An opinion article titled “Enough Is Enough … I Choose VIOLENCE” on the conservative website The Daily Caller, which was co-founded by Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel 15 years ago, has sparked backlash online.
Screenshots of the piece, written by editor-at-large Geoffrey Ingersoll, have circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism for his outward commentary, such as: “We need to reinstitute a public debt for anti-social and subversive behavior. In my opinion, some of this cost needs to be summary and ultra-violent.”
Newsweek has reached out to Daily Caller Editor-in-Chief Dylan Housman for comment via email on Friday.
Why It Matters
Ingersoll’s words come as political violence has been front and center in the news, with conservative activist Charlie Kirk assassinated on September 10. He was fatally shot during a question-and-answer session at Utah Valley University during his “American Comeback Tour.”
News and videos of Kirk’s assassination swept quickly through the country, with people immediately mourning him and leaders and prominent figures across the political spectrum condemning the violence. Most of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet attended Kirk’s memorial in Arizona last weekend, with Vice President JD Vance and Trump speaking onstage.
Kirk’s death comes just months after Minnesota Democratic state Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in their home.
In his Friday article, Ingersoll said that “in corrupt legal scenarios, where the judges, prosecutors and even police are all a part of a rigged system, what do we do? Choose violence.”
What To Know
“Somewhere deep down inside we’ve always known no one is coming to help us. We need to help ourselves,” Ingersoll wrote.
Ingersoll wrote that there should be a “cost,” a violent one, “for the lies, for taking the American people for granted, for selling them out at every end. For bullying them nonstop. Let’s reinstitute the cost.” He continued, “Moving past the legal ‘violence,’ let’s get to the actual violence, shall we?”
The column touched on what he saw as injustices, such as former FBI Director James Comey’s indictment compared to Steve Bannon’s prison sentence, or the dismissal of a felony assault charge for violence caught on tape. He called for investigations into top Democrats, such as “Ilhan Omar, AOC, Barack Obama, and everyone in Clinton world. Let’s put Biden world through the wringer. I’m freshly out of s****.”
He then turned on Republicans, saying: “I also don’t care if Democrats turn around and do the same thing to Republicans. The GOP is full of morally bankrupt, lying elites too. Swamp creatures, profiteers, unpatriotic turncoats, transactional voters in the Senate. Let’s purge them.”
He discouraged conservatives from “looking to peacefully assemble and publicly debate,” telling them they “need to be realistic. Nobody is going to help you. In fact, they’re going to encourage violence.”
Ingersoll then gave an example of how people should hire security that would have “no qualms hospitalizing” people who may assault someone, adding, “I want blood in the streets.”
Housman told The New York Times: “Geoff’s case is that said person should perhaps get punched back, because it’s pretty clear the cops aren’t going to do a damn thing about it,” adding, “I don’t think that’s a radical suggestion.” He also said that commentators making the column seem like a call for political violence “is totally dishonest,” adding that The Daily Caller would “never publish someone calling for violence simply over political disagreement.”
What People Are Saying
Jon Favreau, a political commentator and former speechwriter for President Barack Obama, on X on Friday: “The Daily Caller, a right-wing outlet that recently sat down in the Oval with Trump, publishes an editorial explicitly calling for violence. You’re looking into this, right @JDVance?”
Jessica Riedl, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, on X: “No big deal, just a Daily Caller editor openly calling for violence against his political opponents.”
President Donald Trump, during Charlie Kirk’s memorial last weekend: “I hate my opponents and I don’t want the best for them.”
Daniel Drezner, a political commentator and professor at Tufts University, on X: “Really looking forward to @JDVance condemning this without reservation ha ha ha just kidding he won’t say a god**** thing.”
Matthew Levitt, political scientist, on X on Friday: “Daily Caller Opinion Column ‘Explicitly’ Calls for Violence.”
What Happens Next
Ingersoll ended his column by calling for action: “Disproportionate. Violent. Action. Pain and suffering.”
