MURPHY, NC — A North Carolina gun shop has purchased a billboard advertisement used to insult “the Squad,” a group of progressive congresswomen including Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
The group also includes Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA).
The billboard refers to the four congressional of color as “idiots,” while calling them the “four horsemen” of the apocalypse and includes pictures of them in front of American flags.
The sign is an advertisement for Cherokee Guns in Murphy, which is a little over 200 miles from Charlotte.
“Signed, the Deplorables,” the billboard says, which is a term used by Hillary Clinton to describe half of the supporters of her opponent, Donald Trump, during the 2016 election.
In response the nonprofit group Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) called the billboard “disgusting anti-government violent rhetoric,” The Charlotte Observer reported according to The Hill.
“Threats against members of Congress, particularly minority members are (rising) and it is driven by the president’s racial rhetoric,” the coalition wrote in a Facebook post. “This is dangerous!”
The gun shop defended the billboard on Facebook, saying they will also be releasing bumper stickers featuring the congresswomen.
“Simple…eat a piece of bacon…tell us you’re voting for Trump in 2020…then get your limited edition bumper sticker,” Cherokee Guns wrote.
A gun shop employee also said they were instructed on what to do should any “threatening liberals” come through the door, The Hill report said.
“Show them the door, or your gun, and tell them they can buy their own billboard and pay for it like I did,” the staff member reportedly said.
Last month, President Trump attacked the four congresswomen in a serious of tweets, saying they should “go back” to the “crime infested places” they come from before speaking out about U.S. policies, despite the fact that they are all U.S. citizens.
Chants of “send her back” targeting Omar at a Trump rally in North Carolina were also recorded.
The House last week voted to condemn the president’s remarks as racist.
The “four horsemen” reference appears to have come from Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, who called them “the four horsewomen of the Apocalypse.”
“The simple fact of the matter is, the four congresswomen think that America was wicked in its origins. They think that America and its people are even more wicked now, that we are all racist and misogynistic and evil,” Kennedy said.
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