North Dakota Woman Charged With Threatening Pro-Life Legislator

The last couple of weeks, as North Dakota as debated abortion issues, social media including Twitter and Facebook has sort of made me sad for humanity. The anger and hostility, the threats and verbal attacks, have been nothing short of nauseating. My email inbox has been even worse than normal as people opposed to my views on abortion channel hatred to me.

Now it seems the debate has boiled over into actual crime. A woman who has been trying to get pregnant through the IVF process stands accused of threatening to kill a pro-life legislator:

BISMARCK – A Lidgerwood woman upset about the potential ramifications of abortion-related legislation is accused of threatening to kill a state lawmaker.

Richland County State’s Attorney Ron McBeth on Friday charged Nicolette Jean Knudson with threatening a public servant, a class C Felony punishable upon conviction with up to five years in jail, $5,000 or both.

Court records obtained by Forum Communications show authorities allege Knudson called Sen. Margaret Sitte, R-Bismarck, at 3 a.m. Feb. 27 and threatened to kill Sitte if she interfered with her attempts to get pregnant via in vitro fertilization.

An arrest warrant was issued Friday but Richland County Sheriff’s office said they have not detained Knudson, who is either 38 or 39 years old.

Remember that earlier this legislative session Senator Sitte’s home was targeted by left-wing activists upset with some of her votes in the legislature. The North Dakota Democrats have taken to calling Senator Sitte and her Republican colleagues “extreme,” among other pejoratives. The state’s editorial boards, most notably the intemperate Jack Zaleski at the Fargo Forum, have been calling Republicans in the state “extreme” and worse as well.

And now someone has been arrested for threatening Senator Sitte’s life.

We all have every right to disagree with one another, and it can be understood when emotions and passions boil over, but political debate in North Dakota just turned very dark and it might behoove some of the state’s political activists, and editorial writers, to think long and hard about some of the things they’ve been writing.