Following the fatal sniper attack on Dallas police officers Thursday, former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh is under fire after deleting a threatening tweet against President Barack Obama and #BlackLivesMatter protesters.
"3 Dallas Cops killed, 7 wounded. This is now war," Walsh, 54, wrote in a since-deleted tweet late Thursday. "Watch out Obama. Watch out black lives matter punks. Real America is coming after you." Walsh later revealed that Twitter deleted the tweet, reports US magazine.
Walsh, a Republican, Catholic and now a conservative talk radio host, served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives for Illinois' 8th congressional district, from January 2011 through January 2013.
Many of his tweets about the Dallas violence still remain on his account. "10 cops shot. This is on Obama. 4 dead. Obama stoked the flame. BLM did this. Cops are dying," he continued. "It's time 4 patriotic Americans to stand up & stand against all the Cop haters - from Obama to the thugs on the street. It's way past time."
Demonstrators were protesting the killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile on Thursday when snipers began to shoot, injuring seven officers and two civilians and killing five. Sterling and Castile, both African-American, were killed by police officers this week in Baton Rouge, La., and Falcon Heights, Minn. One of the Dallas suspects, Micah Johnson, a 25-year-old former soldier in the U.S. Army Reserve, was killed by a bomb detonated by authorities following a negotiation around 2:30 a.m. Friday.
Walsh continued to tweet his frustrations, blamed the Dallas shooting on Obama and Black Lives Matter protesters, saying the attack was carried out by "2 uneducated black thugs." His controversial comments were made before the Dallas Police Department released information about the possible suspects.
Online users jumped on Walsh, with even singer John Legend tweeting directly at Walsh: "Joe Walsh needs to be arrested for threatening our President."
Walsh then claimed he was not calling for violence, against Obama or anyone. "Obama's words & BLM's deeds have gotten cops killed. Time for us to defend our cops. Time for America - white, black & brown - to stand up to the Cop haters. If good people stay silent, the haters will continue their violence," he wrote.
"Our cops work their ass off to protect our inner cities. They deserve respect and help. Not hate and resistance," he continued. "Obama's response to Dallas should be: 'America, respect our Police. They keep us safe. Don't ever resist arrest. Stop this war on our Cops.'"
