Nebraska Democrat removed from party post after allegedly wishing Scalise dead
The chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party ousted a party official after a recording emerged in which the official said he wished House Majority Whip Steve Scalise had died, according to the Omaha World-Herald.
Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb removed Phil Montag from his role as co-chair of the state party's technology committee after the newspaper sent her a link to a recording in which Montag apparently said he wished Scalise was dead and said other offensive things about the Louisiana Republican, the newspaper reported. Scalise, now in fair condition, was seriously wounded after he was shot during a congressional baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, last week.
Montag denied the recorded conversation to the newspaper, saying he was "horrified" by the shooting of Scalise and never wished him dead. Montag claimed the recording, posted on a black news and advocacy site, was edited.
Kleeb told the newspaper she removed Montag from his position immediately, and reported the conversation to the police.
At the federal level, politicians on both sides of the aisle have condemned the attack on Scalise, perpetrated -- authorities believe -- by James T. Hodgkinson. Federal authorities have not yet determined Hodgkinson's motive. But his Facebook profile was filled with anti-GOP and anti-Trump rhetoric, and Hodgkinson had a list of six members of Congress on his person when he showed up at the congressional baseball practice.
Members of Congress, caught in partisan battles over health care and other hot-button issues, expressed some hope last week for unity after the incident that injured not only Scalise, but also, two U.S. Capitol Police officers, a current GOP staffer and a GOP staffer-turned lobbyist.
"An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us," Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said on the House floor shortly after the attack.
