Democratic operative James Devine appeared Monday on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" to defend his tweet using the hashtag #HuntRepublicanCongressmen after Rep. Steve Scalise (R., La.) and others were shot.
Devine argued on Twitter that the shooting naturally resulted from conservative policies and rhetoric.
https://twitter.com/James_J_Devine/status/875070675106627585
Complain about #HuntRepublicans hashtag only if you rebuked @SarahPalinUSA's crosshairs on @GabbyGiffords or the image below Otherwise #GFYS pic.twitter.com/7fPhRljhgM
— James Devine (@James_J_Devine) June 15, 2017
Devine told Carlson that he was not in favor of violence, but he repeatedly made statements that seemed to condone "hunting" Republicans.
"The point I am making is that after year after year after year of hearing the same kind of violent rhetoric from the right, the left has every reason to com forward and stand up," Devine said. "When you are confronted with bullies, you have to fight fire with fire. You have to stand up to them."
As evidence of right-wing "violent rhetoric," Devine cited the accusation that Sarah Palin incited the shooting of former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D., Ariz.). That accusation has been ruled false by various fact-checkers, and the New York Times issued a correction to an editorial stating that Palin incited the man who shot Giffords.
"Sarah Palin put the crosshairs on Congress, I'm just saying hunt Republicans instead of Democrats," he said.
Carlson pressed Devine to disavow his previous statements, but he maintained that Republicans deserve the blame for violence in America.
"My point is that enough is enough," he said at the end of the interview. "It is not about taking up arms, it is about coming together and fighting back."