By Benjie Cooper
IG: @nuglifenews
YouTube: Lucid’s Vlog
69-year-old Virginia Beach resident, Wallace Godwin was arrested Friday on charges of threatening to assault and murder United States Representative Scott Taylor [R] and two of his staff members.
Congressman Scott Taylor
Taylor is a former Navy SEAL and a supporter of legal cannabis and in 2017 signed onto H.R. 1227, a bill calling for the deregulation of marijuana and its removal from the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (CSA).
Being a staunchly outspoken opponent of cannabis and any legalization efforts, Godwin went to Taylor’s office in Virginia Beach Thursday to talk to him about his position on the matter, but the representative was not present. During a discussion with one of the staff members, while he was there, Godwin became aggravated and began making threats.
Godwin leaned over the reception desk and began yelling.
“Scott is having an event this Saturday,” Godwin was quoted as saying. “I am going to get my shotgun and do something about this. I will just handle this myself.”
“I Will Be There”
Godwin is then said to have pointed at the two staffers in the room with him and told them that they were next.
Frightened, the staff members contacted U.S. Capitol Police and reported the incident. Special Agent Gerren Stith drafted up a warrant before arresting Godwin and taking him to Norfolk Federal District Court where he was charged with threatening to assault and murder a U.S. official.
If convicted, Wallace could face up to ten years in prison.
But this is apparently not the first time that Godwin has acted out his opposition to cannabis. In addition to numerous social media posts expressing his unhappiness with how relaxed marijuana law enforcement has become in the U.S., in 2017 Godwin drove to Scott Taylor’s house and blocked the driveway with his car so the congressman would stop and talk to him about marijuana policy.
Anti-Cannabis Tweets From Goodwin
When Taylor finally came out of his house and told Godwin to leave, he is said to have complied.
Godwin also filed a lawsuit against the federal government in 2017 claiming that marijuana laws were not being enforced in the United States.
A federal judge dismissed Godwin’s lawsuit in October on the grounds that it had no basis to contest the government’s enforcement of the CSA.
“I want to be as clear as I can be,” said Taylor in a statement after Friday’s incident. “Threats of violence against elected officials and their staff can never be tolerated. The tone of our discourse has come to unacceptable and dangerous levels. I call on everyone, and I mean everyone, to please calm down. We are all Americans. There is so much that unites us.”
Wallace Godwin has a bond hearing scheduled for Tuesday, March 27 at 2:30.
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