Keith Ellison says he has ‘never’ seen Bernie Sanders supporters being ‘unusually mean or rude.’ He should get out more

“I have never seen [Sen. Bernie Sanders] supporters being unusually mean or rude,” Ellison tweeted. “Can someone send me an example of a ‘Bernie Bro’ being bad. Also, are we holding all candidates responsible for the behavior of some of their supporters? Waiting to hear.”

Ellison is correct that candidates are not responsible for the actions of their followers. Individuals are responsible for what they do, no one else. But it is astonishing that Ellison would claim to be unfamiliar with the senator’s rabid and militant fan base.

Just off the top of my head, I can think of at least three high-profile examples of when Sanders’s supporters and associates acted in an “unusually mean or rude” way.

Thing 1: James Hodgkinson

This one is obvious. Hodgkinson, a proud Bernie Sanders supporter, literally opened fire in 2017 on Republican House members as they practiced on a Virginia baseball diamond for the annual Congressional Baseball Game. Were it not for the quick thinking of nearby law enforcement officials, Hodgkinson likely would have slaughtered multiple members of Congress that day.

Republican Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana was badly injured in the attack and nearly died. That’s why he responded on Feb. 20 to Ellison’s demand for proof of bad behavior with a tweet that reads, “I can think of an example.”

Thing 2: Alex Friedmann

Alex Friedmann, a former adviser to Sanders on criminal justice issues, is accused of hiding weapons and ammunition inside a prison to be used later for a violent jailbreak.

“Friedmann, a prison reform advocate who helped shape the Vermont senator’s criminal justice agenda,” the Washington Free Beacon reported, “spent months plotting an escape for inmates of the city’s detention center. Sanders worked with Friedmann to develop positions on criminal justice in the lead up to his 2016 presidential campaign — positions Sanders still touts.”

The report adds, “Friedmann was arrested last month after he posed as a construction worker, entered the Nashville detention center, stole keys that could open 100 doors, and made a diagram of the jail’s layout. He attempted to eat the diagram during his arrest. The facility delayed its opening until April to replace all of the locks. It has now pushed its opening back even further to ensure personnel can do their jobs in a safe and secure environment.”

This is not even Friedmann’s first brush with the law.

He was previously arrested in 1987 on charges of “armed robbery and assault with attempt to commit murder,” the Washington Free Beacon reported. “In 1991, he was convicted of attempted aggravated robbery and spent 10 years in prison. Friedmann began to battle for prison reform after being paroled in 1999.”

Friedmann is being held on a $2.5 million bond.

Thing 3: Kyle Jurek

Kyle Jurek, who was an Iowa field organizer for Sanders, was caught on tape in January warning of violent reprisals should the Vermont senator fail to win the Democratic nomination.

“If Bernie doesn’t get the nomination,” Jurek promised, “or it goes to a second round at the DNC convention, f—ing Milwaukee will burn. It’ll start in Milwaukee, and, then, when they f—ing — when the police push back on that, other cities will just f—ing — ”

He paused there to imitate the sound of an explosion.

“The cops are going be the ones that are getting f—ing beating in Milwaukee,” Jurek said.

Elsewhere, he said supporters of President Trump will likely require reeducation.

“I mean, we gotta try,” Jurek said. “Like, in Nazi Germany after the fall of the Nazi Party, there was a sh-t-ton of the populace that was f—ing Nazified. Germany had to spend billions of dollars reeducating their f—ing people to not be Nazis.”

He added, “Like, we’re probably going to have to do the same f—ing thing here. That’s kind of what Bernie’s f—ing like, ‘Hey, free education for everybody!’ because we’re going to have to teach you to not be a f—ing Nazi.”

And this is to say nothing of all the very online northeast weirdos whose love for Sanders is matched only by their uncontrollable, seething rage at whatever happens to catch their attention at that moment.

Again, Sanders is not to blame for how these people act and behave. He is not to blame when his supporters act like reprobates. But lousy Sanders fans not only exist, they are prominent. Ellison is either lying or ignorant when he tries to suggest otherwise.