House Democrats told 'you guys are next' in alarming phone calls after baseball shooting
Lawmakers received threatening emails and calls following the shooting at a congressional Republican baseball practice Wednesday. New York Rep. Claudia Tenney's (R) office was sent an email with the subject line "one down, 216 to go," apparently a reference to the 217 representatives who voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Spectrum News reports. Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) was injured in Wednesday's shooting.
"Did you NOT expect this?" the email said. "When you take away ordinary people's lives in order to pay off the wealthiest among us, your own lives are forfeit[ed]. Certainly, your souls and mortality were lost long before. Good riddance."
It wasn't just Republicans who were targeted. Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragan (D-Calif.) told BuzzFeed News' Ema O'Connor that "multiple Democratic members of the House have gotten calls saying 'you guys are next.'"
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The shooter, identified as 66-year-old James Hodgkinson, was reportedly a "progressive" who asked what party the congressmen belonged to before opening fire at the baseball field. He died of his injuries. Scalise, who was hit in the hip by a bullet, underwent surgery and is "doing well," House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Europe roiled by attacks on Israeli soccer fans
Speed Read Israeli fans supporting the Maccabi Tel Aviv team clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters in 'antisemitic attacks,' Dutch authorities said
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York wins WNBA title, nearly nabs World Series
Speed Read The Yankees with face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the upcoming Fall Classic
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
South Carolina ends perfect season with NCAA title
Speed Read The women's basketball team won a victory over superstar Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Iowa's Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA scoring record
speed read College basketball star Caitlin Clark set the new record in Iowa's defeat of Ohio State
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Eight-year-old Brit Bodhana Sivanandan makes chess history
Speed Read Sivanandan has been described as a 'phenomenon' by chess masters
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Watch Simone Biles win her record 8th US gymnastics championship
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Spain beats England 1-0 to win its first Women's World Cup
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published