Republican lawmaker vows to run over protesters who block highways
thinkprogress.org/aaron-bernstine-pennsylvania-protesters-highways-8da527bc0a49/amp/
In the wake of heated protests in St. Louis following the acquittal of the cop who killed Anthony Lamar Smith, a self-described Christian lawmaker from Pennsylvania endorsed running over protesters who block roads.
While sharing a news story about the St. Louis protests, Pennsylvania Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R) tweeted that “[i]f anyone EVER tries to stop my car on a highway with negative intentions… I will not stop under any conditions.”
Other tidbits from the article include
Saturday morning wasn’t the first time Bernstine — a Trump supporter who’s serving his first term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives — has endorsed running over protesters with vehicles.
And
Running over protesters with cars is a tactic conservatives have sought to protect. As ThinkProgress reported last month, Republicans in six states “have pushed for laws this year that would shield drivers who hit protesters. The bills are part of a wave of anti-protest proposals introduced since the rise of the Black Lives Matter and anti-Trump resistance movements.”
And
Bernstine was also involved in controversy last month, after he claimed intruders vandalized his 107-acre beef cattle farm in New Beaver. He responded by posting a video to Facebook showing him participating in tactical firearms training, along with the hashtag #CastleDoctrine.
“I will never hesitate to defend my family should someone have tried to take that a step further,” Bernstine told a local news outlet at the time.
In his Facebook post, Bernstine claimed the alleged vandals were “just out of reach of the security cameras on our property.” Another local outlet reported that Bernstine never reported the incident to police.