Ever entertained by the morbid escalation of civil unrest, media types and verified social media users -- on both team right team left -- responded to the storming of the U.S. capitol by calling for police to use deadly force on protesters.
"Shoot the protestors. Waive the rules, impeach. Waive the rules, convict. Waive the rules, deny the ability to run for election again," said self-described conservative radio host Erick Erickson in a tweet that was subsequently removed because it "violated the Twitter rules."
He later tried to justify his calls for gunfire, by pointing out that he had also called for others to be shot.
"I was saying the police should shoot the violent protestors this past summer. I'm saying the same thing now. Those of you upset with me now were fine with me then. Peacefully protest, but if you get shot storming the Capitol, I won't shed a tear."
Erickson's wish came true when protester Ashli Babbit was shot inside the U.S. capitol, in an incident now seen by the world via viral video. Babbit, a 14-year Air Force veteran died Wednesday afternoon.
But Erickson was not the only person of note to enthusiastically call for police to open fire on the crowd.
"Uh. Shoot them" wrote Forbes contributor Vincent Frank.
"They are now taking down the American flag in the capital and replacing it with a MAGA flag," he wrote in another tweet "Shoot. Them. All."
Former NFL and current XFL player Charles James II called on police to "shoot they ass" asking "what are y’all waiting on!"
The chorus of calls for gunfire by blue-check users was impressive.
Actor Matt Walton suggested that he would have preferred more casualties.
"Sadly, I don’t need a statement from law enforcement about why they shot one person," tweeted Walton. "I need a statement about why they didn’t shoot them all."
