Cherokee Guns put up a billboard…
Note: we are republishing this story, which originally made the news in August 2019, amid record high levels of political division in America. According to Pew surveys, the US ranks among the highest in the world according to how many people feel more divided than before the pandemic. More on this here: https://www.latimes.com/politics/newsletter/2021-10-15/us-most-divided-nation-in-worldwide-survey-essential-politics
Cherokee Guns put up a billboard in North Carolina targeting the four Congress “squad” members; Reps. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib.
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The billboard features a picture of the four, with the words “The 4 Horsemen Cometh” written above. The word “cometh” is crossed out and replaced with the words “are Idiots” to read “The 4 Horsemen Cometh are Idiots.”
Speaking to WTVC, the store’s owner, Doc Wacholz, said that he chose the four women because of “their message of turning this country into a socialist country.”
President Trump’s recent tweet stated that “‘Progressive’ Democrat Congresswomen should go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” He did not mention their names, but it was clear he was referring to the four women of color – Ocasio-Cortez, Omar, Pressley and Tlaib – who have been vocal about Trump’s immigration policies. Three of the congresswomen are natural born US citizens, while Omar, who was born in Somalia, attained a US citizenship in 2000.
“I don’t care if it was four white women or four white guys that had their view – they’d be on the billboard,” Wacholz said.
Referring to the billboard, Tlaib tweeted, “How the hell is this not inciting violence?”
Twitter/Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley
Pressley stated that Trump’s “racist rhetoric has made hate our new normal.”
The billboard is set to be brought down, but according to Danny Coleman, a salesman for billboard company Allison Outdoor Advertising, another one has already been designed.
Coleman stated that Wacholz replaces the billboard every three weeks, and that the previous signs have all been political. However, this controversial sign was only put up on Tuesday.
“It broke our hearts that the controversy happened. Freedom of speech is a right. Unless it is something illegal or offensive, we use our best judgment and let it go. It is tragic what happened. He has been a great client of ours for a while, he just has his beliefs,” Coleman said, “I wish it hadn’t happened. I didn’t want to hurt anybody. … I hope that we can heal from it and people can forgive.”
Sources: CNN / Photo Credit: Twitter/Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, WXYZ-TV Detroit Channel 7
