Man Charged With Death Threats To Dems Used Some Of The Same Language Trump Does Toward Them
A man charged with making death threats to top Democratic leaders used alarming language while leaving voicemails with their offices — including utilizing a derogatory nickname for one of them that President Donald Trump coined.
According to a court document obtained by Politico, investigators said that Salvatore Lippa, a 57-year-old man from Greece, New York, called Rep. Adam Schiff’s and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s offices, making threats against both of them, as well as against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
Lippa, in calling Schiff, used a nickname created by Trump against the lead House Manager for the Senate impeachment trial of the president, calling him “Shifty Schiff” in the call.
“Schiff, Shifty Schiff, you’re the biggest f—ing scumbag m———er who ever lived,” Lippa said. “I dare you to come, I dare you to come to New York, because I will put a bullet in your f—ing forehead…And you think I’m f—ing joking? I’ll come to Washington and kill you…”
Lippa left a similar voicemail with Schumer’s office:
“Hey, Schumer, you and Nancy Pelosi are two f—ing biggest scumbags who ever lived. And let me tell you something, somebody wants to assassinate you, I’m going to be the driver…”
‼️ “Lippa started the threatening message by calling the congressman ‘Schiff, Shifty Schiff,’ invoking the nickname used by President Donald Trump for Schiff.” https://t.co/rxCtHt3iZW
— Katie S. Phang (@KatiePhang) February 20, 2020
The document, signed by special agent Vincent Veloz, determined that the phone number associated with the voicemails was conclusively Lippa’s, and that the New York resident had not let any other person use his phone during the times of the calls.
Trump has denied in the past that his rhetoric has inspired violence in some of his most extremist of supporters. However, an investigation conducted by ABC News last summer found dozens of instances where violence or violent rhetoric targeted Democratic Party leaders or anti-Trump voices using similar language that the president had popularized.
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