Points On How Trump's Latest Endorsement Shows GOP Embrace Of Armed Militancy
Points On How Trump’s Latest Endorsement Shows GOP Embrace Of Armed Militancy
By Matt Shuham at Talking Points Memo
November 10, 2021 3:39 p.m.
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/fivepoints/five-points-on-how-trumps-latest-endorsement-shows-gop-embrace-of-armed-militancy
Here’s why Trump’s endorsement of McGeachin (Idaho) is significant:
"SNIP.......
1 McGeachin’s ties to armed right-wingers go back years
In 2019, just a few weeks into her job as Idaho’s lieutenant governor, McGeachin sent a public sign of support to Todd Engel, who at that time was behind bars for his role in the 2014 standoff with federal agents at Cliven Bundy’s ranch. Engle had been found guilty of obstruction of justice and interstate travel in aid of extortion and sentenced to 14 years in prison. (His conviction was vacated last year.) During the standoff, Engel was armed with an AR-15 and positioned himself behind a concrete highway barrier, allegedly brandishing his firearm at law enforcement.
Posing for a photo with two men in orange prison jumpsuit costumes who were flashing the hand sign frequently used by people in the Three Percenter militia movement, McGeachin held her hands together in a heart shape. “Sending love to Todd Engel from the Idaho Capitol,” she wrote in a post on her Facebook page that included the photo.
At a campaign event last month, McGeachin indicated Engel was in attendance. She happily recalled the photo with Engel’s supporters.
“We have a free man in this room who was wrongfully incarcerated,” McGeachin said. “And, my first year as lieutenant governor, I was photographed taking a picture sending love, heart sign, to this man. But praise God, he’s a free man!’
......SNIP"