Salon writer says column about ‘MAGA theocrats’ made death threats: ‘Proves my point about the extremists’
Salon’s Brian Karem says a recent column he wrote about House Speaker Mike Johnson’s inauguration featured death threats on a scale he hasn’t seen since Donald Trump became president.
Karem said in a Friday tweet with a link to the article that it “in a way proves my point about the extremists.” He also pointed out that Fox News, Meghan McCain and Marjorie Taylor Green have written about it or “complained about it.”
“I think that says it all,” Karem tweeted about the reaction to the column, which culminated in a twist in which he called the House of Representatives under Johnson a “discount version of the apocalyptic orgasm the Holy Rollers have been dreaming of for years.” “
A Salon spokesman said the station discussed the death threats with Karem. It was unclear what actions Karem or the outlet took in response.
“I’m grateful that Salon reached out and I’m glad they’re aware of this,” Karem said in a statement to TheWrap.
In the column published Thursday, Karem frames his commentary on new Speaker Johnson around three recent news events:
- An FBI warning about potential domestic terrorist threats sparked by the Hamas attacks on Israel and the subsequent war
- A bipartisan initiative led by President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to develop a response to the threat of AI
- Legislative efforts on funding packages for Israel and Ukraine
“While the world burns” Karem wrote in the column“Johnson and the MAGA wing of the Republican Party — which has seemingly swallowed and embraced the evangelical movement at the same time (a T-1000 morphing into Sarah Connor is just the picture) — are endorsing the darkest verses in the Bible.” Apparently he pushes for the apocalypse with an enthusiasm comparable only to Saul’s massacre of Christians before he changed his name to Paul.”
Karem continued, writing that Republicans “don’t want separation of church and state.” They want an isolated country surrounded by walls and committed to the proposition that the First Amendment guarantees them the right to worship in any way they want – while forcing the rest of us to worship to perform in the way they want.”
Fox News Digital posted published a news article about the column on its website Friday, saying Karem was “again targeting prominent Republicans.”
As Karem pointed out, McCain and Taylor Greene were also outraged by his words.
McCain simply tweeted, “Fuck yourself!”, with a now-broken link to the column, while Taylor Greene took a more thoughtful approach.
“The DOJ also labels us terrorists,” wrote Taylor Greene. “But don’t worry, I’m sure 23 Republicans will be firing off strongly worded letters and media hits instead of censuring terrorist Tlaib or taking measurable accountability measures to prevent the left from sending us to re-education camps.”
Check out these tweets below.