© 2026 ABC News

Texas state Rep. Brisco Cain, a pro-gun, Republican lawmaker, responded on Twitter, \"My AR is ready for you Robert Francis.\"

O'Rourke's birth name is Robert Francis O'Rourke, and he has been mocked by Republican lawmakers for using his nickname, Beto.

Within hours, Twitter removed the tweet for violating its terms of service, but not before O'Rourke took a screenshot.

He responded with his own tweet, saying, \"This is a death threat, Representative. Clearly, you shouldn't own an AR-15—and neither should anyone else.\"

Cain replied, \"You're a child Robert Francis.\"

In an interview with KTRK Friday, Cain said that his tweet was not meant to be a violent threat. He said his remark had a \"come and take it\" message, but he understands why Twitter, and others, saw it as threatening.

Cain told the station, however, that he believes it was overblown by the O'Rourke campaign and that due to threats he is now under protection from the Texas Department of Public Safety. Around 1 p.m. EST Friday, Cain told ABC News that federal authorities have not contacted him and that Twitter suspended him from tweeting for 10 hours.

The O'Rourke campaign is reporting the original tweet from Cain to the FBI, a campaign official told ABC News. His campaign has no further comment at this time.

You're a child Robert Francis https://t.co/rU3WoYQFQV

— 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐢𝐧 (@BriscoeCain) September 13, 2019

Twitter users responded with disbelief, and Cain called one commenter \"an idiot.\"

You're an idiot.

— 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐢𝐧 (@BriscoeCain) September 13, 2019

Cain is a member of the Texas House of Representatives for House District 128, which covers an area east of Houston, where the debate was held.

He is a member of the newly formed Texas Freedom Caucus and has been outspoken against O'Rourke's proposed ban and mandatory buy-back.

Earlier this month, he wrote on Twitter, addressing O'Rourke, \"I'll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold dead hands.\"

\"PHOTO:
Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images
PHOTO: Democratic presidential hopeful former Rep. Beto O'Rourke speaks with the press after the third Democratic primary debate of the 2020 presidential campaign season in Houston, Sept. 12, 2019.
>

O'Rourke has been particularly outspoken about banning military-style assault weapons and instituting a mandatory buy-back scheme since a man in an El Paso Walmart last month killed 22 people and injured dozens more. The suspect is thought to have used an AK-style rifle. El Paso is O'Rourke's hometown.

Most candidates in the Democratic debate on Thursday night made statements or commitments about regulating guns.

ABC News' William Mansell contributed to this report.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Politics/texas-lawmaker-tweets-ar-ready-beto-orourke-debate/story?id=65590860","legacySlug":"/news/story/texas-lawmaker-tweets-ar-ready-beto-orourke-debate-65590860","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"18:27","publishDate":"09-13-2019","updatedTime":"08:31","updatedDate":"09-17-2019","socialImage":{"alt":"Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks during the Democratic Presidential Debate at Texas Southern University's Health and PE Center on Sept. 12, 2019, in Houston.","credit":"Win Mcnamee/Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/democratic-debate-17-gty-jc-190912_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"9/13/2019 18:27:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":65590860,"headline":"Texas lawmaker threatens Beto O'Rourke over guns","mediaAssetTitle":"Texas lawmaker threatens Beto O'Rourke over gun proposals","description":"\"Hell yes, we're gonna take your AR-15,\" O'Rourke said at the Democratic debate.","duration":"0:54","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/09/190912_abcnl_demdebate_beto_guns1_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["132488083","132306053","132266872"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"April 29, 2026","headline":"Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","section":"News","slug":"/video/132488083","id":"132488083","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Grand jury indicts former FBI director over Instagram post","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260429_gma_thomas_comey2_706_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 23, 2026","headline":"Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","section":"News","slug":"/video/132306053","id":"132306053","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 22, 2026","headline":"Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","section":"News","slug":"/video/132266872","id":"132266872","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Texas lawmaker threatens Beto O'Rourke over guns","description":"\"Hell yes, we're gonna take your AR-15,\" O'Rourke said at the Democratic debate.","duration":"0:54","uploadDate":"09-13-2019","publication":"09-13-2019","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/09/190912_abcnl_demdebate_beto_guns1_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2019/09/190912_abcnl_demdebate_beto_guns1_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/texas-lawmaker-tweets-ar-ready-beto-orourke-debate-65590860"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132748964","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132636882","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132747869","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132738086","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132714218","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132701634","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132706335","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132675442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132665875","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132628890","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132569874","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132567885","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132510121","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132473181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132497933","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Texas lawmaker threatens Beto O'Rourke over guns","pubTime":"14:27","pubDate":"09-13-2019","modTime":"04:31","modDate":"09-17-2019","taxonomyTags":"none","id":65590860,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Texas lawmaker threatens Beto O'Rourke over guns","mediaAssetTitle":"Texas lawmaker threatens Beto O'Rourke over gun proposals","videoId":65590860,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/texas-lawmaker-tweets-ar-ready-beto-orourke-debate-65590860"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/65590860","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/65590860","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};