Hey, no sympathy here for Craig Roberton, the Utah man killed by FBI agents who wanted to question him about threats against the President of the United States Robertson made online prior to Joe Biden’s trip to the state.
Robertson was questioned previously by law enforcement about posts he made on Facebook, including one that read, “In my dream I see Joe Biden’s body in a dark corner of a DC garage with his head severed and lying in a huge pool of blood. Hoorah!!!” In September, he posted, “The time is right for a presidential assassination or two. First Joe then Kamala!!!” Y’know: free speech.
After the initial FBI interview harassment, Robertson posted, “Hey, FBI, you still monitoring my social media? Checking so I can be sure to have a loaded gun handy in case you drop by again.” On Monday, Robertson posted that he heard Biden was coming to Utah, saying it was time to “clean the dust off the m24 sniper rifle.”
Well, the FBI did drop by again after Robertson continued to make escalating threats against Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and others. And Robertson did apparently have a loaded gun handy. He did just what the Republicans have been telling their followers to do: fight the FBI. Fight law enforcement. They’re coming for your rights. They are the enemy. It did not end well for him, as it won’t for others who follow similar beliefs.
Forget how FBI agents–doing their job to enforce the laws and protect Americans domestically and internationally–were put at risk by the invective hurled by Republican members of Congress like Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Seriously, fuck them for putting their desires for their political careers ahead of the lives of law enforcement officers, putting the officers’ lives at risk by telling people to fight back against the Deep State. And fuck them when they will inevitably try to make Robertson a martyr for free speech or liberty or whatever shit they’ll throw.
Robertson isn’t the first fatality of the disinformation by the right wing. Countless others–from Trayvon Martin to Emmett Till to the worshipers at Tree of Life Synagogue to Matthew Shepherd–died because of the fear conservatives instill in their faithful. He’s the latest, and not the last.