Salon Writer Says Column on ‘MAGA Theocrats’ Drew Death Threats: ‘Proves My Point About the Extremists’

Salon’s Brian Karem says a recent column of his about the ascension of House Speaker Mike Johnson drew death threats to a degree he hasn’t seen since Donald Trump was president.

Karem, in a Friday tweet with a link to the piece, said it “kind of proves my point about the extremists.” He also pointed out that Fox News, Meghan McCain and Marjorie Taylor Green had written about it or “complained about it.”

“I think that says it all,” Karem tweeted about the reaction to the column, a highlight of which was a turn of phrase in which he called the House of Representatives under Johnson a “discount version of the apocalyptic orgasm the holy rollers have dreamed of for years.”

A Salon spokesperson said the outlet had discussed the death threats with Karem. It was unclear what if any measures Karem or the outlet has taken in response to them.

“I’m thankful Salon reached out and I’m glad they’re aware,” Karem said in a statement provided to TheWrap.

In the column, published Thurday, Karem frames his commentary about new Speaker Johnson around three recent news events:

• An FBI warning about potential domestic terrorist threats inspired by the Hamas attacks on Israel and the ensuing war

• A bipartisan effort led by President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to shape a response to the threats AI poses

• The legislative efforts on funding packages for Israel and Ukraine

“While the world burns,” Karem wrote in the column, “Johnson and the MAGA wing of the Republican Party — which seems to have swallowed the evangelical movement while also embracing it (a T-1000 morphing into Sarah Connor is just about the right image) — is embracing the darkest verses of the Bible, apparently pushing for apocalypse with an enthusiasm only rivaled by Saul’s slaughter of Christians before he changed his name to Paul.”

Karem continued, writing that Republicans “want no separation of church and state. They want an isolationist country surrounded by walls and dedicated to the proposition that the First Amendment guarantees them the right to worship any way they want — while forcing the rest of us to worship the way they choose.”

Fox News Digital posted a news story Friday on its website about the column, writing that Karem “is targeting prominent Republicans once again.”

McCain and Taylor Greene also took umbrage with his words.

McCain simply tweeted, “Go f–k yourself,” with a now-broken link to the column, while Taylor Greene took a more thoughtful approach.

“The DOJ also labels us terrorists,” Taylor Greene wrote. “But don’t worry I’m sure 23 Republicans will fire off strongly worded letters and media hits instead of censuring Terrorist Tlaib or taking any measurable action of accountability to stop the left from sending us to re-education camps.”

See those tweets below.

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