“We were sickened,” recalled Humphries, an organizer with the Tucson tea party movement. “Obviously, we do not condone violence. We’ve had dozens and dozens of events and we’ve never had violence. Whoever did this, they’re not grounded in political thought. I would be very surprised if it was someone who had ever come to our meetings.”…

“You have to be very careful what you say. We live in a very polarized environment here in the United States, and while I do believe in the Second Amendment, no one should be referring to Second Aamendment solutions,” said Patrick Beck, president of the Mohave County tea party group in the northern part of the state.

“I’ve given many speeches to my group and at different events in my area, and in doing so I’m very conscious of who’s listening,” he said. “When I look out at the crowd, 99 percent of the people I see are just like me — average, everyday Americans who want constitutional government, fiscal responsibility, things of that nature. Every once in a while, though, I see someone — how should I put it? — who is getting too excited, who seems a little farther on the fringe…I realized I had to tone down my comments a little bit, less yelling and screaming and more educational.”