MLB Umpire Tweets He's Buying AR-15 to Fight Civil War in Case of Impeachment

By Elliot Hannon, Slate

24 October 19

ajor League umpires, you’d assume, would be sticklers for the rules, but not veteran ump Rob Drake. As the World Series was kicking off in Houston on Tuesday, the 10-year veteran tweeted out his own violent, anarchic thoughts on the impeachment inquiry currently underway in the Capitol. “I will be buying an AR-15 tomorrow, because if you impeach MY PRESIDENT this way, YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CIVAL WAR!!! #MAGA2020.” 

The 50-year-old quickly deleted the tweet, which echoed the far-right “civil war” talking point that has seeped into the brains of the Trumpiest of Americans. The apparent logic being: It’s totally fine, patriotic even, to take up arms against your own country if a call doesn’t go your way. The idea that it is perfectly acceptable to threaten violence is one that the NRA often uses and foments, under the guise of constitutionality. During the Trump presidency, the civil war refrain has gradually made its way from the echo chamber of the white nationalist fringe into the echo chamber of Fox News. 

Drake, who first broke into the big leagues as an umpire in 1999 and became a full-timer a decade later, is not involved in the World Series currently underway. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said the league is aware of and looking into the tweet. Other tweet gems from Drake, who has since deactivated his account, include: “You can’t do an impeachment inquiry from the basement of Capital Hill without even a vote! What is going on in this country?”