In the long-running saga of political self-destruction, this latest episode fits squarely into the category of consequences meeting conduct.
For years, observers have joked about “Trump Derangement Syndrome” as a kind of rhetorical excess — a fevered obsession that manifests in overheated language and apocalyptic predictions. But what once lived mostly on cable panels and social media feeds has, in too many cases, crept into the real world. And when it does, the results are neither funny nor abstract.
On Sunday, that reality crystallized in a disturbing way. A librarian in Jackson County, West Virginia — not a fringe internet personality or anonymous troll, but a public employee — was arrested after allegedly posting videos online attempting to recruit assassins to kill President Donald Trump. Law enforcement intervened before the situation escalated further, a fact that cannot be overstated in its importance.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department identified the suspect as Morgan L. Morrow, 39, of Ripley, West Virginia. According to Sheriff R.H. Mellinger, Morrow was detained after investigators reviewed social media posts that allegedly sought “snipers” to target the president.
She has been charged with one count of making terroristic threats. The sheriff emphasized that the arrest was not political in nature, but the result of a serious criminal investigation involving documented and credible concerns.
That clarification is important, because this is not about suppressing speech or punishing dissent. Threats of violence against a sitting president are not protected expression. They are crimes. Full stop.
Still, it is impossible to ignore the broader context in which incidents like this occur. For nearly a decade, the political Left has normalized language that treats Donald Trump not merely as an opponent, but as an existential evil. He is described as a tyrant, a dictator, an enemy of humanity — labels that, when repeated endlessly, lower the psychological barrier to justifying violence in the minds of the unstable.
Thankfully, in this case, the system worked. Law enforcement acted quickly. The Jackson County Public Library issued a statement distancing itself from the employee’s remarks and reaffirming its commitment to professionalism and public service. The immediate threat was neutralized.
But the underlying problem remains. When political discourse becomes saturated with dehumanization and moral absolutism, it does not simply evaporate when an election ends or an administration changes. The anger doesn’t retire. It metastasizes.
