CNN commentator Scott Jennings flagged a series of allegedly threatening tweets sent by fellow commentator Keith Olbermann to the FBI, as the pair sparred on social media.
The exchange began on Monday with Jennings commenting about late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s planned return to TV, making light of those who saw Kimmel’s temporary suspension over remarks about the late Charlie Kirk as a sign of stifling free speech.
“So basically his employer suspended him for being an insensitive prick, and we don’t live in an authoritarian regime?” Jennings wrote on X. “Got it.”
Olbermann then joined in a thread of responses to the post, writing, “We won, you stupid pieces of s***. Last fold to fascism was last week.”
“Now we get the fascists off real tv,” he continued. “That’d mean your career is next, Jennings. Send a tape to Real America ‘s Voice. But keep mugging to camera, amateur.”
During the heated exchange, Olbermann, a former MSNBC and ESPN anchor, also allegedly sent then deleted a tweet that read, “You’re next, m**********.”
Jennings then tagged FBI Director Kash Patel in a tweet featuring a screenshot of the alleged deleted tweets, messages that some online had interpreted as a threat against the CNN host from Olbermann.
The Independent has contacted Olbermann for comment.
The FBI told The Independent it does not, as a matter of policy, comment on the potential existence of an investigation.
The Kimmel suspension, as well as political tensions surrounding Kirk’s assassination earlier this month, have prompted wide-ranging discussions about the acceptable boundaries of free speech on TV and in politics.
Critics, including a few conservatives like Sen. Ted Cruz, were alarmed that the Trump-appointed FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr seemed to threaten Kimmel’s home network, ABC, shortly before he was taken off air.
Amid the controversy, President Trump also claimed networks were too negative towards him and should not be allowed to keep their licenses as a result.
“All they do is hit Trump,” the president said. “They’re licensed. They’re not allowed to do that.”
Meanwhile, following Kirk’s shooting, many on the right blamed rhetoric on the left, comparing Kirk and other figures like Trump to Nazis and fascists for creating a hostile climate that bred violence, though President Trump also often uses such insults for his political enemies, and data shows extremists associated with the political right have actually caused more killings in recent years.
The Trump administration has vowed to crack down on “hate speech” after Kirk’s killing, though almost all hateful speech short of direct and likely threats of violence is protected by the First Amendment.
