[Vision2020] IA Deputy AG: "Use Live Ammo" against union demonstrators

[Ron Force]

Indiana official fired for tweets about protests
By Justin Elliott 


MySpace via TalkingPointsMemo
Another week, another reminder that public figures should tread carefully on 
Twitter.
The Indiana Attorney General's Office announced today that Deputy  AG Jeffrey 
Cox is "no longer employed" by the office following a colloquy between Cox and 
Mother Jones journalist Adam Weinstein on Twitter over the weekend.
It started when Cox, who is known as "JCCentCom" on Twitter,  responded to a 
Mother Jones tweet about the possibility that riot police  would be dispatched 
to clear protesters Wisconsin with the exhortation  to "use live ammunition."
Weinstein, who at that point did not know the identity of JCCentCom, explains 
what happened next:
>From my own Twitter account, I confronted the user, JCCentCom. He  tweeted back 
that the demonstrators were "political enemies" and  "thugs" who were 
"physically threatening legally elected officials." In  response to such 
behavior, he said, "You're damned right I advocate  deadly force." He later 
called me a "typical leftist," adding, "liberals  hate police."
Mother Jones subsequently discovered that Cox maintained a blog, Pro Cynic, that 
contained regular Nazi analogies and the like.
Following the publication of the magazine's article, the AG's  office reviewed 
Cox's statements and found them too much to handle.
"Civility and courtesy toward all members of the public are very  important to 
the Indiana Attorney General's Office. We respect  individuals' First Amendment 
right to express their personal views on  private online forums, but as public 
servants we are held by the public  to a higher standard, and we should strive 
for civility," the office  said in a statement.





________________________________
From: "nickgier at roadrunner.com" <nickgier at roadrunner.com>
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Sent: Wed, February 23, 2011 11:53:29 AM
Subject: [Vision2020] IA Deputy AG: "Use Live Ammo" against union demonstrators

Greetings:

People for the American Way reports as follows: "A deputy attorney general in 
Indiana on Saturday suggested on Twitter to "use live ammunition" against 
protesters in Madison, Wisconsin. In a back-and-forth with a writer for Mother 
Jones magazine, he followed up, "You're damned right I advocate deadly force."

Commentators have been comparing the peaceful protesters in Wisconsin to those 
in Tahrir Square.  I always wondered how gun-loving Americans would react.  Now 
my worst fears have been validated.  I expected the Tea Party folks to say this 
(and perhaps they already have) but no a government official.

Nick 

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