Democratic Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush on Tuesday demanded an apology after one of her Republican colleagues called her husband a "thug" and suggested that she shouldn't be so outspoken if she does not wish to receive death threats.
Commenting on the U.S. Justice Department probe of Bush's alleged misuse of campaign funds to pay her now-husband Cortney Merritts to provide private security services, Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) told CNN's Melanie Zanona that the progressive congresswoman "doesn't even support the police."
"But the idea to pay her thug money to try to help protect her this and that, for what?" he added. "Maybe if she wouldn't be so loud all the time, maybe she wouldn't be getting threats."
Republican Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas rolls out the racist tropes. Calls Rep. Cori Bush “loud”, and describes her husband as a “thug”. (Video: CNN) pic.twitter.com/yQy6udX2VY
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) January 31, 2024
Asked by Zanona if Bush deserved to be threatened, Nehls replied: "No, what I'm saying is, is that when you're out there talking the way she does... she's pretty radical. And maybe she should tone it down a little bit."
Bush—who denies the allegations against her—said on social media that Nehls "just called my husband, a Black man and Army veteran, a thug. And I'm the loud Black woman who needs to be silent in order to be safe from violence, or else?"
.@RepTroyNehls just called my husband, a Black man and army veteran, a thug. And I’m the loud Black woman who needs to be silent in order to be safe from violence, or else?
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) January 31, 2024
This is the kind of rhetoric that endangers Black lives. He must apologize. https://t.co/QeqZ7yYfRX
"Squad" members including Bush and Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) have repeatedly received death threats from white supremacists and others opposed to their progressive politics. Nehls' remarks resemble some of the worst threats Bush has received.
Tlaib said on social media that Nehls' "comments are racist, dangerous, and unacceptable."
These comments are racist, dangerous, and unacceptable. The racism in Congress is real. This is what we deal with as women of color on a regular basis. https://t.co/uY9yBNP7Yg
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) January 31, 2024
"The racism in Congress is real," she added. "This is what we deal with as women of color on a regular basis."
This isn't the first time Nehls has been accused of racism. Civil rights defenders said the former Fort Bend County sheriff racially profiled Latino motorists, who campaigners say were disproportionately stopped during his tenure. He was also fired from a previous law enforcement job for documented offenses including destruction of evidence and improper arrest.
