Think Tank President Who Fantasized About Beating Gun Owners’ ‘Brains In’ Steps Down Amid Domestic Violence Allegations

The president of a think tank who once fantasized about maiming a St. Louis couple resigned in September after being charged with assaulting his wife, Politico reported.

Jerry Taylor, president of the Washington-based Niskanen Center, was arrested in June and charged with assault and battery of a family member, according to court documents seen by Politico. Taylor allegedly pushed his wife to the ground during an argument over an iPad and began slapping her as well as placing his hands around her neck, Politico reported.

Taylor was ordered to complete an “abusers’ intervention program,” according to court documents, and denied his wife’s allegations.

“Those events for the most part did not occur and I’m confident that the charges will ultimately be dismissed,” Taylor said in a statement to Politico. “I sincerely wish my wife the best as she wrestles with the issues she’s dealing with.”

Taylor resigned from the Niskanen Center on Sept. 6 after being placed on administrative leave, Politico reported.

Taylor had previously fantasized about assaulting Mark and Patricia McCloskey, a St. Louis couple who were featured in a viral video in June 2020 brandishing weapons to defend their home from Black Lives Matter demonstrators, according to now-deleted Tweets obtained by multiple sources.

“If I were in that march, and these racist lunatics were waiving guns at me, I’d like to think I’d rush them and beat their brains in,” Taylor, whose Twitter account no longer exists, said in a now-deleted tweet. “And I wouldn’t apologize for it for one goddamn second.”

Taylor also said he was rooting for “antifa to punch these idiots out” and went on to imply the couple were fascists in now deleted tweets. He also called for the homeowners to be “locked up.”

The Niskanen Center did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.