Republican leaders in the Michigan House stripped a Democratic lawmaker of her committee assignments Wednesday after she threatened “Trumpers” in a social media video.
Rep. Cynthia Johnson of Detroit sits on a GOP-led committee that heard baseless allegations of election fraud from President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and others last week. Johnson, who is Black, reported getting multiple threats after the hearing — including one saying she should be lynched — and on Tuesday night took to Facebook to warn “you Trumpers. Be careful. Walk lightly. We ain’t playing with you. Enough of the shenanigans. Enough is enough. And for those of you who are soldiers, you know how to do it. Do it right. Be in order. Make them pay.”
House Speaker Lee Chatfield of Levering and Speaker-elect Jason Wentworth of Farwell said they were exploring further disciplinary action against the first-term legislator.
“Threats to either Democrats or Republicans are unacceptable and un-American. They’re even more unbecoming of an elected official,” they said in a joint statement stating that violence and intimidation is never appropriate in politics. “That applies to threats made toward public officials, and it must also apply when the threats come from public officials. Behavior like this will not be tolerated this term or next.”
