State Senator Jesse Hamilton (D-Central Brooklyn) late yesterday was the victim of a veiled death threat on a Twitter feed between a anti Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) member and a Maryland man who tweeted that in his state Democrats like Hamilton, “Would be taken out and shot.”
Hamilton, an extremely active lawmaker both on the legislative and constituent services side, was one of the eight IDC senate members that formally had a ruling coalition with senate Republicans. Recently the breakaway group rejoined the mainstream senate Democrats, but the increasingly radicalized left wing of the party are still bitter over the IDC.
This time the negativity came on social media when Seth Pollack, a member of No IDC NY, was met with a tweet from Twitter user Damian C18, who threatened Hamilton, “ Sad. In Maryland a Dem who did that would be take out and shot,” read the post.
Pollack quickly called out Damian, and made sure to reiterate his commitment to ousting Hamilton through this year’s elections.
“I don’t think that’s true and it’s awful to talk about shooting anyone. In NY we have elections this year and corruption investigations every year,” read Pollack’s replying tweet.
According to the user, Damian C18, his tweet was not meant to be a threat but taken as an old American expression for Hamilton’s lack of loyalty to his political party. Damian, a self-described Democrat, claims the tweet was taken out of context and not meant to be taken literally.
Pollack has no connection to Damian and in fact Damian is a resident of Washington D.C. with no ties to the Anti-IDC movement in Brooklyn.
However, that is not how Hamilton interpreted the tweet and he has already notified the senate’s Sargeant of Arms and the State Police about the situation. For the controversial lawmaker, this is one of many threats that have been spouted his way, including last year when the leftist Democratic fringe group #GetOrganizedBK posted Hamilton’s personal home address on social media in a call to protest where his family lived.
“Hamilton priorities are protecting the safety of his family and his office and in this current climate he doesn’t feel protected,” said a source close to Hamilton.
Sources close to Hamilton’s office are hoping the Anti-IDC movement will move away from threatening and hateful speech and focus on the issues. Hamilton is credited with passing Raise The Age legislation which raised the minimum age at which juveniles are tried in adult criminal court from 16 to 18.
In the past, the IDC has been the target of protests, as opponents claim the group’s alliance with Republicans blocked progressive legislation from making it to the senate floor including single-payer healthcare, bail bond reform and changes in reproductive rights and rent laws.
Currently, Hamilton is locked in a primary battle with challenger Zellnor Myrie, who looks to unseat the incumbent with help from the Working Families Party (WFP) and other progressive groups across the borough.
