The hard-charging publicity arm of the National Rifle Association is engaged in an increasingly vicious Twitter battle with Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, as the firearms organization struggles to contain fallout from yet another mass shooting.
The result has been a multi-day social media battle between Houston's top law enforcement official and a prominent and outspoken NRA personality. On Tuesday, the dispute escalated to include threats of legal filings, references to Nazi Germany and suggestions of inappropriate surveillance.
After last Friday's mass shooting at Santa He High School in Texas, which left ten people dead and 13 wounded, Acevedo posted a desperate and emotional plea on his Facebook page to do something about gun violence.
“I know some have strong feelings about gun rights but I want you to know I’ve hit rock bottom and I am not interested in your views as it pertains to this issue," Acevedo wrote. "Please do not post anything about guns [not being] the problem and [that] there’s little we can do."
“This isn’t a time for prayers, and study and inaction," he continued. "It’s a time for prayers, action and the asking of God’s forgiveness for our inaction.”
He followed up the comments on CBS News' Face the Nation, calling on the public to vote out lawmakers "that are doing nothing" on gun violence.
NRATV, a combative video production and social media operation that frequently targets perceived opponents of the gun organization, soon released multiple videos of NRATV hosts and guests criticizing Acevedo over his statements on gun violence and his so-called "sanctuary city" stance.
“I call him a political hack, in many respects, because he does the bidding of left-wing city officers that hire him,” NRATV host Grant Stinchfield said in a clip the organization tweeted Monday. One Texas law enforcement officials, Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn, agreed in the clip, saying most law enforcement officers in Texas are “Second Amendment people.”
"Art Acevedo is a police chief who thinks it's completely appropriate to ignore the law of the land when it concerns legal immigration,” NRA spokesperson Dana Leosch said in a separate clip, “but thinks that he has the right to apparently go into every home in Texas and inspect how everybody's storing their #firearms."
Acevedo responded in a string of tweets late Monday night.
"NRATV is against what most major cities...police chiefs have to say about these issues," he wrote.
"NRATV is losing the moral high ground on what was once their core values, so let’s try to talk about anything and everything under the Sun to deflect from issue at hand," he replied to a tweet from Loesch. "We know we are on the right track when that happens."
Well here is a surprise the @NRATV is against what most major cities please police chiefs have to say about these issues. Two sessions ago rank & file organizations leaders & Police leaders in TEXAS joined forces to kill constitutional Carry legislation in TEXAS. That’s a fact!! https://t.co/kRxBsnfqvJ
— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) May 22, 2018
Here you go @NRATV this is reality. TEXAS police executives and Rank & file standing together to protect the 2nd Amendment by keeping firearms in the hands of law abiding Americans or sound mind. History will Show we are on the side of responsible gun owners & most Americans. https://t.co/kRxBsnfqvJ
— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) May 22, 2018
You @NRATV are out of touch with the majority of your own membership & the majority of the American people. Here’s what chiefs that protect a major portion of the American people believe about the these issues: https://t.co/GFTqvOGDhu https://t.co/opwumJIXJB
— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) May 22, 2018
Here we go, @NRATV is losing the moral high ground on what was once their core values, so let’s try to talk about anything and everything under the Sun to deflect from issue at hand. We know we are on the right track when that happens. https://t.co/sP5tGB45Gn
— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) May 22, 2018
When a third NRATV clip accused Acevedo of ignoring gang violence in Houston to go after gun owners, the police chief replied, "Blah blah blah," and linked to an article about his department's arrest of hundreds of gang members.
Acevedo "was incredibly unhappy that I and others called him out," Loesch said in a clip released on Twitter on Tuesday, accusing Acevedo of espousing a "gun-grabbing ideology."
“So Chief @ArtAcevedo, you support sanctuary city laws. You support lawlessness and law-breaking. You don’t get to cherry-pick what laws that you support … And you don’t get to lecture law-abiding Americans on what you think we should be able to do with our #2A.” – @DLoesch pic.twitter.com/WPWndmYhri
— NRATV (@NRATV) May 22, 2018
Acevedo responded with screenshots of him turning down Loesch’s interview request, and warned further discussion would take place in a legal setting.
"We will be watching and will do our talking in a court of law if the need arises," he wrote.
Like I was saying, blah, blah, blah. Stop misrepresenting &/or lying about my views. Your action is leading to harassment by your minions. You may just make testing the limits of your dishonesty & cyber bullying worthwhile in Court. Many top-notch firms would do so pro-bono. pic.twitter.com/KirUT42u5P
— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) May 23, 2018
Lastly, I will not respond any further to you on any platform outside of a legal process. Be on notice that we will be watching and will do our talking in a court of Law if the need arises. Good day. https://t.co/xGKhMfaDqq
— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) May 23, 2018
P.S. Dana, I Forgot to thank you for making my point in my response to your kind request for an appearance on your insignificant show. Before I close for the last time, did I mention court of law? I retain my right to explore the limits of your twisting of the truth in court. https://t.co/xbGm1ubuKl
— Chief Art Acevedo (@ArtAcevedo) May 23, 2018
Loesch retweeted a tweet from a conservative commentator comparing Acevedo to the Gestapo, and was still tweeting at the police chief into Wednesday afternoon.
"It’s surreal to see a chief reacting to free speech this way," she wrote, eventually questioning whether she was already under surveillance.
Wow, seriously? I simply criticized the hypocrisy of you lecturing law-abiding Americans while publicly supporting the disregard of federal immigration law. No one “misrepresented” you. It’s surreal to see a chief reacting to free speech this way. https://t.co/fwe6xpkikZ
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) May 23, 2018
A free people have the right to call to account elected or nominated political figures. I will continue to excercise my free speech and do so. You can continue to threaten censorship and surveillance. I’m sure that’s a good use of taxpayer dollars. https://t.co/ZW3QVkfadH
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) May 23, 2018
I forgot to ask this last night @ArtAcevedo : when you told me that “we will be watching” (as a result of you disliking my remarks on your reported-on support of sanctuary city policies), are you using the resources of the Houston PD to watch me? AM I under surveillance? https://t.co/VG5U2M5rdu
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) May 23, 2018
Kaynak:Abcnews