HARRISBURG, Pa. - A state senator's tweet to President Donald Trump chiding him after he joked about ending the career of a lawmaker has drawn a large response on social media.
On Tuesday, Trump apparently joked with a sheriff from Texas who had told the president about a state senator's efforts to reform civil asset forfeiture.
"Who is the state senator, want to give his name, we'll destroy his career?" Trump said to the law enforcement official, drawing laughs from the room.
It struck a nerve with Sen. Daylin Leach (D - Montgomery County), who tweeted the following: "Hey @realDonaldTrump I oppose civil asset forfeiture too! Why don't you try to destroy my career you fascist, loofa-faced, s***-gibbon!"
The tweet has garnered national attention from people and organizations across the country.
"I'm tired of being bullied by this guy, tired of people being threatened, tired of him not even understanding the basics of issues, which I'm sure he knows nothing about civil asset forfeiture," Leach told FOX43 Thursday.
Leach hopes it starts a conversation on civil asset forfeiture in Harrisburg.
Currently, police are allowed to seize items they can say are related to criminal investigations and either keep or sell them off to benefit from the proceeds, regardless of whether there is a conviction in the case.
The process for defendants to recover their seized items can be costly and cumbersome, Leach says. He co-sponsored a bill that would have made incremental reforms in the previous session, but says a lot needs to change on this topic in Pennsylvania.
"A DA was testifying before my committee and said sometimes we don't have the evidence to convict someone, so this is a way we can punish people where we don't have evidence," Leach said. "That's got to send a chill down the spine of anyone who cares about, freedom, America, civil liberties, and civil rights."