What did Schumer mean, 'You have Released the Whirlwind'?

   "You have released the whirlwind, and you will pay the price. You will not know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions." So said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as the court considers abortion cases. And, Schumer mentioned justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh by name.
   Schumer's comment is open-ended. It does not say what price Gorsuch and Kavanaugh will pay. One is left to wonder. Violence is even not outside what he left it open to mean.
   Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts noted criticizing the court is not out of line. "Justices know that criticism comes with the territory," Roberts said, "but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, the are dangerous."
   I consider whether the chief justice is right. Schumer's comment serves to inflame the pro-choice protesters. It calls them to make the justices pay a price. Secondly, it seeks to influence the court by scaring them with what could be done to them if they do not act in a way seen as correctly.
   In our day and age, seeking to unduly influence the courts is reaching a threshold where it compromises the integrity of the court. The court should be free to judge cases on their merits.
   But, I also wonder on the flip side of Chief Roberts rebuke of Schumer. I am concerned that we not reach a point where you cannot protest or criticize the government and its decisions. Now, yes, this concern is tempered by the fact Roberts did acknowledge the right to criticize.
   It would not be wrong to ask Schumer to clarify his statement, to tell us what he believes the pro-life people should do to make Gorsuch and Kavanaugh pay the price. "You will not know what hit you." What does that mean? Something that hard would seem to mean more than peaceful protesting.
   If a nation goes down the path far enough, court decisions or government decisions might some day be greeted with anarchy, revolt, and rebellion. No, I do not see Schumer's comment as leading to such action. But, how far would it go? Would the protesters camp on Gorsuch and Kavanaugh's porches, harassing them in unseemly fashion?
   And, on the flip side, we must be guard against ever drifting so far towards being an authoritarian government that that government silences its protesters. Never let us drift so far that it becomes wrong -- perhaps someday even unlawful -- to protest court or government decisions.