FBI Agents Association blasts Trump allies: 'Calls for violence against law enforcement are unacceptable'
A man with an AR-15 and a nail gun went after the FBI office in Cincinnati, Ohio Thursday morning leading to a chase and crisis negotiation with the individual. Supporters of President Donald Trump have filled message boards with attacks on federal law enforcement and attacked the judge who signed the search warrant for Mar-a-Lago. Republicans have attacked the FBI, going so far as to demand defunding the FBI and implying that they planted evidence.
By Thursday afternoon, the FBI Agents' Association released a statement saying that leaders should be supporting federal law enforcement not urging on attackers.
"FBI Special Agents are dedicated members of the law enforcement community who put their lives on the line every day to protect the public from criminals and terrorists," the statement said. "Special Agents and their families should never be threatened with violence, including for doing their jobs."
"The threats made recently contribute to an atmosphere where some have, or will accept violence against law enforcement as appropriate. It is not. This is not a partisan or political issue. It is a matter of public safety and basic decency. Calls for violence against law enforcement are unacceptable, and should be condemned by all leaders."
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After the news broke about the search warrant, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) called to destroy the FBI. The tweet was still online three days later.
Earlier on Thursday, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) was confronted by a Fox News host who asked what happened to "backing the blue," meaning why he was no longer supportive of law enforcement.
"The FBI, with 35,000 members, you know, now they apparently are receiving a lot of specific field agents are receiving specific death threats because there are a number of people online and elsewhere who are demonizing the FBI, and some Republicans," the Fox host explained to the Congressman.