Former GOP congressman warns 'Black Lives Matter punks' that 'real America is coming after you'
Just hours after five police officers were shot and killed by snipers in Dallas, former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh (R) took to Twitter to dole out blame. In a series of tweets — at least one of which has since been deleted — the conservative radio show host called out President Obama for opening "the door for anti-cop rhetoric and action," as well as "liberals" and "Black Lives Matter" for encouraging violence:
10 Cops shot.
You did this Obama.
You did this liberals.
You did this #BLM.
Time to defend our Cops. Wake up. https://t.co/Zoc3x2xlMk— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) July 8, 2016
BLM should be categorized as a hate group.
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) July 8, 2016
Obama says Cops are racist so 2 uneducated black thugs shoot 10 Dallas Cops tonight, killing 4.
Wake up silent majority. Stand w our Cops.— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) July 8, 2016
In a deleted Tweet, Walsh even ominously told Obama and "Black Lives Matter punks" that "real America is coming after you."
Joe Walsh decided to delete this tweet. So let's all retweet it. pic.twitter.com/BY03pLmTyp
— Matthew Rosenberg (@AllMattNYT) July 8, 2016
After his tweets unsurprisingly elicited backlash, Walsh clarified that he didn't want any more violence, just for "America — white, black, & brown — to stand up to the cop haters":
I wasn't calling for violence, against Obama or anyone. Obama's words & BLM's deeds have gotten cops killed. Time for us to defend our cops.
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) July 8, 2016
The shooting in Dallas also wounded seven officers and two civilians. Three suspects have been taken into custody, and one has been confirmed dead after a standoff with police.