and everybody knows…..
In a statement sent to Newsweek on Wednesday, Schumer's team reiterated that the senator has "been clear that he supports peaceful protests and is thankful law enforcement arrested this person today."
“I want to tell you Gorsuch. I want to tell you Kavanaugh… You have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price! You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions!” - @SenSchumer https://t.co/3qwHPwj1zL
— Rep. Mike Johnson (@RepMikeJohnson) June 8, 2022
"The left always unleashes violence," Greene tweeted on Wednesday. "Now an armed gunman has been arrested near Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh's house. He was going to kill Kavanaugh."
"Senator Schumer told Justice Kavanaugh that he will 'pay the price' for decisions Democrats don't like," Hartzler added. "And he is leading the Senate? Reprehensible."
The left always unleashes violence.
Now an armed gunman has been arrested near Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh’s house.
He was going to kill Kavanaugh.@chuckschumer
pic.twitter.com/GS1BdK8dbZ
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) June 8, 2022
Kavanaugh's home was also the scene of a flurry of protests last month after a draft opinion indicating the court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked.
The Department of Homeland Security had recently warned that the potential overturning of the landmark case has resulted in increased threats of violence, including the "murdering" of the justices and their legal clerks.
On Wednesday, Jonathan Turley, the Shapiro Chair of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, warned that Schumer's words could be misinterpreted by people like the man who was reportedly armed with a handgun, knife and pepper spray.
"While clearly unintended, some can take the wrong meaning from words like those from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on the steps of the Supreme Court that expressly referred to Justice Kavanaugh…," Turley tweeted.
In a statement confirming the arrest near Kavanaugh's home, police said, "The man was armed and made threats against Justice Kavanaugh. He was transported to Montgomery County Police 2nd District."
Two people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Washington Post on condition of anonymity said evidence suggested the man was upset by the potential rollback of abortion rights.
This is not the first time Schumer's quote has been criticized by conservatives.
Days after the New York senator made his initial remarks, Chief Justice John Roberts offered a rare rebuke of the "threatening statements."
"Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous," Roberts said in a statement at the time.
Then-President Trump also criticized Schumer's "direct & dangerous threat to the U.S. Supreme Court," tweeting, "If a Republican did this, he or she would be arrested, or impeached. Serious action MUST be taken NOW!"
The senator previously defended his statement by saying that his words were being misinterpreted and that he was referring to the "political price Senate Republicans will pay for putting these justices on the court."
At the time, Schumer spokesperson Justin Goodman said it was "a warning that the justices will unleash a major grassroots movement on the issue of reproductive rights against the decision."
Updated 06/08/22 1:30 p.m. ET: This story was updated with comments from Schumer.
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