It’s no joke: Statement on comments from Sen. Markwayne Mullin

When political leaders joke about violence against those they disagree with or dislike, they demean their elected roles in American public life and the people they represent.

FOI Oklahoma takes U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin at his word when he says comments he made about a tragic shooting that took place in the U.S. Capitol in 1887, and how journalists today could be made to write fewer critical stories about President Donald Trump if disagreements were settled at the barrel of a gun, were intended as a joke.

But this is no joke. Journalists in Oklahoma, in the U.S. and across the globe have faced increasing levels of violence and threats of violence for doing their jobs. In 2024 there were 80 assaults on reporters in this country, according to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. The organization reports 1,105 attacks since it started keeping count in 2017.

Each assault can be viewed as an attack on First Amendment freedoms. Using violence against journalists is an established chapter in the anti-democratic playbook used by politicians across the globe and here at home.

It is disheartening that Oklahoma’s junior U.S. Senator not only used the tragic shooting death of a former member of Congress as the context for a “joke,” but also commented on it as a method to keep journalists in line.

Expressions of violence in our political system are something you don't joke about or expect from a member of the U.S. Senate unless you’re willfully ignorant of civics and history.

Kurt Gwartney, Executive Director

Freedom of Information Oklahoma