The Marco Rubios of the world have spent the past week tweeting and whining on TV that yelling "leave the country" at people of color is neither racist nor dangerous. This is obvious hogwash if you have even a high-school-level grasp of America's history of racism and racist violence. It's also hogwash because people in Florida keep using Trump's words in death threats. Don't believe us? Let's run through the history:
1. Last year, a Miami man and Trump fan, Cesar Sayoc, sent pipe bombs to numerous Democratic lawmakers and activists who'd criticized Trump.
Friday, 56-year-old Planation resident Cesar Sayoc was arrested for sending 13 packages containing pipe bombs to prominent Trump critics.
Sayoc's social media profiles show dozens of photos of him around South Florida and attending Trump rallies. They also claim he works for the Hard Rock Hotel, but a spokesperson said there is no evidence of this.
Sayoc, whose grandmother's last name was Altieri, goes by Cesar Altieri in his online profiles. They show he was a serious Trump supporter who loathed the Clintons and George Soros. Videos on one of Altieri's Facebook profiles show him at Trump rallies and posing with Michael the Black Man, who supports the president. Sayoc's Facebook profiles have since been taken down and his Twitter accounts have been suspended.
On October 3, Sayoc tweeted at Eric Holder, one of the people to whom a bomb was addressed, saying, "See u soon Tick Tock."
In another, he targeted Joe Biden, who also received a bomb, calling him a "piece of slime trash."
"Hug your loved son, niece, wife, family real close everytime you walk out of your home," Sayoc wrote, sharing images of an aerial view of Biden's home with a target on it and pictures of his family.
In one tweet posted this past March 12, Sayoc shared an image with the faces of many of the people to whom he would later allegedly send pipe bombs. Posted under the headline "The Swamp to Be Drained!" were images of the Clintons, Barack Obama, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Eric Holder, and Maxine Waters.
A tweet from just two weeks ago shows Sayoc at a Trump event holding a sign that reads, "Time Warner AKA CNN Is the Clinton Campaign's Largest Donor."
2. Sayoc also once allegedly threatened to "blow up FPL."
Fifty-six-year-old Cesar Sayoc has a history of making bomb threats. Before his arrest Friday for mailing 13 explosives to Trump critics, he was picked up by City of Miami Police August 20, 2002, on felony bomb threat charges.
Miami-Dade prosecutors claimed Sayoc had called Florida Power & Light, the area's electric utility, to complain about his bill. He told the customer service representative that "he didn't deserve it and that he was going to blow up FPL," according to records from the Miami-Dade State Attorney's office. The customer service representative used an emergency button to begin recording the conversation.
"FPL will get what they deserve, and it will be worse than 9/11," Sayoc then said, the records show. When the representative on the phone said he should not be making such threats, Sayoc responded that he doesn't make threats; he makes promises.
"At the end of the phone call, [Sayoc] stated that he was going to blow [the representative's] head off." The entire conversation was recorded and obtained by prosecutors.
The case was investigated by Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents and Miami police officers, who went to Sayoc's residence, where he admitted to making the threats.
The court docket in the case shows adjudication was withheld and Sayoc was given one year of probation. The closeout memo explaining the prosecutors' reasoning for withholding adjudication has been destroyed, which follows the State Attorney's Office's retention policies, so no more details are available at this time.
3. A Tamarac man pleaded guilty to threatening to kill multiple lawmakers, including Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar.
Lately, Donald Trump fans have enjoyed attacking left-leaning Americans. Last year, for instance, Miami-area resident Cesar Sayoc sent pipe bombs to prominent liberals across the nation and went to jail. Today another South Florida man was arrested, this time for allegedly threatening to kill four Democrats.
Federal authorities today announced that John Kless, a 49-year-old resident of Tamarac in Broward County, called three Democrats at their Washington, D.C. offices April 16 and left voicemail messages threatening murder. The lawmakers included California Congressman Eric Swalwell, Detroit Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.
In all three messages, Kless referenced his hatred for Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar — repeatedly calling her a "towel head" and a member of the Taliban. In his message to Tlaib's office, Kless referenced Omar's recent "some people did something" comments about 9/11 — a statement Omar made to argue that all Muslims should not be punished for the actions of the few who committed the attacks. But conservatives have taken Omar's comments entirely out of context to falsely argue that Omar was diminishing the impact or tragedy of 9/11.
"It was your Taliban bitch, the one who opened up her fucking towel-head mouth about how 'some people did it,'" Kless allegedly said in his message to Tlaib. "You know what? She's lucky she's just getting death threats, bitch. So are you. All right? You're lucky they're just threats, motherfucker, 'cause the day when the bell tolls, whore, and this country comes to a war, there will be no more threats. Your life will be on the fucking line."
Kless allegedly continued to say the following:
No one wants to fucking hear you or that other little whore. I'd like to take that bitch and throw her right off the Empire State Building, that fucking whore. Tell her to shut her fucking mouth. You fucking fuck her all the time probably. So tell her to shut the fuck up, all right? From one towel head to another. You stanking, fucking, smelly, fucking bitch. Fuck off. I wish all of you the worst. You can go fuck off in life. Fuck you, and fuck Mohammed too, you bitch fucking cunt.
Kless also allegedly criticized Swalwell's stance on gun control. Kless reportedly said if Swalwell enacted gun-safety laws, someone would kill the lawmaker. He also called Swalwell a communist and, oddly, the N-word. (Swalwell is white.)
"The day you come after our guns, motherfucker, is the day you'll be dead," Kless said, according to a federal indictment. He added, "You're gonna die. Don't wanna do that shit, boy. You'll be [on] your deathbed, motherfucker, along with the rest of you Democrats. So if you want death, keep that shit up, motherfucker."
Swalwell this afternoon thanked the Capitol Police and Florida law-enforcement officials for apprehending Kless.
4. And just this month, an anti-vaxxer and apparent racist allegedly threatened to kill Miami Congresswoman Frederica Wilson.
Miami is dealing with another round of political death threats. Last year, Miamian Cesar Sayoc infamously sent pipe bombs to a host of Democratic activists and lawmakers. Then, this past April, a Broward County man, John Kless, was arrested for leaving voicemails threatening to kill Democratic Sen. Cory Booker and Reps. Eric Swalwell, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar. Kless later pleaded guilty.
Now, another man has been arrested — this time for allegedly threatening to kill Miami Gardens Rep. Frederica Wilson, who is an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump's and a frequent target of right-wing hate. The Daily Beast first reported the news earlier today: Apparently, Darryl Albert Varnum of Maryland threatened to kill the congresswoman over mandatory vaccine legislation she was proposing.
This past July 5, federal prosecutors charged Varnum with "threatening an official" after he phoned an unspecified Florida congressional office June 26 and left a death threat on voicemail. Prosecutors say Varnum said the following:
I'm gonna kill your ass if you do that bill. I swear. I will fucking come down and kill your fucking ass. And you're a Congressperson; that is fine. I hope the fucking FBI, CIA, and everybody else hears this shit. If you're taking away my rights — this is the United States of America, bitch. Get the fuck out. I will come down there and personally fucking kill you. I am dead fucking serious. I wanna see you motherfuckers at my door if you're legit. That HR bill you just pushed through, ah, fuck you. I'll tell you what — I'll come down to Miami, bitch. I'll fuck you up. Like Cubans don't even know.
The legal complaint does not say which Miami congressperson received the threat, but the Daily Beast reported this morning that the call went to Wilson's office. Spokespeople for the congresswoman said they were not immediately able to speak with New Times this afternoon.
Varnum's rant was seemingly prompted by Wilson's Vaccinate All Children Act, a bill she introduced in May that requires public schools to vaccinate all of their students before the schools can receive federal funding. Prosecutors pointed out in court filings that, on Facebook, Varnum compared the Vaccinate All Children Act to the Holocaust. (Scientists confirm there is no link between vaccinations and autism or any other major disease; they say so-called "anti-vaxxers" are significant dangers to public health.)
An affidavit attached to Varnum's indictment notes he works for the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), which is located in Fort Meade, Maryland. Prosecutors noted that his job gives him access to "sensitive information." Law enforcement officials also noted that in 2015, Varnum's wife called the police and reported he was having "behavioral issues," drinking heavily, and claiming "Taliban and ISIS fighters" were trying to break into his home. Varnum also owns a .45-caliber Ruger handgun. Court documents state he was arrested July 8.
Varnum also allegedly told Wilson, an African-American woman, to "get the fuck out" of America — a comment used mere weeks later by President Donald Trump, who told four congresswomen of color to "leave" the country if they "hate" it so much. (Three were born in the United States, and the fourth, Rep. Ilhan Omar, arrived here as a 10-year-old refugee and became a naturalized U.S. citizen.) Trump's defenders this week, including Florida Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, have bent over backward to avoid admitting Trump's comments were clearly racist and dangerous. Last night, Trump held a rally in North Carolina, where supporters in the crowd chanted "Send her back!" in reference to Congresswoman Omar.
