On June 24th, 2018 Maxine Waters called for increased attacks against the Trump Administration. In addition, the Department of Homeland Security has formally warned its employees of increased threats to their persons.
Over the weekend, strife struck when Maxine Waters ordered an increase of ‘push back’ against the Trump Administration. Waters’ words were borderline an incitation to violence as she specifically stated that the opposition to the Trump Administration should ‘push them back.’
“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 they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.”
Maxine Waters’ words come one day after Sarah Huckabee Sanders was denied service at a restaurant because of her employment with the Trump Administration.
In addition, the acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Claire Grady issued a memo to DHS employees warning them of an increased number of threats made against the department’s employees.
“In recent days, DHS has determined there may be a heightened threat against DHS employees in response to U.S. government actions surrounding immigration,” Grady wrote. “This assessment is based on specific and credible threats that have been levied against certain DHS employees and a sharp increase in the overall number of general threats against DHS employees—although the veracity of each threat varies.”
The memo also made mention of a database breach which caused the release of roughly nine thousand ICE employees’ personal information. The information released was then used to scrape personal data from LinkedIn which publicized employees’ location, educational background, and job history.
Also, activists hastily organized a protest against DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen after finding out that she was dining at a Mexican restaurant in Washington D.C.
The increased protests against both DHS employees and the Trump Administration have caused alarm across the government because of the viciousness of specific extreme left-wing groups such as Antifa.
The calls for increased opposition to governmental personnel has caused so much concern that legal and gun experts are urging members to obtain their carry permit in Washington D.C.
“High-level officials in the Trump administration, especially if their faces are likely to be recognized by many in the public as a result of appearances on TV, might want to consider applying for a license to carry a concealed weapon in the District of Columbia, and/or other states they frequent, in view of the call by Rep. Maxine Waters for the public to ‘absolutely harass’ these officials in public places, and other recent events indicating the increased danger they are in,” added public interest law professor John Banzhaf.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security is urging its personnel to be extra vigilant with acting Secretary Grady suggesting that employees should always keep doors and windows locked at home and to avoid wearing their badges outside of work.
The increased volatility in the public sphere is of concern because of the polarization of politics. Also, it has led to the current break down of communication and further closes the door to bipartisanship.