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GOP Candidate Suggests Shooting Democratic Congressman Who Supports Gun Control

Carl Nett later apologized for his "attempt to be clever."

WestNet News wire Source: HuffPost
GOP Candidate Suggests Shooting Democratic Congressman Who Supports Gun Control

A Republican candidate for secretary of state in Kentucky suggested shooting a Democratic congressman who is calling for more gun safety legislation.

Carl Nett, who made the threat, later apologized.

The ugly incident began on Monday when Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) tweeted that he proudly wears a pin with an “F” on it to show his rating from the National Rifle Association:

I’m so proud of my @NRA rating, I’ll wear it on my chest. I invite my colleagues to join me in wearing our F ratings every day until the GOP finally stands up to the gun lobby and helps us pass common sense gun safety legislation. Find me to get a pin. #MarchForOurLives pic.twitter.com/sOECS54QOK

— Rep. John Yarmuth (@RepJohnYarmuth) March 19, 2018

Nett, a former Secret Service and CIA officer, implied on Tuesday that he could use that pin as a shooting target. Although his tweet was later deleted, you can read it here:

The tweet in question by a @KYGOP candidate for secretary of state re: #Dems @RepJohnYarmuth. #KY03 pic.twitter.com/KvWRdK3R3Y

— Philmonger (@phillipmbailey) March 20, 2018

Shooting “center mass” is a term often used by law enforcement and others to mean shooting a target in the chest.

The FBI said it was looking into Nett’s threat.

“FBI Louisville is aware of the tweet and is working with our law enforcement partners to determine the best course of action,” spokesman David Habich told the Louisville Courier-Journal. “The FBI takes seriously all threats of violence.”

Both the local and state Republican organizations took Nett to task:

Our politics have grown too divisive over the last 10 years. In regard to the Tweet by Secretary of State candidate Carl Nett this AM, we condemn that tweet, in the strongest of terms, as well as any suggestion of violence against anyone, much less a member of Congress. (1/2)

— LouisvilleGOP (@LouisvilleGOP) March 20, 2018

(2/2) This tweet is especially disturbing in light of recent attacks on Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) and our own Senator Rand Paul.

— LouisvilleGOP (@LouisvilleGOP) March 20, 2018

The Scott County GOP has recently learned of a threatening Tweet from Secretary of State Candidate Carl Nett from this morning. We will not tolerate, in any form, a suggestion or even a hint of violence against anyone!!

— Scott County GOP (@ScottCoGOP) March 20, 2018

We will not stand behind a Republican candidate, for any office, that makes threatening statements or suggests violence in any way, shape or form. There is no room for civil discourse for such threats.

— Scott County GOP (@ScottCoGOP) March 20, 2018

Nett later apologized via Twitter:

To the extent that anyone, including and most especially Congressman Yarmuth or members of his family, felt sincerely threatened or even offended by today’s social media post, I offer my sincere apology to them.

— Carl B. Nett (@realCarlNett) March 20, 2018

I recognize that my attempt to be clever was far from clever, particularly in light of politically motivated acts of violence against elected officials – from the shooting of Republican congressman at a softball practice to the blindside attack on our own Senator, Rand Paul.

— Carl B. Nett (@realCarlNett) March 20, 2018

I now join the long list of imperfect human beings with “foot-in-mouth” disease. Once again, I apologize to Congressman Yarmuth and his family and ask for their forgiveness.

— Carl B. Nett (@realCarlNett) March 20, 2018

A representative for Yarmuth told the Courier-Journal that the congressman had accepted the apology.