Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Republican state Sen. William M. Stanley Jr. needs to “man up” after reporting to police a possible threat from the father of slain TV journalist Alison Parker.
“Come on Bill, you’re tougher than that,” Mr. McAuliffe, a Democrat, said Thursday morning during a radio appearance on Richmond’s WRVA, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. “Man up. Come on. This is ridiculous.”
His comments come after The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Mr. Stanley made a report to police and obtained an application for a concealed-carry permit after Andy Parker, whose daughter was gunned down during a live report in August, sent him a Facebook message that said, “I’m going to be your worst nightmare you little bastard.”
Mr. Stanley said he felt threatened by the comment, but Mr. Parker said it was only intended as a “political threat,” he told The Post.
Mr. McAuliffe, who has appeared regularly with the pro-gun control dad, admitted that Mr. Parker “shouldn’t have written” the comment.
“I think Andy needs to be a little smarter in what he says,” he told the Times-Dispatch. “But I”ll give the guy a break.”
Mr. McAuliffe joked that Mr. Stanley is “cowering today in his home” and “probably has a contingent of police out in front of his house of today.”
“Listen, if I called the police every time someone went online and said much worse than ’I’m going to be your worst nightmare,’ I would spend 24/7 on the phone calling the police,” he said, the Times-Dispatch reported. “You know what, it’s silly season.”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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