Federal law enforcement agencies are warning of violence ahead of the midterms, saying a far-right gun group is targeting Democratic “gun-grabbing candidates” with overheated rhetoric.
The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Capitol Police and the National Counterterrorism Center warned of a heightened threat of violent attacks on political candidates after extremist gun rights group “American Firearms Association” urged supporters to give it money so it can figure out “how much firepower we have to unload on gun-grabbing candidates” in Senate races in key battleground states.
“At midnight tomorrow, we’ll know exactly how much firepower we have to unload on gun-grabbing candidates in AZ, NV, GA, PA and OH as we head into next week’s election day,” reads a fundraising email from the American Firearms Association.
The email from the group, whose president casually mentioned in another recent fundraising email that he was under FBI investigation, says it is falling short of what it hoped to raise for its “U.S. Senate Second Amendment Ad fundraising blitz.”
“We’re looking for 411 of our AFA supporters to … give us all the resources we need to drive the final nail into Joe Biden’s gun control agenda!” reads the email while directing supporters to an angry-looking photo of Biden and asks for a minimum donation of $17.76, a reference to the year 1776, the year of the American Revolution.
The screenshot of AFA’s email used the subject line “36 hours left and then we roll!”
The email doesn’t mention specific names of Senate candidates, but authorities said it is referring to Democrats Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.), John Fetterman (Pa.) and Tim Ryan (Ohio). These are all battleground states where the winning candidates could determine which party controls the Senate next year.
The AFA’s email comes after the FBI issued another bulletin earlier this month that election workers were facing unprecedented threats in seven states: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Wisconsin.
Many are blaming Republicans for the rise of political violence as they have long demonized Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and often used violent rhetoric to attack her.
Over the weekend, CNN’s Margaret Brennan tore into Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, for recently tweeting a video showing him shooting a gun while using the hashtag #FirePelosi ― days before Pelosi’s husband was violently attacked.
As noted by The Huffington Post, “the American Firearms Association is notorious for dabbling in violent rhetoric.”
In June, it sent an email to supporters urging them to prepare for “battle” at the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers expedited efforts to pass bipartisan gun safety legislation. Its language echoed the statements made by Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, when he incited his supporters at a rally to storm the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden as president. That led to a violent insurrection.
