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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Carson targeted in Capitol terrorist attack

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Rep. André Carson was targeted during the attack on the Capitol Jan. 6. A note written by terrorist Lonnie Coffman that categorized several members of Congress as “good” or “bad” listed Carson as one of three Muslim members of Congress.
Coffman, 70, Alabama, was found in D.C. with a truck full of explosives and firearms.

He was arrested Jan. 6 and indicted on 17 gun and ammunition charges in federal court Jan. 11. According to court documents, Coffman had Molotov cocktails, loaded handguns, assault rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition in his truck, which was parked just blocks away from the Capitol during the insurrection.

“It is extremely disturbing to learn from press reports that I was one of several individuals identified in a list of ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ targeted for attacks,” Carson said in a statement released Jan. 12. “The indicted terrorist had the means and opportunity to carry out his plans to violently attack, injure and destroy government officials and related offices in our Nation’s Capitol. These were not idle threats. These were planned and organized measures to take my life, my colleagues’ lives and try to destroy our government.”

In an interview with the Recorder before information about the threat was released, Carson reflected on how Black Lives Matter protesters were treated last summer and the policing he saw at the Capitol.

“Last week, you saw police officers escorting very racist white nationalists into the House of Representatives with the intention to do harm to Congress,” Carson said. “With Black Lives Matter, you had a lot of undercover officers amongst the protesters getting information. … The law enforcement response is stark compared to the lack of attention given to white supremacists who clearly posed a bigger threat.”

Carson has called for investigations into what he described as a security failure that allowed the attack to take place. As a former law enforcement officer, however, he believes issues such as bigotry within the policing system can be reformed through transparency, including departments having the ability to know an officer’s records so the “bigots … can be filtered out of the system.”

On Jan. 13, Carson voted to impeach President Donald Trump a second time for what Carson called “traitorous sedition.” With a vote of 232 to 197 in the House of Representatives, Trump became the first president to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted to impeach.

Contact staff writer Breanna Cooper at 317-762-7848. Follow her on Twitter @BreannaNCooper.

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