Republican 4th Congressional District candidate John Molnar tweeted what appeared to be a veiled threat against Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams on Tuesday.
Molnar retweeted a post from McAdams about a panel discussion on raising the legal age to buy tobacco to 21. In response, Molnar made an oblique reference to invoking the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms, implying the threat of an armed response to increasing government regulations. McAdams has signed on as a co-sponsor of legislation to raise the smoking age to 21 nationally.
“Stupid. More gov taking away your freedoms acting like they know best. And this is why we have the #2a. One day, we very well may get to the point where we have to invoke it,” he said in his Twitter post.
Stupid. More gov taking away your freedoms acting like they know best. And this is why we have the #2a. One day, we very well may get to the point where we have to invoke it. https://t.co/OA8eS6O8eS
— John Molnar (@Gear6A) July 2, 2019
Molnar did not respond to a request for comment.
In a later Twitter post, Molnar seemingly referenced his earlier tweet, saying “#2A was designed as a fail safe in case of our government becoming tyrannical again. Pointing out the power grabs and infringements of rights isn’t a threat. Nice try. But we were founded on the notion of gov being ‘at best, a necessary evil’ – Thomas Paine.”
#2A was designed as a fail safe in case of our government becoming tyrannical again.
Pointing out the power grabs and infringements of rights isnt a threat.
Nice try. But we were founded on the notion of gov being “at best, a necessary evil” – Thomas Paine
— John Molnar (@Gear6A) July 2, 2019
Molnar’s threat echoes other Republicans who have used the 2nd Amendment to imply violence against their political opponents.
Molnar says he’s a candidate for the GOP nomination to face McAdams in 2020, but he has not yet filed any paperwork with the Federal Election Commission.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump said Democrat Hillary Clinton would appoint judges who would abolish the right to bear arms.
“If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks,” said Trump. “Although the Second Amendment people – maybe there is, I don’t know.”
Sharron Angle, the 2010 Republican Senate nominee in Nevada suggested during a radio interview that armed Americans would take down an out of control Congress with “Second Amendment remedies.”
Molnar’s social media bio says he is an Army veteran who served in Iraq.
Ben McAdams’ campaign declined comment on this story.
