Former Milwaukee county sheriff David A. Clarke, Jr. tweeted Saturday that he wanted to punch "the lying lib media" in the nose and "make them taste their own blood."

Clarke attached a doctored photo to the tweet that showed President Donald Trump as a wrestler, holding another wrestler labeled "CNN," while a triumphant Clarke was shown kicking "CNN" in the face.

Clarke unloaded on the media after they reported on a recently unsealed FBI affidavit alleging that Clarke used his position as sheriff to unlawfully detain a fellow flight passenger because he felt slighted by the man.



Former Milwaukee county sheriff David A. Clarke, Jr. tweeted out a graphic post on Saturday unleashing on a frequent target: the news media.

The tweet was one of many that Clarke sent bashing the press after an FBI affidavit that was unsealed on Thursday alleged that he used his official position as sheriff to detain a fellow passenger on an airplane.

"BREAKING NEWS! When LYING LIB MEDIA makes up FAKE NEWS to smear me, the ANTIDOTE is go right at them," Clarke wrote. "Punch them in the nose & MAKE THEM TASTE THEIR OWN BLOOD. Nothing gets a bully like LYING LIB MEDIA’S attention better than to give them a taste of their own blood #neverbackdown."

He also attached a doctored photo to the tweet depicting President Donald Trump's face superimposed on that of a wrestler, who was holding another wrestler labeled "CNN," while a smiling and triumphant Clarke was shown kicking "CNN" in the face. The photo was reminiscent of a doctored video Trump shared of him body slamming CNN in July.

Twitter investigated Clarke's Saturday tweet after multiple users flagged it and found no violation of the site's rules, according to a screenshot Clarke posted of an email he received from Twitter.

He later tweeted that there was "nothing like getting under the skin of lefties like I did today," and added that his critics should "bring a hard hat, some aspirin and your veggie wrap because it's going to be a long day and I'm going to smack you around until you crawl back to your mom's basement."

David A. Clarke, Jr./Twitter

FBI affidavit alleges Clarke abused his official position as sheriff

According to the affidavit, obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Clarke told six of his deputies last January to detain passenger Dan Black after their plane landed in Milwaukee. Black said in a written complaint against Clarke that he saw the sheriff on the flight but wasn't sure if it was him at first.

After Black passed him, he asked the man if he was Sheriff Clarke, and Clarke responded that he was, according to the complaint. Black shook his head as he continued moving to his seat, at which point Clarke asked Black if he had a problem, and Black replied no, the document said.

According to a screenshot obtained by the FBI, Clarke texted a deputy afterward to do a "field interview, no arrest unless he becomes an a--hole with your guys."

"Question for him is why he said anything to me. Why didn't he just keep his mouth shut?" the text read.

An official investigation into the incident found that Clarke had used his position as sheriff to "direct his deputies to stop and question Black without legal justification." But prosecutors said in May that they would not pursue charges over the incident.

Clarke resigned as sheriff in August to become a spokesman and adviser to a pro-Trump super PAC. Clarke was an early and ardent Trump supporter and, like the president, frequently takes to Twitter to slam his critics and the press.