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.

Trump Iran framework gambles on diplomacy despite warning Tehran will ‘lie and cheat’

Dem Senate hopeful under fire for resurfaced comments calling cops ‘opportunistic cowards’

JD Vance says he and Joy Behar are ‘best friends now’

Illegal immigrants among 15 charged in $1.4 million Massachusetts benefits fraud crackdown

Here It Is: The Full Text of the US-Iran Agreement Trump Signed at Versailles

Soros Puppet, Philly DA Caught Doing Shocking Favors for Murderers – So Inappropriate That PA Supreme Court Is Intervening

Lawmakers scramble after Trump derails bid to revive key counterterrorism tool days after FBI thwarts UFC plot

Supreme Court unanimously strikes down gun law used to prosecute Hunter Biden

Jason Whitlock: Gregg Popovich’s ‘Communist’ Politics Gave Spurs Star a ‘Victim’ Mentality

‘I’m Going to Rip Your Teeth Out’: UK Code Enforcement Officer Freaks Out During Mohammed Discussion

Interior Department heralds algae treatment in Reflecting Pool, comparing it to ‘destroyed’ Iranian navy

LDS church celebrates delivering 6.5M meals across all 50 states for America250 anniversary

Gilgo Beach serial killer Rex Heuermann kept ‘Dexter’-style kill room but wasn’t as smart as he thought: DA

Several Trump-Endorsed Candidates Score Big Primary Wins, One Suffers a Close Loss

Hegseth announces 6-month review of American forces in Europe, blasts NATO allies for putting troops ‘at risk’

See also Trump arrives for UFC fight

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.”