Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) framed himself as a victim on Friday, citing a death threat after his staffer called slain conservative Charlie Kirk a “Nazi,” “white supremacist,” and “casualty of the violence he incited” — statements Carson refused to address.
Heather Harvey, posting under @the_smartass_staffer on Instagram, is Senior Constituent Liaison in Carson’s office according to a video posted to her Instagram and her LinkedIn profile, both of which were made private or deleted after Breitbart News’ original story. A prolific poster with over 30,000 Instagram followers, most of Harvey’s videos appear to have been shot from her taxpayer-funded congressional office.
As Breitbart News originally reported early Friday morning, Harvey shared posts after Kirk’s justifying his assassination.
“Charlie Kirk isn’t a martyr,” she posted. “He’s a casualty of the violence he incited.”
After Breitbart’s original story was filed, and before she deactivated her account, Harvey shared additional posts.
“You’re never going to gaslight me into mourning a Nazi. Never,” read one shared post.
Heather Harvey @the_smartass_staffer / Instagram
An additional post attacked those defending Kirk’s fatherhood — he leaves behind two daughters, aged 3 and 1 — as a reason not to speak ill of the slain activist.
“Being successful at procreating does not exempt you from being a white supremacist,” read her shared post, originally posted by a Bluesky Social user. “This isn’t hard to understand. I feel like I’m going insane.”
Heather Harvey @the_smartass_staffer / Instagram
An assassin shot Kirk on Wednesday as he led a question and answer session at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Kirk, who co-founded the organization and built it from nothing into a political and cultural powerhouse, organized the student-geared forum to promote civil discourse on college campuses and in American public life.
A spokesperson for Carson did not reply to a request for comment from Breitbart News on Harvey’s statements, nor did he reply when asked whether Harvey was still employed in good standing.
Late Friday morning, several hours after Breitbart News published its first story, Carson posted a statement to X in which he rehashed his earlier boilerplate condemnation of violence and called for “compassionate dialogue, not reactionary hate.”
Carson’s new statement did not address Harvey’s posts. But he did claim his office received a death threat on Friday without specifying its nature.
“I want to be perfectly clear: I wholeheartedly condemn violence of any kind,” he posted. “I’ve spent my career combatting violence — first as a police officer, a Supervising Watch Officer with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, and now as a Senior Member of the @HouseIntel committee. My office received a death threat today — unfortunately, a common occurrence. Political violence has been normalized for quite some time, and it must end. In this vulnerable time, I join my colleagues across the aisle in calling for compassionate dialogue, not reactionary hate.”
An unfortunate and serious security concern, death threats to members of Congress have become increasingly routine. The U.S. Capitol Police say they are on track to process 14,000 threat assessment cases involving elected officials, up from 9,000 last year.
One member of Congress who receives an outsize number of death threats is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), whom Harvey attacked – referencing her by her district, not her name — in another Instagram video, which Breitbart News reported:
[Harvey] has also posted partisan videos with the potential to prevent veterans from getting timely care from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Harvey posted a bizarre video instructing resident constituents of Georgia’s 14th Congressional District not to contact their “wackadoodle” Representative in the House but instead to contact one of their Democrat Senators, Sens. Jon Ossoff or Ralph Warnock.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) represents the district Harvey singled out without explanation.
Despite Harvey’s partisan advice, House offices in large states like Georgia, including Greene’s, have significantly more staffing resources geared towards constituent services like Department of Veterans Affairs casework than Senate offices.
At least one member of Congress, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, has called for Carson to fire Harvey.
The National Republican Congressional Committee called Harvey’s comments “disgusting!” in an X post.
Carson’s inaction over his staffer’s statements comes as Indiana’s Republican-led legislature and Gov. Mike Braun are considering mid-decade redistricting.
If the legislature moves forward, Carson and Democrat Rep. Frank Mrvan could potentially see their districts significantly altered or eliminated, resulting in their removal from office and the House of Representatives netting one or two Republicans.
With Republicans holding a slim margin in the House, every victory in the midterms could be the seat that prevents Democrats from retaking the majority and sidetracking the final two years of President Donald Trump’s administration with impeachments.
Bradley Jaye is Deputy Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye.
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