Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) stormed out of a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on political violence Tuesday after being called out for a controversial endorsement tied to threats of violence against Republicans. The moment came as commentator Michael Knowles delivered testimony detailing his own experience with left-wing aggression and calling on lawmakers to address a double standard in condemning political violence.
The hearing, led by Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), focused on “rising political violence in America.” Knowles—who in 2023 was targeted by Antifa activists during a speech at the University of Pittsburgh—argued that the left’s selective outrage toward violence was eroding public trust.
“I think Senator Booker made a good point just a moment ago when he said we have to self-examine, we have to be introspective,” Knowles began. “And I can’t help but think of a line today: ‘Jay Jones has the vision, commitment, and integrity to keep families safe.’ That’s the endorsement of Senator Booker for a man who called for a Republican to be murdered, for his children to be murdered, and said he’d urinate on the graves of multiple Republicans.”
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Jones is facing widespread criticism after reports surfaced showing he sent disturbing text messages in 2022 that included violent rhetoric toward Republicans. The controversy has grown in recent weeks because Sen. Booker, who endorsed Jones earlier this year, has not withdrawn his support—prompting backlash and heated exchanges during a Senate hearing on political violence.
Jones’s private texts from August 2022 were revealed this month. In those messages, Jones allegedly joked about or wished death on political opponents, saying that if certain Republicans died before him, he would attend their funerals “to piss on their graves.” He also reportedly wrote that Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert should get “two bullets to the head” if ranked alongside Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot. Other texts allegedly mocked Gilbert’s family, referring to his children as “little fascists” and describing him and his wife as “evil people breeding little fascists.”
“In the spirit of introspection, Senator Booker is standing by this endorsement—so I suppose I would invite, well, perhaps I should have looked, because Senator Booker has left the room, and I think I can guess why,” Knowles said. “You cannot have a professor who wants to teach students and desires to kill half of them.”
“You certainly cannot have law enforcement officers who would engage in this kind of violent rhetoric against half of their constituents. So long as anyone stands by an endorsement such as that, their words are meaningless. They are shedding crocodile tears on the topic of political violence.”
What has made the situation even more controversial is that major Democrats, including Cory Booker, have not rescinded their endorsements. Booker had praised Jones as a “leader with vision and integrity” back in June, months before the texts became public. Critics argue that his silence since the revelations contradicts the Democratic Party’s public calls to denounce political violence.
The hearing came amid renewed scrutiny of political violence after the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, which spurred Republicans to spotlight what they describe as an underreported pattern of left-wing extremism. Knowles’ testimony referenced the 2023 University of Pittsburgh incident, when far-left protesters reportedly launched fireworks and smoke bombs during his appearance on campus. He said the attack—and the lack of significant punishment for those responsible—illustrated a growing tolerance for violence against conservatives.
