FL Man Attacks Trump Supporters With Cane Sword

Mugshot of James L. Whitehurst II

The Florida Man meme is one of my all-time favorites in the history of the internet. Plus, let’s be honest, Florida men actually do enough weird stuff that the meme didn’t really have any choice but to form.

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And to think, all those years before, I thought Alabama was a strange place.

Regardless, though, Florida Man has given us much mirth through the years now. In fact, I recall seeing a page where someone proposed Florida Man as something like a superhero, that all those odd things were all the work of just one man.

Well, if that’s true, he’s a rather debonair superhero…in addition to really not liking Trump supporters.

Peaceful Florida citizens holding Trump signs were minding their own business in Dunnellon, Fla., last Thursday when a man rushed at them with a cane sword.

Police arrested 49-year-old James L. Whitehurst II and charged him with 10 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of disorderly conduct, the Ocala Star Banner reported.

Victims reportedly told police that Whitehurst had approached them during their peaceful assembly with what was described as a cane sword. The assailant allegedly pointed the sword in their faces and made threatening statements, holding the blade 6 inches from their faces.

Whitehurst confessed to having removed the sword from its holder and pointing it at the Trump supporters. He told police he meant no harm by the threatening action.

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I’m sorry, what? He meant no harm by pointing a sword at people and holding it just inches from their faces?

You know what? I buy that. I don’t think he meant to physically harm anyone.

I do, however, believe he meant to scare and intimidate people with his threats, however. I think he wanted them to think he meant them harm, and that’s the problem.

The truth is, though, Whitehurst is lucky to be alive. After all, if you were carrying and someone came at you with a sword–even a cane sword, which looks cool but is usually just a crap blade–what would you do? For a lot of people, they’d take it as a serious threat, draw their weapons, and fire.

That would make it a very bad day for Whitehurst indeed, assuming it happened as presented in the story. Even if he survived the shooting, he’d end up in the hospital undergoing all kinds of painful stuff, all while waiting to be released for a one-way trip to jail on the aggravated assault charges. Oh yes, he wouldn’t get to escape those in the least.

Look, I get people not liking Trump. While he’s a far sight better than I thought he’d be, I’m still not enamored with the man as president. I can only imagine how a liberal would view him and his supporters.

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That said, you don’t win elections by threatening everyone who supports the other guy. What you do is make it harder and harder for us to communicate about politics in a sane manner. You contribute to the unrest we feel in this society.

At this point, it’s only a matter of time before one of these moments turns deadly. When that happens, will that be the end of it, or will it be just the beginning of something ugly?

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