A deputy editor at Vox was suspended Friday after firing off a late night tweetstorm advising Donald Trump’s detractors to riot if the presumptive GOP nominee visits their cities.
Editor-in-Chief Ezra Klein published a short statement announcing that Emmett Rensin, deputy editor of Vox’s first person section, encouraged “dangerous” activity with his tweets and was suspended as a result.
“We at Vox do not take institutional positions on most questions, and we encourage our writers to debate and disagree,” Klein wrote. “But direct encouragement of riots crosses a line between expressing a contrary opinion and directly encouraging dangerous, illegal activity. We welcome a variety of viewpoints, but we do not condone writing that could put others in danger.”
The statement did not mention the length of the suspension.
Rensin’s dozens of tweets came after the violence that broke out outside a Trump rally in San Jose, California, on Thursday night. He argued that getting into physical altercations with and throwing food at Trump supporters leaving the event were fair responses to a candidate who has repeatedly been labeled a “fascist” and “existential threat” in the press.
Rensin advised other Trump opponents to carry out similar acts of civil disobedience if he holds rallies or speeches in their hometowns.
“Advice: If Trump comes to your town, start a riot,” Rensin wrote in one tweet.
“Again: You cannot tell people over and over that somebody is an existential threat to them and then be appalled when they act like it,” he wrote in another.
Rensin continued tweeting about the violence into Friday morning, sending his last post as recently as noon. All of the tweets remained live on his account as of Friday afternoon.
Read a selection of them below.
Let’s be clear: It’s never a shame to storm the barricades set up around a fascist.
— Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) June 3, 2016
Advice: If Trump comes to your town, start a riot.
— Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) June 3, 2016
Listen, if Trump is Hitler then you’ve got no business condemning rioters. If he isn’t, you’ve got no business pretending normal is better.
— Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) June 3, 2016
I wonder how many of the people beside themselves about anti-Trump riots have called for armed revolt against Obama in the past 8 years?
— Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) June 3, 2016
It’s very simple: All violence against human lives and bodies is categorically immoral.
Property destruction is vastly more negotiable.— Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) June 3, 2016
There’s evidence that smarmy performative outrage in the press helps Trump, that the GOP helps Trump–not so much protestors.
— Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) June 3, 2016
“What, we can’t repeat every day that a man is a unique threat to the fabric of society without some people taking us up on that?”
— Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) June 3, 2016
If you too believe he’s a fascist, then ask yourself what it means to concern troll poor, Latino folks who take that belief seriously.
— Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) June 3, 2016
It’s remarkable how many people deeply concerned about people protesting Trump would also like me to know they personally plan to murder me.
— Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) June 3, 2016
Again: You cannot tell people over and over that somebody is an existential threat to them and then be appalled when they act like it.
— Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) June 3, 2016
If Trump *isn’t* a fascist or an existential threat to democracy, fine. But then let’s stop saying that he is.
— Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) June 3, 2016
You saw it in Baltimore, in Cleveland: “Well, I understand why they’re upset, but these people in the streets are a threat to democracy.”
— Emmett Rensin (@emmettrensin) June 3, 2016
What a little prick. Lenin with a latte.
One complaint about the story itself, however:
“Rensin advised other Trump opponents to carry out similar acts of civil disobedience if he holds rallies or speeches in their hometowns.”
Riots are not ‘civil disobedience’, period. I don’t see the phrase in Rensin’s tweets, so assume it must be TPM’s usage. This is so wrong it hurts. I understand that these are going to be an emotional, painful six months: all the more reason for exercising care in our words and deeds.
Very sensible of Ezra. This is NOT something one wants to encourage. And remember Trump’s supporters are often armed to the teeth.
Dignified civil disobedience is something entirely different.
It would be gobsmackingly refreshing if Trump showed the same class with his supporters as Vox showed with this wannabe reporter. But I have no illusions of that happening. After all, I’m still waiting for my rainbow colored unicorn.
If I may: WTF? and LOL!
Make up your damned minds people. Is Trump a dangerous fascist or not?