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 supporters confronted with painful gas prices deliver striking response: ‘I’ll take that any day’

Mamdani-Linked Democratic Congressional Nominee Detained by IDF While in West Bank

Cuban American lawmakers hail Raúl Castro arrest warrant, vow to keep fighting for Cuba’s freedom

Man Who Claimed His Wife Was Taken by ICE Arrested on Murder Charge After Human Remains Found

GOP launches ‘Jihad Jeopardy’ game to highlight Abdul el Sayed’s controversies

DOJ accuses fraud ring of facilitating hundreds of sham marriages for illegal immigrants

Polling’s dirty little secret

Macron slams Trump for ‘stupid’ comments about French riots and warns public of ‘foreign manipulation’

Ilhan Omar finally emerges after DC raid with video pleading for cash to fight Trump

Ilhan Omar, Missing Since Her Home Was Raided, Emerges to Beg for Money on TikTok

Veteran, 81, Shot Dead While Driving Mobility Scooter at Georgia Walmart, Police Make Arrest

Secret sex video rocks University of North Carolina at Charlotte fraternity, 1 arrested: Police

Slain New Jersey mom’s autopsy report released months after stabbing death at home: report

Thune makes bold prediction about Republicans’ Senate chances as GOP pulls millions from key races

Australian politician struck by car in violent attack loses both legs

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.”