State Rep. Will Snyder received an e-mailed threat for his support of Arizona-style immigration enforcement in Florida. (House photo by Meredith Geddings.)
By Ralph De La Cruz
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
This is just horrible.
As a result of his sponsorship of an Arizona-style immigration enforcement law, state Rep. Will Snyder of Stuart received an e-mail threat.
The e-mail read: “You better just stop that ridiculous law if you value your and your family’s lives, a—–.”
Tuesday, Massachusetts police arrested the man who allegedly sent the e-mail.
Manuel Pintado was charged with sending the threatening e-mail. (Photo courtesy of Northampton Police Department.)
Although I could almost do away with the “allegedly” part. Because after he was arrested, 47-year-old Manuel Pintado practically owned up to it. He said he didn’t intend to kill Snyder but “was glad the e-mail made [Snyder] nervous.”
Now, any thinking person might wonder: Why would someone charged with such a serious crime say something like that after being arrested?
Again, I do not in any way condone the actions of Pintado. But that statement reminds me of a sad truism: When people feel terrorized, they want others — particularly those they feel are complicit in the act — to feel that terror as well.
Not justifying it. Pintado should be prosecuted to the full letter of the law. Just recognizing that bad laws and bad governance have repercussions. Just ask Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Imagine the emotions in South and Central Florida if people start being pulled out of their cars during traffic stops and arrested because they don’t speak English, or speak it with a heavy accent.
Luckily, Snyder doesn’t seem bent on that happening.
According to The Miami Herald, “He’s working closely with the Florida Hispanic caucus and has expressed a willingness to tone down the most controversial aspect of the Arizona-style law: a requirement that police ask suspects for proof of citizenship during routine traffic stops or arrests.”