A Republican state senator in North Carolina is doubling down after making comments on social media paraphrasing a retired general who called on President Trump to invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act and suspend civil liberties such as habeas corpus.
State Sen. Bob Steinburg (R) reportedly called for the president to invoke the act and declare the results of the 2020 election invalid in a Facebook post paraphrasing retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, writing “President Trump must declare a national emergency” and adding that “Trump should also invoke the Insurrection Act.”
In an interview with Raleigh news station WRAL, Steinburg said initially that he was “putting out there options that others say still remain on the table” and was not endorsing the plan, though he reportedly added later in the interview that he would be on board with such an idea.
“If that’s what needs to be done, if there are people who have been identified as folks who are suspected of high crimes and misdemeanors, who are threatening the very security and foundation of our nation … for whatever period of time it takes to round them up, then yes,” he said of the plan.
During the interview, he also reportedly suggested that justices on the Supreme Court refused to hear two cases brought by pro-Trump attorneys in the hopes of overturning the election results due to fear of blackmail and repeated baseless allegations of widespread election and voter fraud that Trump allies have pushed for weeks since the president’s defeat.
I read that article and plan to contact the Senator’s office to express our support. What is dismaying is the commentary below the original article. Astonishing how ignorant and disturbed some people are.