“You backing the Russians, boy?!?”- Illinois vet charged with threatening to KILL Republican over Trump

Well this ain’t no good. A veteran has been charged over leaving a threatening message to a Republican [pictured above] over his support of the Trump version of events about Russian election interference. From the Hill:

An Illinois Army veteran has been charged in federal court with threatening to kill a Republican congressman.

Rochester resident Randall Tarr, 64, was charged with communicating threats to injure a person and threatening to assault, kidnap, or murder a federal official. The charges stem from a Nov. 25 phone call to Republican Rep. Rodney Davis’s office.

According to court documents, Tarr became enraged after seeing one of the three-term congressman’s commercials. Investigators said he left a voicemail on Davis’s office phone.

“You backing the Russians, boy?” Tarr said. “What’s wrong with you? Are you … so f—ing stupid? I was in the military for eight years, and you son of a bitch, are backing the Russians over our own intelligence?”

“What is wrong with you, Rodney? Oh my God. I’m not voting for you next time. You f—er,” he continued. “I don’t care if you back Trump. But stupid son of a bitch, you’re gonna go against our military and back the Russians.”

“I’m a sharpshooter. I could. I’d like to shoot your f—ing head off you stupid mother—er,” Tarr said.

Hmm. Yeah you can’t do that. Unfortunately for him, he says he doesn’t remember saying that and he’s sorry he made the call:

When contacted by law enforcement, Tarr said he called the phone number off of Davis’s commercial and left the voicemail and regretted the words he used.

“I said I had been a sharpshooter in the Army. I didn’t realize I said anything about shooting him. I might have. I don’t even own a weapon,” Tarr told the Associated Press . “I wish I could just take it all back and just say he’s a lousy [expletive] for backing the Russian theory.”

They didn’t identify which commercial put him over the top but this is more indicative, I think, of the insane rhetoric that has characterized all political conversation lately. And I don’t think it’s the majority of people, it’s just on the extremes. Unfortunately for all of us, those voices are amplified on social media, and then on blogs and media articles, and through cable television and radio. We’d all do better to try to be more rational and less insane.

LIKE, for instance this idiotic headline on this news report:

Uh. Pardon me but threatening to shoot someone isn’t an “attempted shooting.” It’s illegal, and dumb, but it’s not an attempted shooting! Everything is stupid.


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