The Buffalo Newspaper Guild postponed an event at a local museum Thursday after receiving threats of violence aimed at a cartoonist whose work was featured in an exhibit.
“We wholly condemn the individuals who have chosen to twist a positive, public event into an attempt to terrorize and silence [cartoonist Adam] Zyglis, spread fear among journalists and their supporters, and distort the mission of a free press,” the guild wrote in a statement.
The threats against Zyglis, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist at the Buffalo News in Western New York, began when he shared a cartoon that seemed to depict the Texas floods that killed 120 people and left over 170 missing.
In the cartoon, a man submerged in the water wearing a MAGA hat held up a sign that said “help.” A floating text box in the water read “gov’t is the problem not the solution.”
“Tomorrow’s lines… that argument’s gone in a flash,” Zyglis captioned an Instagram post sharing the cartoon.
This cartoon attracted some attention in conservative media, with Fox News running an article and a White House spokesperson saying it was “shameful and disgusting” in a statement.
Rep. Tim Kennedy (D-N.Y.), who represents Buffalo, condemned the threats in a post on X, saying the cartoonist “uses his art to challenge, question, and inspire,” and “threats of violence against journalists are an attack on all of us.”
And Michael Kracker, the chair of the Republican Party of Erie County — where Buffalo is located — said that he agrees that Zyglis should not be harassed and threatened but called the cartoon “vile” and “hurtful.”
“We can and must respectfully condemn the Buffalo News for its shameful and heartless decision to publish a cartoon that disrespected the victims and families in Texas,” he said in a post on X. “But do so with the respect and empathy the Buffalo News failed to.”