• Police arrested a man claiming he wanted to kill Kavanaugh near the Justice's house.
  • Republicans blame Schumer for comments he made at a rally at the Supreme Court over 2 years ago.
  • Sen. Roger Marshall said Schumer "called for this violence" and the man was following his orders.

Senate Republicans are pointing fingers at Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer after police arrested an armed man who made threats against Brett Kavanaugh near the Supreme Court Justice's home on Wednesday.

"Chuck Schumer called for this violence," wrote Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas on Twitter. "The armed lunatic who showed up at Justice Brett Kavanaugh's home was simply following orders. Justice cannot be served under the threat of mob violence."

 

Marshall and other Republicans highlighted comments Schumer made outside the Supreme Court in March 2020 at an abortion-rights rally.

"I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh: you have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price," Schumer said at the rally. "You won't know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions."

Schumer apologized for the comments in a floor speech the following day.

"I should not have used the words I used yesterday. They didn't come out the way I intended to. My point was that there would be political consequences — political consequences — for President Trump and Senate Republicans if the Supreme Court, with the newly confirmed Justices, stripped away a woman's right to choose," he said. "I shouldn't have used the words I did, but in no way was I making a threat."

The man, who appeared to be in his mid-20s and is from California, was carrying burglary equipment and at least one weapon when police stopped him on a street near Kavanaugh's Maryland home.

"At approximately 1:50 a.m. today, a man was arrested near Justice Kavanaugh's residence. The man was armed and made threats against Justice Kavanaugh. He was transported to Montgomery County Police 2nd District," Patricia McCabe, a Supreme Court spokesperson, said in a statement. 

The man was upset about last month's leaked Supreme Court-draft opinion showing the court set to overturn Roe v. Wade and the recent string of mass shootings around the country, according to The Washington Post.

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee overseeing the courts, said that leaders "must weigh their words more carefully" especially "when they might incite violence."

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said that Democrats "need to stop their irresponsible and incendiary rhetoric on Roe and condemn the violence coming from their supporters."

"Cause and effect," he later tweeted over a clip of Schumer's 2020 remarks.

 

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri rhetorically asked whether Schumer was "still proud of personally threatening Supreme Court Justices" in light of the incident.

Meanwhile, top Republican senators are urging the Democratic-controlled House to quickly pass a single-page bill that would extend security protections to families of Supreme Court justices. The Senate passed the measure via unanimous consent nearly a month ago.

"The arrest of this individual proves these threats to the Justices' lives are horrifyingly real, and it's unconscionable for House Democrats to leave their families without police protection for even one more day," said Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas in a statement. "Speaker Pelosi must keep the House in session until they pass my bill."

McConnell echoed Cornyn in floor remarks on Wednesday.

"This is exactly why the Senate passed legislation very shortly after the leak to enhance the police protection for the Justices and their families," he said. "House Democrats need to stop their multi-week blockade against the Supreme Court security bill and pass it before the sun sets today."

Read the original article on Business Insider