Eric Greitens, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Missouri, posted a new violent political announcement on Monday in which he was seen grabbing a shotgun and accompanying a team of gunmen with assault rifles as they stormed. ‘SWAT team- to a search house of “RINOs” or Republicans just by name.
“Join the MAGA crew,” says Mr. Greitens, a former Navy SEAL, in the ad. “Get a RINO hunting permit. There is no wrapping or labeling limit, and it will not expire until we save our country. “
The announcement of Mr. Greitens was only the latest, but perhaps the most threatening, of a long line of Republican campaign ads with firearms that sought to equate harsh conservatism with the use of deadly weapons.
During a committee hearing Thursday, J. Michael Luttig, a former federal judge highly respected by conservatives, suggested that Mr. Trump and his allies posed a “clear and current danger to American democracy.”
The use of violent rhetoric has steadily increased in Republican circles in recent months, as threats and aggressive imagery have become more common in community meeting rooms, congressional offices, and during the election campaign. .
While much of the violent speech and image creation of Republicans has been directed at Democrats, some of them, as in Mr. Greitens, have focused on party comrades who are considered not conservative enough.
On Sunday, Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican and a member of the Jan. 6 committee, posted a letter to his wife from someone who had threatened to execute the couple.
The campaign of Mr. Greitens did not apologize for the new announcement on Monday. “If someone doesn’t understand the metaphor, they’re lying or dumb,” said Dylan Johnson, the campaign director.
The announcement of Mr. Greitens, a former Missouri governor, arrives when his Senate campaign has stumbled upon allegations of blackmail, sexual misconduct and child abuse. In March, the former wife of Mr. Greitens, Sheena Greitens, accused him of abusive behavior, including an incident that explained that he loosened one of his son’s teeth. A number of Republicans, including Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, then called on Mr. Greitens to abandon the race.
Mr. Greitens has sought the endorsement of Mr. Trump, so far unsuccessful. Its campaign president is Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.’s fiancée.
Experts have warned that violent rhetoric can often lead to real physical violence.
“When individuals feel more secure and legitimate in expressing violent feelings, they can encourage others to feel more secure in facilitating actual violence,” said Robert Pape, who studies violence. policy at the University of Chicago. “Unfortunately, this is a self-strengthening spiral.”
Some Republicans criticized Mr. Greitens to run the ad.
“Every Republican should denounce this sick and dangerous announcement by Eric Greitens,” Barbara Comstock, a former Republican from Virginia, said Monday. “This is just a sample of the ‘clear and present danger’ that Judge Luttig spoke of last week.”