Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) faced a tidal wave of outrage this week after he appeared to suggest that disgruntled Americans commit physical assault in response to demonstrations around the country that he deemed “pro-Hamas.” He was referring in broad terms to recent protests seeking to advance the cause of the Palestinian people amid an ongoing war between Israel and the terror group Hamas taking place largely in the Gaza strip.
“I encourage people who get stuck behind the pro-Hamas mobs blocking traffic: take matters into your own hands to get them out of the way. It’s time to put an end to this nonsense,” Cotton wrote on his personal account on X, formerly called Twitter. The interpretation of Cotton’s remarks in which this is a proposal of physical violence really doesn’t seem that subtle, honestly.
“In a nation awash in 400 million guns, a sitting US Senator is suggesting Americans assault each other,” anti-gun violence activist Shannon Watts replied on X.
Fred Guttenberg, another such activist, spoke in similar terms. “I am as strong a supporter of Israel as exists. I am vehemently opposed to Hamas. However, this from sitting Senator @TomCottonAR which is clearly a call for violence in America is absolutely despicable and not at all what is needed to show support for Israel,” he wrote, replying to Cotton.
Cotton made his evident point clearer with a follow-up post in which he shared video footage of an apparent motorist physically dragging protesters in a roadway out of the way. “How it should be done,” Cotton wrote alongside the clip.
The whole situation mirrors, of course, a lot else from recent years, exemplified most infamously by the pro-Trump assault on the U.S. Capitol in early 2021, in connection to which a variety of criminal proceedings continue. And amid continued fears of serious threats, Trump has been placed under a series of gag orders restricting his public commentary amid multiple court cases of his, including an ongoing criminal trial in New York.
