‘We’re going to shut them down!’ Florida Democrat who tangled with Trump over Gold Star widow’s treatment says people who mock members of Congress online should be arrested and prosecuted
- Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson said she wants to ‘prosecute’ anyone who makes fun of lawmakers online
- ‘We’re going to shut them down,’ Wilson said during a visit to the Homestead migrant detention facility for minors
- Her comments come as a report of Customs and Border Protection agents engaging in a private Facebook group that posts vulgar content
- Some posts includes criticism and mockery of members of Congress
- One illustration depicts Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez being sexually assaulted by President Donald Trump
- Other posts show indifference toward migrant death and tragedy
- Homestead has become a popular location for lawmakers, and presidential candidates, to make a stop in the past few weeks
- Several 2020 candidates visited with demonstrators outside the facility while in Florida for the first round of primary debates in Miami
Congresswoman Frederica Wilson suggested Tuesday that people who make disparaging comments about lawmakers online be ‘prosecuted.’
The representative from Florida was visiting the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children about 30 miles south of her district when she said she wants to ‘shut down’ those who make fun of members of Congress.
‘Those people who are online making fun of members of Congress are a disgrace, and there is no need for anyone to think that is unacceptable [sic],’ she said while speaking to reporters and demonstrators in Homestead, Florida.
‘We’re going to shut them down and work with whoever it is to shut them down, and they should be prosecuted,’ she continued. ‘You cannot intimidate members of Congress – threaten members of Congress. It is against the law, and it’s a shame in this United States of America.’
Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson said those who make fun of members of Congress online should be ‘prosecuted’
The congresswoman was speaking outside of the Homestead Temporary Shelter for Unaccompanied Children just south of her district, which includes Miami
Attention surrounding the minor immigration detention center spiked when several Democratic presidential candidates visited while in Florida for the first round of primary debates last week
The Democratic lawmaker made her assertion from outside the Homestead facility as reports of a secret Facebook group made up of current and former Customs and Border Protection agents, which is used mostly to post vulgar and offensive content, came to light.
Non-profit investigative outlet ProPublica posted a report Monday that revealed some of the abhorrent content, including an illustration posted by one of the 9,500 members that depicted Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez being sexually assaulted by President Donald Trump.
One user also said he would give a cash prize to anyone that threw burritos at Latina congresswomen Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Veronica Escobar of Texas.
Besides misogynistic and vulgar content aimed at lawmakers, the group made up of immigration enforcement officers and agents also showed indifference toward migrant deaths.
A post about a 16-year-old Guatemalan boy dying in a U.S. holding facility was met with responses like ‘oh well,’ and ‘if he dies, he dies.’
The name of the Facebook group is “I’m 10-15,” which is the code for a migrant in custody.
Wilson made her comments as a report emerged of Customs and Border Protection agents engaging in vulgar social media activity
One post on the page, which includes 9,500 current and former immigration enforcement officers and agents, was an illustrated that depicted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (left) being sexually assaulted by President Donald Trump
Another members of the group said he would give money to someone if they threw burritos at Latina members of Congress Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas
Wilson has clashed with Trump in the past after she accused Trump of being ‘insensitive’ toward gold star families. She listened in on a phone call and said Trump told one widow that her late husband ‘knew what he signed up for’
Homestead also became a topic of conversation the last few weeks when Representative Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, whose district includes the town where the facility is located, invited 2020 Democratic contenders to tour the center with her.
A handful of candidates that were already in Florida for the first round of primary debates in Miami, made the hour trip south to visit with demonstrators and speak about their plans for immigration and for-profit detention centers like the Homestead facility.
Wilson, known for her bedazzled and colorful cowgirl hats, added her name to the list of lawmakers who have made Homestead a destination.
The Florida representative was also thrust into the national spotlight in 2017, when she berated the president for his treatment of gold star families – or those whose loved ones were killed while serving in the military.
She said when listening in on a phone call the president had with a young woman who lost her husband in Niger, she noticed he was ‘insensitive’ toward her. She also said he told the widow of the late Sgt. La David Johnson that he ‘knew what he signed up for… but when it happens, it hurts anyway.’
Wilson has blamed the president for the public losing respect for members of Congress and those in the White House. She says he has ‘taken this country to its knees.’