Oregon Senate Session Canceled After Militia Threat

Senate floor sessions were planned for this weekend, but Saturday’s session was canceled after militia groups threatened to show up at the Capitol in Salem, state Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward tweeted Friday evening.

Oregon State Police confirmed to KATU that Saturday’s session was called off. The Associated Press reported a spokeswoman for Senate President Peter Courtney said state police recommended the Capitol be closed Saturday.

For the last two days, Senate Republicans have staged a walkout in protest over a controversial cap and trade bill Democrats say is needed to curb human-caused climate change. The walkout has denied the Senate a quorum.

In her tweet, Steiner Hayward, a Democrat, attached a text message informing members to stay clear of the Capitol.

After media began reporting on her tweet, Steiner Hayward deleted it. But before she did, KATU News had grabbed a screen capture of it.

Before this week’s walkout, rhetoric became heated and Republican state Sen. Brian Boquist made threatening remarks toward other lawmakers and OSP troopers as Gov. Kate Brown and Senate Democrats considered calling in state police to bring missing senators back into the Senate chamber.

Samaritan’s Purse Plane Hijacked While on Aid Mission

WATCH: Dem lawmaker thanks Trump for pardon, says it came as a surprise amid re-election bid

Watch: Jake Tapper Masterfully Takes Down Dems, Critics Accusing Trump of Sleeping During Meeting

State Department announces renaming USIP ‘Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace’

PA school faces fury after Muslim club’s pro-Palestinian display leaves Jewish students ‘shaken’

Haitian gang leader learns sentence for orchestrating kidnapping of 16 American missionaries

Illinois church Nativity shows baby Jesus zip-tied by ICE agents

GOP dismisses off-year races as Democrats eye 2026 Senate takeover

Trump to Yank SNAP Food Aid from Dem States Who Refuse to Share Data to Catch Fraudsters

Rep Nancy Mace slaps down early retirement rumor: ‘BIG FAT NO from me’

As Trump’s standoff with Maduro deepens, experts warn the next move may force a showdown

Federal Agents Flood New Orleans to Take Down Illegal Immigrant Robbers and Rapists

Dystopia: UK Woman Recalls Being Arrested by Multiple Officers for Hate Crime While She Was Naked, After Sending Harmless Text Message

Decomposed body found in Connecticut after standoff with man who opened fire at police

Adams issues orders blocking NYC from boycotting Israel as clash with Mamdani grows

Courtney and House Speaker Tina Kotek, both Democrats, issued a joint statement Friday afternoon condemning Boquist’s remarks.

“We strongly condemn the comments made this week in the Oregon State Capitol by Senator Brian Boquist threatening lawmakers and Oregon State Police troopers. Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day in the name of protecting Oregonians and should never be subject to these kinds of threats, let alone from a public official. His comments have created fear among employees in our workplace. We will always defend free speech and welcome frank policy discussions, but threats like these are unacceptable.”

When Republicans began their walk out Thursday, Brown called in state troopers to find the senators and bring them back to the Senate, but most have reportedly left the state.

Shortly after it was announced the Senate had canceled its Saturday session, the Oregon Republican Party tweeted the Democrats had canceled the session because of a “fear that Republican voters may show up.”