Jerry Taylor, president and co-founder of the Niskanen Center, threatened a couple brandishing guns at protesters outside a St. Louis home.
“If I were in that march, and these racist lunatics were waiving guns at me, I’d like to think I’d rush them and beat their brains in. And I wouldn’t apologize for it for one goddam second,” he wrote in a tweet that has since been deleted.
The couple, according to KSDK News, waved the guns at a group of protesters marching to the St. Louis mayor’s home and calling for her resignation after they breached the neighborhood gate. The video was retweeted by President Trump, but later deleted.
A couple pointed guns at protesters in St. Louis as a group marched toward the mayor's home to demand her resignation. https://t.co/5EqDd43QCd pic.twitter.com/KWNaif77ch
— ABC News (@ABC) June 29, 2020
Taylor continued berating the couple, saying they “should have been arrested and locked up” for their actions.
“A person believing that ‘Black Lives Matter,’ and willing to legally and peaceably march to that effect, should not have to face a racist gun to the head.”
https://twitter.com/jerry_jtaylor/status/1277450670635913216?s=21
https://twitter.com/jerry_jtaylor/status/1277449274540916739?s=21
After stating his own response to the situation, Taylor encouraged potential violence and attacks on the couple by Antifa members.
“Yeah, excuse me if I root for #antifa to punch these idiots out. Guilty as charged. I know who’s side I’m on,” he said.
Taylor then continued expressing his support for the Antifa movement.
“In the world of ‘fascists’ and ‘anti-fascists,’ I’m with the latter,” he wrote.
Some of Taylor’s tweets have since been deleted after he faced backlash from numerous Twitter users.
“Do you think it was totally unreasonable for the homeowners to fear for their safety, given some of the events that have unfolded during the protests?” journalist Cathy Young countered.
Do you think it was totally unreasonable for the homeowners to fear for their safety, given some of the events that have unfolded during the protests?
— Cathy Young (@CathyYoung63) June 29, 2020
