‘Got to bring down the temperature’: Markwayne Mullin blamed Democrats for ‘stirring the pot’ of political violence, and said free speech has a limit

Markwayne Mullin, the Department of Homeland Security chief, blamed Democrats for raising political tensions as campaigns for the midterms get underway. He spoke on Fox News’s The Sunday Briefing after Peter Doocy asked if candidates are “safe” while they step up their election work.

According to Mediaite, Mullin answered, “Well, I would say you’re never safe when you’re in the public eye. If you read any of the social media posts, which I choose not to, but you see the type of rhetoric and the hatefulness that’s out there.” He said people also “see the attacks on President Trump’s life every single day.” 

He then said of Trump, “But you have a leader that’s out there that’s constantly saying ‘fight, fight, fight.’ He’s leading from the front, and that’s what the American people need to know.” Threats against elected officials do not disappear, Mullin said. He stated, “The dangerous rhetoric that the Democrats use is absolutely stirring the pot or putting fuel on the flames. And we’ve got to bring down the temperature.” He added that the temperature would not fall by itself.

Mullin tied Homeland Security’s role to speech that calls for silencing others by force

Americans need to understand that the country is a republic and that people hold different views, Mullin said. He said those differences are acceptable. The problem, he argued, comes when someone claims another view “needs to be silenced and needs to be silenced through violence.”

Homeland Security steps in at that point, Mullin said, and that is where the department would work to stop the violence. He said free speech is something “that we all protect,” but a person can still cross a line. That line, he said, runs from protected speech to “inciting dangerous behavior at every turning point.”

The Washington Post reported that more local officials have been hiring private security. The paper said some of them want protection from people they meet in everyday settings, including constituents who become violent.

The Post wrote, “Now, amid the nation’s turbulent political landscape, governors, mayors, state legislators and some town council members have been seeking personal protection for themselves or their staffs, escalating the national discussion over who requires security and how to pay for it.”

Mullin’s call to cool the rhetoric comes as he vows to ramp up ICE enforcement on the streets, a move that itself raises the temperature on immigration issues.  He also said the public itself has to help cool the situation.

He described Homeland Security’s job as acting when disagreement turns into a demand that another side be silenced by violence. This debate over DHS’s role in balancing speech and safety has recently played out in Congress, such as when Sen. Chris Murphy pressed DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin on complying with court orders.   Mullin said speech should stay protected until that line is crossed.