US congressman should be kidnapped, Russian politician says on live TV

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A Russian lawmaker has called for the kidnapping of a US congressman on live TV over the American’s comments about Ukraine.

The alarming comments were made by the chairman of Russia’s nationalist party Rodina, Aleksei Zhuravlyov, who appeared on the state TV show “60 Minutes” and advocated for the kidnapping of Ruben Gallego, a Democrat congressman from Arizona, the Daily Beast reported.

Mr Zhuravlyov told host Olga Skabeeva: “This is how we should be dealing with these b******s. We can grab him out of Ukraine and there’s nothing they could do, with our capabilities.”

Mr Gallego, a retired US marine, had recently taken a trip to Ukraine amid a build-up of Russian troops across the border. He had called upon president Joe Biden to sanction Russia and provide more arms to Ukraine.

Mr Gallego was quoted by CNN as saying that Ukraine should be provided with more advanced weaponry that “will actually put a toll on the Russian troop movements and, you know, unfortunately, that means we have to kill some Russians”.

He added that Russians “only understand pure power, and we have to give the Ukrainian army and special forces the ability to do that.”

His words had led to massive outrage in Russia.

After showing the clip of Mr Gallego’s comments, Ms Skabeeva called Americans “parasites” who “don’t know history,” according to the Daily Beast.

Mr Zhuravlyov then said: “We should be looking for that bud, and if he travels anywhere – grab him like Bout and bring him over here.”

He was referring to notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout who was extradited from Thailand to the US in 2010.

Mr Zhuravlyov said: “This is how we should be acting... Spend 25 years in prison and then when you get out – if you get out – you can tell us whom you wanted to kill.”

“Bout is in prison for intent, so he [Gallego] could also be imprisoned for his intent to kill Russians,” Ms Skabeeva then said.

Mr Gallego, meanwhile, responded to the Russian lawmaker’s threat by quote tweeting the Daily Beast’s report and saying, “F*** around and find out” and using an emoji of the US flag.