WASHINGTON D.C. — At 11 p.m. on April 4, Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) that stirred some reaction.
In the video, he told the story of newspaper reporter Charles Kincaid fatally shooting former Congressman William Taulbee on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in 1890. The shooting stemmed from a volatile relationship between the two after Kincaid wrote a story saying Taulbee cheated on his wife.
The part that sparked controversy was at the end when he suggested less "fake news" would be written if disagreements were still handled this way.
"There's a lot we could say about reporters and the stories they write, but I bet they would write a lot less false stories, as President Trump says fake news, if we could still handle our differences that way," Mullin said in the video.
Two days later, Mullin, again on X, responded to a post from The Oklahoman about the video and implied that the comment was a joke.
"While you’re at it, don’t forget I also JOKED about bringing back caning to settle political disputes. Thanks for watching my videos. Imagine being a newspaper *this* out of touch with Oklahoma," he posted.
Mullin isn't new to suggesting violent solutions to disagreements in Congress.
In 2023, Mullin challenged Teamsters President Sean O'Brien to a fight during a Senate committee meeting.
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