Democrat congressman’s chilling threat to border official should terrify every American, warns Glenn Beck

On Tuesday, February 10, during a heated House Homeland Security Committee hearing, Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar (Mich.) told U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, “You better hope you get pardoned.”

“That’s a threat,” says Glenn Beck, who was deeply disturbed by Thanedar’s words.

“He didn’t say, ‘You violated the law, and you should be investigated.’ What he said was, ‘When power changes hands, we’re going to punish you for enforcing the law.’ That distinction is everything,” he warns.

“The moment the enforcement itself becomes criminalized retroactively,” Glenn says, “the rule of law does not merely weaken; it completely flips.”

“The message is no longer, ‘Follow the law.’ The message becomes, ‘Guess who’s going to be in charge later? You better act accordingly,’” he explains. “That is not a democracy. That’s a legitimacy war.”

Thanedar’s threat, he says, is evidence that accelerationism — “the belief that everything needs to be burned down” — is migrating from fringe street movements into the halls of government itself.

In the streets, accelerationism sounds like, “Burn it down,” but in the government, it sounds like, “We’ll deal with you later,” Glenn explains.

“[Thanedar’s threat] is nothing I have ever heard ever in my lifetime in America, and it should chill all of us to the bone,” he says. “When lawmakers openly promise prosecutions after elections, they’re not talking about justice; they’re signaling veto power — the rule by anticipation of punishment.”

Glenn warns that some people are engaging in “casual talk” about “Nuremberg-style trials” that would treat “domestic opponents” as Nazi war criminals deserving execution or lifelong imprisonment after a power shift.

This should terrify everyone, he says.

“Applause for the idea of prosecuting the former regime at every level and anyone who was participating — that means you, that means me, anybody who was on the side of the right — you better look out,” he cautions.

“This is not about one person. This is not about left versus right. This is about something far more corrosive,” Glenn warns.

“The normalization of the idea that power exists to punish the previous holder of power — you’re a banana republic.”

To hear more Glenn’s commentary, watch the video above.

Want more from Glenn Beck?

To enjoy more of Glenn’s masterful storytelling, thought-provoking analysis, and uncanny ability to make sense of the chaos, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.