Science fiction author Larry Niven once wrote, “No cause is so noble that it won’t attract fuggheads.”

He was right when he wrote that, and that statement is just as right today. Our cause of defending the Second Amendment is no exception. The truth is, most of us have met a few people who are on our side when we’d rather they not be for whatever reason. They’re the kind of people who paint us all in a bad light.

You know, people like this:

A 19-year-old Maryland man has been indicted on charges that he threatened to kill two high-profile liberal senators –  Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Kamala Harris of California – and to injure marchers at a gun control rally in Washington earlier this year.

The man, Nicholas Bukoski of Anne Arundel County, faces five felony counts: two for the alleged threats against Mr Sanders, an independent, and Ms Harris, a Democrat; and three that charge him with transmitting threats via interstate commerce.

In the indictment – which a federal grand jury returned on 11 April but was released only on Wednesday – specifics were sparse. But a memorandum filed by a federal prosecutor on Wednesday, which requested the court order the pretrial detention of Mr Bukoski, detailed the alleged threats.

Mr Bukoski, who faces robbery charges in an earlier unrelated episode, is suspected of sending Instagram messages to the offices of Mr Sanders and Ms Harris on 24 March, the day of the March for Our Lives rally, immediately before texting the Metropolitan Police Department tip line in Washington.

“Senator, I would watch your back as you’re out today,” read an Instagram message to Mr Sanders’ office.

“You wouldn’t want to be caught off guard when I use my second amendment protected firearm to rid the world of you, you stupid, crazy old fool.”

Two minutes later, according to the memorandum, an Instagram message was sent to Ms Harris’ office. It used a profane and sexist slur, then added, “I am going to make sure you and your radical lefty friends never get back in power you will never run for president, because you won’t make it to see that day.”

Let me make something very, very clear.

Messages like this are not acceptable. Ever.

If this Bukoski twerp is pro-Second Amendment–and I’m not ready to accept that outright at this point, there have been too many “false flag” situations lately for me to take it at face value–then he has misunderstood the nature of the Second Amendment. While yes, it is a defense against tyranny, it’s not a justification for assassination.

This kind of behavior happens in politics, unfortunately. It shouldn’t, but it does. It’s also nothing new in politics, though it may be happening more these days than it has in the past.

However, the Second Amendment also exists so people can protect themselves from people like this. It doesn’t exist to empower murderers and thugs, and anyone who would use violence for political reasons is a terrorist.

If you’re reading this and you’ve thought about doing something like this, stop. Just knock it off.

Bukoski hasn’t deterred Sanders or Harris from pushing more gun control. Instead, he’s managed to convince them that gun control is needed more now than ever.

Nice job, you jackwagon.