Missouri Senate candidate Eric Greitens faced criticism and condemnation on Monday after he shared a political ad urging his supporters to go “RINO hunting.”
The last: Twitter has a warning ahead of the video, saying it violates Twitter’s “abusive behavior” rules.
Driving the news: In the 38 second video, the Missouri Republican talks about his past as a Navy Seal before saying he’s going to “hunt RINO” and cock a shotgun. He then breaks into a house alongside a group of men wearing American camouflage uniforms and other military-style gear.
- “The RINO feeds on corruption and is marked with the stripes of cowardice… There is no bagging limit, no marking limit, and it does not expire until we rescue our country,” Greitens says in the video.
- He calls on his followers to join the “MAGA crew” and get a “RINO hunting license”.
- “We’re sick of Name Only Republicans surrendering to Joe Biden and the radical left,” Greitens tweeted alongside the announcement. “Order your RINO hunting license today!”
- Greitens also shared a link for people to order their “RINO hunting license”, which leads to a donation page.
What they say : Several politicians and officials reacted to the video.
- Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois) called Greitens “a very bad man” in response to the video.
- representing Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona): “This type of[s]cist messaging must stop. It only encourages political violence.”
- representing Joaquin Castro (D-Texas): “That’s sociopathic. You’re going to get someone killed. No TV channel or streaming service should agree to air this ad. All broadcasters who air it should be referred to the @FCC.”
Rollback: Greitens released a video ad during his 2016 gubernatorial campaign in which he used an automatic Gatling gun.
- He won the election but resigned two years later over allegations of sexual misconduct.
- He also faced felony charges for using a veterans’ charity list to raise campaign funds, PBS reports.
- In March 2022, his ex-wife accused him of physically assaulting their children, reports The New York Times.
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