Nate McMurray, the Democrat candidate for New York’s 27th Congressional District, urged Twitter followers Wednesday to “report” Trump supporters.
“When you see fake videos, when you see racism, when you hear support for Trump, do not roll your eyes, do not play nice, do not worry about hurting someone’s feelings, CALL IT OUT — REPORT IT — FIGHT IT,” he wrote:
Thursday, immigration lawyer Matthew Kolken shared a screenshot of McMurray’s tweet and said, “This is a dangerous chill of 1st Amendment freedoms”:
However, McMurray appeared to have amended the “REPORT IT – FIGHT IT” command with “TALK TO THEM – DO NOT GO WITH THE FLOW” in another tweet on Friday:
McMurray’s campaign website said there was nothing he valued more than the trust of his constituents.
He continued:
As your congressman, I will earn back your trust. You have my word that every step of the way, the investments I fight for in Washington will be for you, your family and our community. There are no party lines that stop corruption, so I will never let party politics distract me from protecting public trust and making sure my office is transparent and that we are holding those who profit from corruption accountable to the rule of law.
Also on Friday, McMurray described himself as a progressive, which to him meant “what we did before isn’t good enough.”
“America is a work in progress. We must do better tomorrow than we did today. I don’t want to make America ‘great again,’ that’s regressive. Forward. Better. Inch by inch, upon the sacrifices of each generation,” he tweeted.
Later, McMurray took a veiled swipe at President Trump and also told Twitter followers to report so-called racist content on social media:
However, several Twitter users fired back and asked if he was going to report them for exercising their right to free speech.
“I’m a Trump supporter. Whatcha gonna do about it? Are you gonna report me? This is the United States of America and we’re free citizens. I know you liberals are desperate to change that and abolish our freedoms,” one person said.
“In other words, Silence any opinion Nate doesn’t approve of! Do not express yourself or share any thoughts Nate does not agree with! Instead of a civilized debate, shout down the other person and ignore other possibilities! Individualism & free thoughts are forbidden!” another person wrote.