Senator Chuck Schumer is under pressure for threatening two Supreme Court justices.  At a pro-abortion rally outside the Supreme Court on March 4, Schumer ranted,  "I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price.  You won't know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions."  He later "clarified" this statement on the Senate floor by saying, "In no way was I making a threat."  Chief Justice John Roberts, however, did interpreted Schumer's remarks as a threat.

Roberts wrote, "This morning, Senator Schumer spoke at a rally in front of the Supreme Court while a case was being argued inside.  Senator Schumer referred to two Members of the Court by name and said he wanted to tell them that 'You have released the whirlwind[.]' ... Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous."  Senator Schumer's spokesman Justin Goodman accused Roberts of deliberately misinterpreting the New York senator's comments.

Threat or not, in these emotional times, remarks about "releasing the whirlwind" can lead to violence.  People referred to as "deplorables" are frequently described as "Nazis."  This, in some minds, justifies violence against them.  Fredo Cuomo explained, "Fighting hate is right.  And in a clash between hate and those who oppose it, those who oppose it are on the side of right.  People who show up to fight against bigots are not to be judged the same as the bigots, even if they do resort to the same kinds of petty violence."

There have been numerous calls for violence by "progressive" politicians.  Maxine Waters famously said, "If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them!  And you tell them that they are not welcome, anymore, anywhere."  Cory "Spartacus" Booker advised, "get up in the face of some congresspeople."  Eric Holder told Democratic activists: "When they go low, we kick 'em."  And of course, there's the former president's remark: "If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun"

People in the entertainment industry have been particularly vehement in their attacks on the president.  Johnny Depp has "joked" about assassinating the president.  Kathy Griffin posed with the president's severed head.  Robert ("I'd like to punch him in the face") De Niro sounds more unbalanced every time he speaks about the president.  Snoop Dogg produced a music video that shows him pulling a gun and shooting a clown version of President Donald Trump.  There are countless examples of entertainers attacking the president and his family.

There are also countless examples of conservative politicians being harassed in public.  Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, Homeland Security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, and Senator Ted Cruz and his wife were harassed in restaurants.  Mitch McConnell and his wife were told, "Why don't you get out of here?" at a restaurant.

There are much more serious threats than harassment in public places.  Sen. Rand Paul was assaulted in his Kentucky home, where he suffered five rib fractures.  Rep. Steve Scalise nearly died as a result of a man who "brought a gun" to a baseball game.  Now we have a Democrat councilwoman for the city of Denver, Candi CdeBaca, advising people infected with the coronavirus to attend as many Trump rallies as possible: "For the record, if I do get the coronavirus I'm attending every MAGA rally I can."  CdeBaca knows that the coronavirus can be fatal.  She may be joking, but there are enough unstable people out there who will take her advice.

Chuck Schumer has been around.  He also knows that his comments could lead to dire consequences.

John Dietrich is a freelance writer and the author of The Morgenthau Plan: Soviet Influence on American Postwar Policy (Algora Publishing).  He has a Master of Arts degree in international relations from St. Mary's University.  He is retired from the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.  He is featured on the BBC's program  "Things We Forgot to Remember:" Morgenthau Plan and Postwar Germany.