INDIANAPOLIS — Rep. André Carson said Tuesday he was among a list of lawmakers targeted for an attack during last week's siege at the U.S. Capitol.
Carson said he has learned his name appeared on a list of "good guys" and "bad guys" targeted for attacks by a person who has been indicted for their alleged role in the insurrection on Jan. 6.
"The indicted terrorist had the means and opportunity to carry out his plans to violently attack, injure and destroy government officials and related offices in our Nation’s Capitol. These were not idle threats. These were planned and organized measures to take my life, my colleagues’ lives and try to destroy our government," Carson said in a statement.
According to The Hill, Carson's name appeared on a handwritten note found in suspect Lonnie Coffman's truck. A photo of the note was released as evidence by the federal prosecutor's office.
The list noted that Carson is one of two Muslims in the House of Representatives.
In his statement, Carson said he has been targeted before "as a Black man and a Muslim fighting for equality" and that he had issued warnings about white nationalists to his colleagues in the past.
"Seeing these seditionists rampage throughout the Capitol with their confederate flags, learning that many of the attackers had affiliations with law enforcement organizations, and then seeing the arsenals these attackers held, there should no longer be any doubt that this dangerous threat must be addressed as soon as possible. Everyone who supported these attacks must be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent possible," Carson said.
Coffman, a 70-year-old Alabama man, was indicted on 17 charges for his alleged role in the attack. The charges against Coffman include possession of an unregistered firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, carrying a pistol without of license, carrying a shotgun or rifle and possession of a large-capacity ammunition feeding device.
Coffman's truck allegedly contained 11 explosive devices known as Molotov cocktails and firearms.
"No American should ever be targeted for violence or death because they are Black, or Muslim, or because of their race or creed," Carson said. "We must get all the facts about these attacks, including those complicit in their planning and execution, and we must work together to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”
Rep. Carson's full statement:
“It is extremely disturbing to learn from press reports that I was one of several individuals identified in a list of “good guys” and “bad guys” targeted for attacks. The indicted terrorist had the means and opportunity to carry out his plans to violently attack, injure and destroy government officials and related offices in our Nation’s Capitol. These were not idle threats. These were planned and organized measures to take my life, my colleagues’ lives and try to destroy our government.
As a former law enforcement officer, it is especially disappointing to see the failure of law enforcement officials, including the U.S. Capitol Police, to notify individuals like myself that we were targeted and at risk from the indicted terrorist and his co-conspirators.
I have already called for thorough investigations into the security failures that allowed the U.S. Capitol to be overtaken by violent insurrectionists. But the information included in the Coffman indictment make it clear that law enforcement agencies failed to heed the countless warnings of violence planned for January 6th and they were completely unprepared and understaffed.
Sadly, as a Black man and a Muslim fighting for equality, I have often been the target of death threats by domestic terrorists. For years, I have warned my colleagues about the serious threat to national security by white nationalist domestic terrorists. Seeing these seditionists rampage throughout the Capitol with their confederate flags, learning that many of the attackers had affiliations with law enforcement organizations, and then seeing the arsenals these attackers held, there should no longer be any doubt that this dangerous threat must be addressed as soon as possible. Everyone who supported these attacks must be identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.
No American should ever be targeted for violence or death because they are Black, or Muslim, or because of their race or creed. We must get all the facts about these attacks, including those complicit in their planning and execution, and we must work together to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”