Representative Hears Lynching Threats For Wanting To Impeach Trump

At a town hall meeting on Saturday, Texas Rep. Al Green said he was threatened with lynching after calling for the impeachment of President Trump earlier in the week. According to CBS News, Green reportedly played recordings of the threatening voicemails his congressional offices have received in the days since Green made the call for impeachment. Still, even in the face of the disturbing threats, Green's message hadn't changed.

We are not going to be intimidated. We are not going to allow this to cause us to deviate from what we believe to be the right thing to do and that is to proceed with the impeachment of President Trump.

According to recordings published by The Houston Chronicle, at least two of the voicemails received by Green's office referenced hanging him. One specifically referenced lynching. A word of caution if you listen to the recordings: In addition to the lynching reference, the messages also contain disturbing language, including racial slurs.

Green's town hall meeting on Saturday reportedly featured plenty of security. The meeting took place in Houston, in Texas's ninth congressional district, which Green represents. The Chronicle estimated that around 100 people attended the meeting, likely expecting to hear about Green's earlier calls for Trump's impeachment.

Green, who is a Democrat, announced Wednesday that he would call for the impeachment of Trump in the House of Representatives. In a statement published on his congressional website Monday, Green said, "President Trump is not above the law. He has committed an impeachable act and must be charged."

According to the statement, Green claimed the impeachable act was obstructing an FBI investigation into Russia's influence on the U.S. presidential election last year, and the Trump campaign's potential ties to that involvement. Trump has denied any allegations of wrongdoing and called the investigation a "witch hunt." Green's statement referenced Trump's decision to fire FBI director James Comey, whose bureau was conducting the investigation.

Trump's letter to Comey referenced the recommendations of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The president's letter said he hoped to restore "public trust and confidence" in the FBI. But to say that matters have gotten more complicated since Green's statement was released Monday would be an understatement.

Now, Trump is facing obstruction of justice allegations because of a memo reportedly written by Comey while he was still at the FBI. According to a New York Times report, Comey wrote that Trump asked him to drop an investigation into former national security advisor Michael Flynn. For its part, the White House denied the allegation in Comey's memo. "The president has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn," the statement reportedly read.

Now, Green may have more firepower in his calls to impeach Trump for obstruction of justice. As the congressman's statement noted, "Impeachment, of the president, by the House of Representatives is not a finding of guilt. The House of Representatives cannot find the president guilty of anything. Only the U.S. Senate can do this after a trial."

Still, Green's first step — calling for the impeachment — isn't wavering in the face of serious, troubling threats.