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Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) implored activists this week to call for change by confronting elected members of Congress. Booker, who has been mentioned as a possible 2020 presidential election candidate, was speaking Wednesday at the National Conference on Ending Homelessness in Washington, D.C. He concluded his address by encouraging people not to be passive, and to instead "go to the Hill today." -- "Please, get up in the face of some congresspeople," he said. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said during an MSNBC interview last month that Trump officials won't "be able to go to a restaurant" or "stop at a gas station," and that people are going to "turn on them." She also told a crowd of supporters that she wants “history to record" that Democrats "pushed back" against the Trump administration. Her comments were criticized by Republicans who said she looked to incite violence as a way of influence.
Fox News political analyst Gianno Caldwell said Saturday on "Fox & Friends" that "mob violence" seems to be the solution by Democrats when their ideas aren't supported. "This has become a very dangerous scenario at play," he said. Democrat strategist Rochelle Ritchie responded by saying that Booker wasn't inciting violence, but instead was only encouraging people address congressmen about homelessness. She said that taking a brief portion of Booker's speech misrepresented the senator's overall message. "He did not say get in the face of conservatives, he did not say get in the face of Republicans," she said. Caldwell agreed that Booker was not calling for actual physical violence, but called his comments careless and dangerous. He added that the message from Democrats in today's society is "You're wrong, I'm right." -- "Especially with the economy booming like it is, mob violence seems to be just the answer that they have," he said.