him into custody.”
Pressed to provide a statement from Biden himself, White House Assistant Press Secretary Alexandra LaManna told The Daily Wire on Wednesday evening, “Violence and destruction of property have no place in our country under any circumstances, and the President denounces this action.”
“We should all agree that actions like this are completely unacceptable regardless of our politics,” she added.
Since the infamous leak of the draft Roe v. Wade decision, pro-abortion activists have escalated both rhetoric and protesting surrounding the issue: a slew of pro-life clinics and pregnancy centers have been firebombed, vandalized, or attacked, protestors make weekly visits to loudly demonstrate at the homes of the Supreme Court justices, and swelling crowds have protested outside of the Supreme Court itself.
These crowds have a message: “abort the court.” That’s a sentiment pushed for years by Demand Justice, a progressive group backed by dark money mother-ship Arabella Advisers, in a years-long campaign to intimidate, threaten, and smear the reputations of Supreme Court justices, conservative-leaning experts have told The Daily Wire.
“If we don’t get it, tear it down,” protestors chanted into the wee hours of the night outside the Supreme Court following the leak. “Lets make a deal,” read a female protestor’s sign, held high above her head with a hanger. “For every woman who dies from this, one of you goes too.”
“Why is Schumer silent now?” Paoletta questioned. “Because he is beholden to the hard Left, and he won’t cross them. And he wants to burn down the Court because the Justices won’t obey him on abortion.”
Pro-abortion protestors: “If we don’t get it TEAR IT DOWN” pic.twitter.com/wJAtVZWekm
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) May 3, 2022
Other Democratic lawmakers have repeatedly called for increased protesting following the draft opinion leak, though none have apparently issued so strong a threat as Schumer’s. Their language calls for increased action, ordering activists to “fight like hell” and to protest in the streets.
“Protect abortion rights by any means necessary,” said Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO). Democratic Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal called for “people” to “take to the streets across the country.” Democratic New York Sen. Kristen Gillibrand ordered activists to “fight like hell to preserve our fundamental human rights.”
“Let’s be clear: this is not final and the far-right Supreme Court majority will not have the last word,” tweeted Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) following the leak. “The American people will. Tonight, it’s important we get loud, organize and demand action from the Senate. Retweet if you agree it’s time to protect Roe v. Wade NOW.”
Duckworth, who has not weighed in on the would-be Kavanaugh assassin and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire, accused Republicans of trying to jail women seeking abortions in a Wednesday afternoon tweet.
Leftist media and commentators have also escalated rhetoric: “1000% of the blame and rage needs to be rocket-launched at the Republican zealots who made this possible,” claimed Huffington Post Contributor Bob Cesca. “Blaming other liberals isn’t going to change a damn thing and will only confuse the matter. Decide today, right now, what you plan to do about it.”
1000% of the blame and rage needs to be rocket-launched at the Republican zealots who made this possible. Blaming other liberals isn't going to change a damn thing and will only confuse the matter. Decide today, right now, what you plan to do about it. https://t.co/Zho0hpHeZv
— Bob Cesca (@bobcesca_go) May 3, 2022
“I go back and forth between: MAYBE YOU MOTHERF***ERS SHOULD HAVE VOTED FOR THE EMAIL LADY and MAYBE YOU MOTHERF***ERS SHOULD HAVE BURNED IT DOWN WHEN MCCONNELL WOULDN’T SEAT MERRICK GARLAND,” tweeted The Nation’s Elie Mystal (a board member for Demand Justice).
And commentator Keith Olbermann joked, “F*** IT, LET’S BURN THIS PLACE DOWN,” regarding the Supreme Court.
Hey @tedcruz, stop clutching your pearls. @imillhiser is 100% right about the Supreme Court: the leaker is a hero who realized the Court is broken, and the Court IS destroying American democracy, so FUCK IT, LET'S BURN THIS PLACE DOWN. #MetaphoricallyBurnTheCourtDown
— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) May 3, 2022