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Right-Wing Death Threats Are Forcing A Virginia Lawmaker Into Hiding
With a January 20 gun rights rally looming, socialist Lee Carter is going to ground and the governor has declared a state of emergency
The Virginia General Assembly, which flipped from Republican to Democratic control in November, is expected to be in regular session on January 20. But at least one elected delegate, Lee Carter, who represents the town of Manassas, will take the day off — and not just to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Having become the subject of a heated conspiracy theory swirling around pending gun-control legislation, he plans to spend the day in a safe house, “someplace where the address was never published,” he emphasizes.
“To maximize my chance of survival, I may have to miss some votes,” he says. “I’m not interested in becoming a martyr.”
The south’s only socialist legislator, whose election in 2017 presaged the “blue wave” that swept leftists like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez into power the following year, is no stranger to political combat. Carter has aggressively criticized both the GOP and his erstwhile Democratic colleagues, whom he largely views as ineffectual, misguided, and in thrall to corporate interests. He is a sharp presence on Twitter, often punching back…
