St Louis newspaper editorial board warns GOP incitement close to ‘getting someone killed’

The editorial board of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Thursday issued a fiery condemnation of Republican attempts to overturn the election results, warning that the GOP’s actions are “moving ever closer to driving families from their homes and getting someone killed.”

The editorial board warned that it is unclear if the GOP base is “lashing out on its own” or if statements from the president and his supporters like Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) are inciting Trump supporters “to take vigilante action.”

“What is certain is that the rhetoric is out of control. These are, of course, representatives of the party that claims to support a ‘pro-life’ agenda — even while their words are moving ever closer to driving families from their homes and getting someone killed,” the board wrote. “No, really, this has to stop.”

The editorial came after a local Missouri elected official accused a Georgia state senator of treason in what the newspaper board called a “thinly veiled death threat.”

Cole County Assessor Christopher Estes (R) replied to a Facebook post this week from Georgia state Sen. Elena Parent (D) denouncing a conspiracy theory about suitcases stuffed with ballots that were “suspiciously pulled” out from under a table. 

“What you have done is to enable a coup. Illegally removing a legally elected President. Pretty sure that is called treason. Punishable by death. I pray to God that these treasonous individuals are uncovered and legally convicted in a court of law. If [President-elect Joe] Biden is successful, this will no longer be a government, Of the people, By the people, For the people. It will be the government of who can cheat best. I pray for the future of my children and grandchildren,” Estes wrote in the since-deleted comment. 

Parent asked for police protection after allegedly being threatened and doxxed for participating in election-related hearings last week with President Trump’s campaign attorney Rudy Giuliani, The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

A conspiracy theory also reportedly spread falsely accusing her of being seen counting ballots in Pennsylvania.

In addition, more than 100 House Republicans on Thursday signed onto an amicus brief in support of a Texas lawsuit aimed at overturning the election results in four swing states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Each of these four states contributed to Biden’s Electoral College victory. 

“This brief presents [our] concern as Members of Congress, shared by untold millions of their constituents, that the unconstitutional irregularities involved in the 2020 presidential election cast doubt upon its outcome and the integrity of the American system of elections,” states the brief signed by 106 GOP lawmakers.

The editorial board also continued to reference other comments made about election-related threats. 

Pennsylvania State Sen. Kim Ward, the GOP Majority leader, said she felt like she would be targeted if she indicated her opposition to efforts by Trump’s supporters to reject the state’s election results.

A letter circulated among the GOP members of the General Assembly calling on them to reject the battleground state’s electoral votes going for Biden.

Ward said she felt pressured to sign, adding, “If I would say to you, ‘I don’t want to do it,’ I’d get my house bombed tonight.”

The editorial board also referenced Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling asking Trump to “stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence.”

“Someone is going to get hurt, someone is going to get shot, someone is going to get killed. And it’s not right,” Sterling warned.

Gabriel Sterling: “Someone’s going to get hurt, someone’s going to get shot, someone’s going to get killed. And it’s not right.” pic.twitter.com/022ZzmLS5U

— The Hill (@thehill) December 2, 2020

The Post-Dispatch said that certifying an election is “the fulfillment of America’s centuries-old tradition of upholding the nation’s most fundamental democratic values.”