The beginning of America's bloody Civil War is generally remembered as the opening shot on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861.
And Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, fears another Fort Sumter is in our near future.
"America is heading in the direction of another Harpers Ferry," the controversial conservative tweeted Sunday. "After that comes Ft. Sumter."
King's tweet linked to an article from the conservative online news site PJ Media about a group of protesters who were staging an "occupy"-style campout in front of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Portland, Ore.
Harper's Ferry, Va., was the site of an 1859 raid on a federal armory led by militant abolitionist John Brown. Brown's attack was aimed at sparking a massive slave uprising and the violent act helped push the divided country toward civil war.
Political emotions have been running high in recent weeks after a massive public outcry against the administration's "zero tolerance" immigration policy when it resulted in the systematic separation of migrant families.
King's concern that the U.S. could be heading for another violent, internal conflict has been echoed by many voices in recent days after two administration officials were driven from restaurants because of opposition to their political views.
A call from Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., for activists to ramp up such harassment has further fueled concern that civility in American politics has eroded.
King himself has a history of remarks that have been criticized as inflammatory, divisive and racist. For example, he once said, "We can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies," in a tweet about immigration and shifting demographics.
King also recently mocked the appearance of Parkland, Fla., shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez and retweeted a known Nazi sympathizer who has expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler.
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