Texas state Rep. Briscoe Cain on Saturday bragged that his controversial gun tweet that many deemed as a threat against Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke had actually helped boost his popularity among voters.
“I don’t regret it. I just checked Twitter again, and I still can’t use it,” Mr. Cain, a Republican, said at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, The Texas Tribune reported.
“It was good for both of us,” he said. “I trended [on Twitter]. I increased my name ID. It is what I believe. I don’t regret it at all.”
Mr. Cain was suspended from Twitter earlier this month for his response to Mr. O’Rourke’s controversial call during the last primary debate to confiscate law-abiding Americans’ military-style rifles.
“Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47,” Mr. O’Rourke declared.
“My AR is ready for you,” Mr. Cain tweeted.
Mr. O’Rourke later said he considered Mr. Cain’s tweet to be a death threat and alerted the FBI. He used the incident to fundraise for Mr. Cain’s challenger, Josh Markle, The Tribune reported.
Mr. Cain has denied his tweet was a threat, telling Fox News earlier this month that Mr. O’Rourke was the one making threats that he’s going to confiscate people’s property.
“He’s threatened to trespass on my property and the property of others or to kick down our door and take from us,” the Republican said.
“What I wrote really is just another way of saying ‘Come and take it,’” Mr. Cain added, a reference to a popular rally cry in the Texas Revolution.
