Progressive Liberal Wrestler Has Received Threats Following US Midterms

A wrestler who appears in Appalachian-area indies in the heel persona of being a vocal supporter of left-wing politicians is finding his presence has begun to create a rising level of audience agitation since the midterm elections earlier this month. CNN reports that wrestler Dan Harnsberger created the persona of "The Progressive Liberal" Dan Richards following the 2016 presidential election. He initially appeared wearing trunks featuring the image of Hillary Clinton while making anti-Donald Trump statements to the predominantly right-wing audiences at his matches, and more recently has worn shirts adorned with President Joe Biden's image.

Wrestler Beau James, who frequently competes against Harnsberger, stated that "The Progressive Liberal" enables the residents of the small Appalachian towns where they wrestle to vent their frustrations with the political system. "Dan gets to go and unleash what he believes, what he feels, his frustrations to an audience that he's upset [and] that they get to give it right back to him because he's the closest thing to what they're mad at, that they can actually interact with," James said. However, at one recent match the audience members with differing political views began to turn their partisan rancor against each other, forcing James and Harnsberger to cut their match short in order to avoid a violent fight among the spectators.

"It's a different kind of hate now," Harnsberger said. "It's at a level that I haven't experienced previously." To that end, Harnsberger also revealed he's been personally threatened with violence, including by an audience member who wanted to set his trunks on fire and another sporting a switchblade. While the major wrestling promotions do not encourage their current talent to engage in politics, several retired wrestlers have enjoyed second careers in elected office, most notably Jesse Ventura's 1999-2003 term as governor of Minnesota and Glenn Jacobs' (formerly Kane) current job as the second-term mayor of Knox County, Tennessee.