A Denver Democratic lawmaker has apologized for a social media post saying the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump on Saturday would provide “sympathy for the devil,” as other Colorado politicians condemned the attack.
“We must always resolve our differences peacefully at the ballot box — not through violence,” Rep. Steven Woodrow said in a statement Monday morning. “I know people are hurting, and (I) apologize that my words caused additional pain.”
Shortly after a gunman injured Trump and killed an attendee at the former president’s Pennsylvania rally Saturday night, Woodrow — a frequent X user who has regularly criticized Republicans on the platform — posted that the “last thing America needed was sympathy for the devil but here we are.”
He immediately drew criticism for the post, and later that night he deleted his X account. Colorado Democratic Party chair Shad Murib was among those who criticized Woodrow’s post.
In his statement Monday, Woodrow condemned the attempt on Trump’s life and said that his post, “inarticulate as it was,” sought to convey that “acts of violence like this are awful and only make it more likely that Trump now wins” the election.
Other Colorado politicians denounced the attack, which killed retired fire chief and father Corey Comperatore and left Trump bloodied after he said a bullet damaged his ear; two rally spectators also were injured.
Gov. Jared Polis said in a Saturday statement that he was glad Trump was doing well and that “violence is never acceptable.” He also called for increased security for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a move echoed by others that was approved by President Joe Biden on Monday. Democratic U.S. Reps. Brittany Pettersen, Joe Neguse, Diana DeGette, Yadira Caraveo and Jason Crow all issued similar statements.
So, too, did U.S. Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet and an array of local and state elected officials.
Republican U.S. Reps. Doug Lamborn and Greg Lopez both posted on X that they were praying for Trump’s recovery.
Crow told CBS on Sunday that “violence could spiral out of control” and that “leadership requires that we all step back. Enough is enough. We cannot do this.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert expressed support and prayers for Trump on X, while blaming Biden for the attack and reposting social media messages that explicitly — and baselessly — blamed Democrats for attempting to kill the former president.
The gunman has been identified as a 20-year-old Pennsylvania man; federal and state investigators are still seeking to determine his motive for opening fire on Trump.
State Rep. Matt Soper, a Delta Republican, posted on X that Biden should be investigated for “criminal incitement of violence.” He wrote that he “would expect” Woodrow to resign over his comment, though he told Colorado Public Radio on Sunday that he understood getting caught up in an emotional moment. (Soper clarified to The Denver Post Monday evening that he wasn’t calling on Woodrow to resign.)
Patrick Neville, a former Republican lawmaker and one-time minority leader in the state House, posted on X that he didn’t agree with Woodrow’s comments. But he suggested that the Denver Democrat and his family had received threats since Saturday and that those threats “are more deplorable than what (Woodrow) said.”
Calls for softening inflammatory rhetoric are not new to Colorado’s state legislative leaders, who have long struggled with lawmakers’ social media postings.
Republican state Reps. Brandi Bradley and Ryan Armagost both criticized Woodrow on X over the weekend, too. Earlier this year, Democratic lawmakers criticized both Bradley and Armagost for repeatedly using social media to accuse their colleagues of supporting pedophiles. Democratic legislators said they received death threats as a result of those postings.
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