Hakeem Jeffries declared 'maximum warfare' on Republicans days before Trump assassination attempt

By Fox News · Fox News

Just days before an apparent assassination attempt on President Donald Trump's life, one of the Democratic Party’s leaders called for "maximum warfare" against Republicans. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., made the inflammatory remark while warning Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla. , against redrawing the state’s congressional map ahead of November’s midterm elections. Jeffries said that if DeSantis attempted to counter Democratic gains in Virginia following the state’s aggressive gerrymander, Democrats would continue to ratchet up pressure on Republicans nationwide. "We are in an era of maximum warfare. Everywhere, all the time," Jeffries said Wednesday at a news conference. DALLAS MAYOR WARNS RISING POLITICAL VIOLENCE COULD MEAN ICE FACILITY ATTACK ‘WON’T BE THE LAST’ Three days later, a California man allegedly attempted to assassinate the president Saturday evening at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. Cole Allen, 31, is accused of storming a Secret Service checkpoint while armed and intending to enter the hotel ballroom to kill Trump and administration officials. The alleged assassin was armed with a shotgun, handgun and several knives and opened fire on federal agents before being subdued. A Secret Service officer wearing a ballistic vest, whom Allen allegedly shot at close range, was released from the hospital Sunday. The gunman allegedly prepared a manifesto before the attack that included anti-Trump and anti-Christian messages, several law enforcement officials told Fox News. He is expected to be arraigned on several federal gun charges Monday. After the shooting, Republicans called on Democratic lawmakers to refrain from using warlike rhetoric to criticize Trump that could incite violence. The GOP made similar pleas in 2024 after two attempts on the president’s life in Butler, Pa., and at his golf club in Doral, Fla. But top Democrats have argued that Republicans, too, have used plenty of infla…