Punish Schumer or All Judges Can Be Threatened [OPINION]

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) lashed out at two Supreme Court Justices – both Trump appointees – this week and needs to be incarcerated and charged for it.

“I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You won’t know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions," Schumer said that earlier this week in front of the Supreme Court building while speaking to a crowd of pro-abortion protesters.

If this is not prosecutable, how can any other judge around the nation expect to hold those who threaten them accountable?

The Supreme Court is reviewing a case in Louisiana in which they may vote to uphold a law that would compel protections for babies born alive after surviving abortion procedures.

However, the case involved isn't pertinent to the topic. Nevermind your personal views or opinions, the senator's threat is the focus.

Alexander Hamilton once wrote that our judges need to be given permanent tenure so that they would have no fear of political reactions to their decisions. They shouldn't have to worry about elections. I now agree.

Senator Schumer is not above the law. As we know, he has been spouting that "No one is above the law" in his obsession to impeach President Trump.

It will not be enough that Schumer will be censured by the Senate. It's not enough that he will likely never be Senate Majority Leader now. What does that possibly do to deter a new standard in allowing verbal threats of force to judges across America?

If Schumer can tell Supreme Court Justices that they are going to pay a heavy price that they need to fear, for not ruling in a way that pleases him personally, what can't a violent murder defendant say to warn to a judge presiding over his fate?

Ironically, one of Schumer's constituents in Millwood, New York is a good example of what happens when a judge is threatened by someone who is really not above the law.

Westchester County Police arrested a New Castle man on Monday, September 9, 2019, and charged him with "making a threat to harm a member of the judiciary."

Steven McDowell, 41, was charged with making a terroristic threat, a felony. He was booked at County Police headquarters in Hawthorne and held overnight and then arraigned.

Here's another case for irony: a Florida man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for threatening a judge while speaking to a police dispatcher over the phone during a 9-1-1 call.

And those threats were to local county judges. How can a nation react lesser to a direct threat against our most powerful federal justices by a man with immense powers?

Indeed, what would happen to a pro-life Republican senator who threatened liberal judges who are known to defend a woman's right to choose abortion?

Attorneys across the land will have a field day demonstrating unequal protections under the law if Schumer is not dealt with appropriately.

In an era of increasingly frequent threats of violence against judges, we need to expect more from those like Schumer who are charged with safeguarding law and order through legislation.

It is ponderous that no Democrats or major news outlets, known to be organs of the Democratic Party, have come out and condemned this.

There is no place in government for those who harbor suppressed desires to punish our justices. There is no excuse for not proportionately condemning the words of Senator Schumer, now that he has let us know what is in his mind.

Ken Pittman is the host of The Ken Pittman Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Contact him at ken.pittman@townsquaremedia.com. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.