Senate candidate Kelly denounces a recent threat against Gosar
Democratic Senate challenger Mark Kelly denounced on Tuesday a recent threat made against Rep. Paul Gosar by an apparent Kelly supporter, writing on Twitter that he understands how seriously acts of violence can upend the lives of lawmakers and their families.
“I know what it means to have an act of violence committed against a Member of Congress and family member,” Kelly tweeted. “I strongly condemn this threat against Rep. Gosar. Threats of violence like this are wrong. I’m glad Capitol Police is investigating.”
Kelly, a retired NASA astronaut, is the husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who survived a 2011 assassination attempt near Tucson at the hands of a deranged gunman while attending an event for constituents. Giffords was shot in the head by the gunman, who killed six people and injured 13, including Giffords.
The Kelly team said the person had no affiliation with the campaign as far as they know.
Kelly’s statement came after Republicans circulated audio of a message left for Gosar. The caller’s number was identified by the Gosar office’s caller identification as belonging to Margaret Kathleen Spangenberg, according to the Arizona Daily Independent, which first reported the threat. Spangenberg’s Facebook page had used a banner supporting Kelly as a profile picture and identified herself as a retired teacher.
By Tuesday, the account could not be found and Spangenberg could not be reached for comment.
In the audio of the message for Gosar, the caller lambasted his downplaying of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying, “You are doing s--t about COVID, and I’ve had people die. I think it’s totally OK for me to come with my gun and shoot you in the head.”
She continued, “That’s what we think of you, Mr. Gosar. You’re a murderer supporter and you are just going down. Murderer, murderer, murderer supporter, you are going down. And we’ll make sure we’ll send you lots of protesters your way, too.”
Gosar said on Twitter over the holiday weekend that he’d been told that Capitol Police was investigating the threat. He posted that the suspect was a “big” Kelly “activist” and claimed violence against conservatives “is trickling down from antifa street mobs to the ‘red for ed’ socialists.”
Kelly’s comment came after days of pressure by Gosar, Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward and others to weigh in on the threat.
“This is the Democrats’ America,” Ward wrote on Twitter. “They have totally abdicated their duty as elected officials to maintain #LawAndOrder in America, and now they have lost control of the Extreme & Radical Left. Mark Kelly must condemn this violence in the strongest possible terms—this is NOT OK!”
Kelly is seeking to unseat Sen. Martha McSally, R-Ariz. in November.
McSally commented over the weekend, wrote on Twitter, “Having experienced this type of threat firsthand, this is horrifying. The silence from the media and the Left is unacceptable. We must be unified in condemning threats and violence in all forms.”