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GOP lawmaker: 'It doesn't feel safe right now to be in politics'

By Juliann Ventura - 9/19/24, 11:24 AM EDT

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Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R) said in a Wednesday interview on NewsNation's "Cuomo" that she is more concerned with her safety as a member of Congress than when she served in the military, following apparent threats against her.

"It doesn't feel safe right now to be in politics, and I really want to emphasize that we're at a point in American history where you have people afraid to come to work," Luna said in the interview with host Chris Cuomo.

At the same time, Luna said she's still "up for the job."

The Hill has previously reported on Luna saying she has received "an increasing number of threats and doxxing attacks."

“Over the last few weeks, I have received an increasing number of threats and doxxing attacks. An online page was encouraging strangers to send threatening packages to my home,” she said in a statement Wednesday. “This weekend, it escalated to a very serious shooting threat, and we are taking every necessary step to ensure the safety of my family, staff, and our district.""

Luna added that the threat came after an apparent second assassination attempt against former President Trump on Sunday. She said that law enforcement was investigating the matter.

In the interview, Luna warned that "someone will get killed," blaming "rhetoric."

“The fact is ... this is becoming very escalated. And I can't emphasize this enough: If the rhetoric doesn't come down, someone will get killed, and I hope it's not President Trump," Luna said.

When asked by Cuomo if Trump is missing an opportunity to change rhetoric in politics, Luna defended Trump, saying "it's really hard."

"I know at the RNC [Republican National Committee], he spoke about unity, and he has changed his messaging a bit. But what I will say is it's really hard. I even actually have faced this," she said.

She added that media plays a role in making it difficult to turn the temperature down.

"But again, it's hard, because there's so much online that I feel like journalism has turned more into opinion columns instead of reporting the facts," Luna said.

"Cuomo" airs weeknights at 8 p.m. ET.

NewsNation and The Hill are both owned by Nexstar Media Group.

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