Anti-CCS Activists Make Violent Threats Against State Rep For Disagreeing With Them

When State Representative Jessica Domangue published an op-ed in support of carbon capture and storage (CCS), she did what elected officials are supposed to do: she took a position, explained her reasoning, and invited public debate.

What followed was anything but civil discourse.

Domangue became the target of a harassment campaign from members of Save My Louisiana, a purportedly homegrown grassroots movement that in reality, works hand in hand with national environmental activist groups like the Sierra Club.

She was targeted with a barrage of alarming, unhinged messages that crossed every line separating legitimate political disagreement from outright intimidation.

Activists that belong to a Facebook group, The People Of Louisiana Against Carbon Capture Sequestration, (which is part of the Save My Louisiana umbrella) took to social media call her "garbage" and label her a "literal traitor." Some went further, saying she would face a "death sentence for treason” in a since deleted comment.

Others piled on, suggesting she was a "devil lady" who "needs another job." Another invoked divine punishment, writing, "She'll get hers one day when she stands before God!!" Another compared her and her colleagues to animals who "need to be caged up."

Perhaps most alarming was a private message Domangue received calling her a "damn disgrace" and warning that "we the people are coming to remove" everyone from office in support of CCS.

These are the rantings of people who have confused civic engagement with a mob mentality.

Elected officials like Representative Domangue deserve to do their jobs without being intimidated. Louisiana deserves better than a political environment where any lawmaker who takes a position is subjected to threats and harassment from an organized fringe.