PRAIRIE DU CHEN, Wis. — The western Wisconsin member of Congress, Derrick Van Orden, responded to the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk by fanning the flames of political violence. Without any evidence and even before the assassin was identified, Van Orden, a Republican, rushed online and blamed Democrats with scrambled political history: “The Left and their policies are leading America into a civil war. And they want it. Just like the Democratic party wanted our first civil war. The gloves are off. This I will defend.” Van Orden, once a Navy Seal, has nurtured a he-man image and politically is known to shoot first and ask later.
Arriving on Harley. At the Capitol in 2023 for swearing in for his first term in Congress.