Two Republican lawmakers became the targets of threats in their own homes over the weekend after daring to defy Donald Trump.
Both were left worrying about the safety of their families after finding themselves in the president’s firing line.
Trump took aim at his former close ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, over the weekend. The pair have had a massive fallout in recent days over releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files and health care.
Trump called Greene a traitor, a disgrace to the Republican party, and withdrew his endorsement in a series of nasty Truth Social posts on Friday and Saturday.
By Sunday, Greene shared that her home and family members had become the target of hoax pizza deliveries, a form of harassment also known as “pizza doxxing” that has been increasingly used to intimidate perceived political rivals.
“Update: we also received a pipe bomb threat on my construction companies office building,” Greene wrote in a post. “President Trump’s unwarranted and vicious attacks against me were a dog whistle to dangerous radicals that could lead to serious attacks on me and my family.”
Greene noted she had long been the target of swatting from the left, but she wrote being called a traitor by the president and his allies “puts blood in the water and creates a feeding frenzy.”
“It could ultimately lead to a harmful or even deadly outcome,’ she warned.
Greene also wrote that she was ”not a traitor” and touted her extremely conservative record, but the president repeated his accusation Sunday night despite her calls to tone down the rhetoric when asked about the threats against her.
“I don’t think her life is in danger,” Trump told reporters. “Frankly, I don’t think anybody cares about her.”
While Greene is perhaps one of the most well known faces of the MAGA movement with recognition nationwide, she was not the only member of Trump’s own party to become a target over the weekend after being slammed by the president online.
Trump also ranted about GOP state lawmakers in Indiana who went against his push for the red state to redraw its congressional districts.
On Friday, the Indiana state Senate announced it would not hold a session next month to redraw its congressional districts despite pressure from the Trump administration to help give the GOP a greater advantage in next year’s midterms.
State Republican leaders said they did not have the votes with a number of GOP members coming out against it.
But MAGA influencers were furious. They accused Republicans in the state of betraying the party.
On Sunday morning, Trump weighed in that he was “very disappointed” and threatened that any Republican to vote against redistricting should be primaried. He specifically name dropped two GOP state senators, Rod Bray and Greg Goode, in the post.
By Sunday evening, Goode revealed that he and his family had been the target of a swatting incident when sheriffs deputies responded to the report of a domestic violence emergency.
“While this entire incident is unfortunate and reflective of the volatile nature of our current political environment, I give thanks to God that my family and I are ok,” Goode said in a statement.
While it is not yet clear exactly who was behind either the Greene or the Goode threats over the weekend, the fact that the two Republican lawmakers became targets after going against the president is a strong reminder of the immense power Trump wields online.
MAGA world has been at war with itself over a series of issues which have at times consumed Trump and roiled his administration.
While the president has managed to keep a tight leash on the party leadership since his victory last year, his power over the rank and file as slipped.
The White House’s handling of the Epstein files has plagued Trump and his top officials for months ever since they backtracked on releasing the files as promised on the campaign trail.
A growing number of GOP members signaled they would vote to release the files this week in the House despite Trump’s opposition in a sign of growing independence.
In the end, it was Trump who suddenly reversed course late Sunday and announced his support of their release with a House vote after fighting it for months. It showed a rare cave by the president to the MAGA base rather than the other way around.
Meanwhile, redrawing the congressional maps in red states has also led to infighting within the Republican party.
The more moderate wing including GOP members who hold seats in blue states have warned that efforts to redraw maps could backfire as Democrats scramble to respond with their own series of moves to redraw districts in blue states.
Trump remains dug in on his push for Republican-led states to try and give him an upper hand next year, but experts have already said the work to redraw the maps could end in a draw.
However, Trump’s targeting of Indiana Republicans continued on Monday. After he accused GOP Indiana Governor Mike Braun of not working hard enough to get the votes in his post on Sunday, the pair spoke by phone on Monday.
Braun shared that he remained committed to redrawing the state’s map to “ensure the MAGA agenda is successful in Congress.” Like the president, he also went after the state’s GOP-controlled Senate which he accused of “hiding behind closed doors.”
The post MAGA Turns on GOP With Sinister Threats to Trump Rebels appeared first on The Daily Beast.
