𝗠𝗔𝗚𝗔 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗠𝗔𝗡 𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗗𝗩𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗡𝗢𝗡𝗩𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 "𝗛𝗨𝗡𝗚"

                                     

State Congressman Gillette on the left, U.S. Congresswoman Jayapal on the right

The spirit of the January 6, 2021 insurrection, featuring gallows for Vice President Mike Pence, lives on.

An Arizona Republican lawmaker is under fire after calling for the public hanging of a Democratic congresswoman in a social media post that critics say amounts to an incitement to violence.  Gillette has since claimed that he never called for the congresswoman to be "hung," just "executed."

But State Rep. John Gillette, a Kingman Republican and retired Army Reserve command sergeant major, did indeed write on X that U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington should be “tried, convicted and hanged” after watching a video in which she urged Americans to prepare for peaceful street protests against the Trump administration.

“Until people like this, that advocate for the overthrow of the American government are tried, convicted and hanged … it will continue,” Gillette posted.

The remark, first reported by the Arizona Mirror, was directed at a short clip taken from Jayapal’s “Resistance Lab” series, which highlights strategies for nonviolent resistance. Nothing in the clip, nor in the full-length video, advocates for violence or the overthrow of government. Instead, the congresswoman explicitly urged the use of peaceful protest and voiced alarm at the rise of political violence in the United States.

Jayapal responded sharply, calling Gillette’s words “appalling, unacceptable, and dangerous.”

“Two days ago, an elected member of the Arizona State House of Representatives called for me and those who advocate for nonviolent resistance training to be ‘tried, convicted and hanged,’” Jayapal said in a statement. “This is a call to violence designed to suppress nonviolent democratic organizing against authoritarianism and further polarize the American public for political gain. Sadly, it makes the world a more dangerous place for each of us.”

The Washington Democrat, who has trained more than 15,000 people across the country in the principles of nonviolent resistance, said her work explicitly draws from leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. “We simply cannot normalize this violent political speech,” she added. “All political leaders, of all parties, should denounce this and embrace one another as equals, deserving of care and respect.”

National Democratic leaders echoed her condemnation. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Gillette’s post “dangerous” and “unconscionable,” urging Arizona’s Republican leadership to hold him accountable. House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark described the remarks as “vile,” while Rep. Yassamin Ansari of Phoenix demanded his expulsion from the state legislature.

Gillette, who has previously referred to January 6 defendants as “political prisoners” and described Muslims as “terrorists,” later insisted that his comments had been mischaracterized. In a Facebook post, he claimed he was not specifically calling for Jayapal’s execution but was referring more broadly to those who, in his words, attempt to “overthrow the United States Government.” He argued that such acts should be punishable by death under established law.

That claim, however, is inaccurate. Federal law sets the maximum penalty for insurrection at ten years in prison, while treason carries a range of punishments from five years in prison to the death penalty. Peaceful protest and political dissent are protected under the First Amendment and do not meet the legal definition of either crime.

Gillette has not publicly retracted his initial call for Jayapal to be hanged. Arizona Republican leaders, including House Speaker Steve Montenegro and GOP Chairwoman Gina Swoboda, have remained silent.

Jayapal, meanwhile, said she intends to continue her organizing work despite the threats. “My trainings give people a voice and a means to effect change without resorting to the exact sort of violent escalation that Representative Gillette is calling for,” she said. “I intend to continue to train and organize for nonviolent change in our country that lifts up all people and preserves our democracy.”