Washington (CNN) Former Rep. Joe Walsh -- under fire for a deleted tweet saying "This is now war" against President Barack Obama following the killings of Dallas police officers -- defended his rhetoric Friday. Walsh, a former tea party congressman from Illinois and now a conservative talk radio host, tweeted in the wake of the Dallas shootings, "3 Dallas Cops killed, 7 wounded. This is now war. Watch out Obama. Watch out black lives matter punks. Real America is coming after you." Walsh later explained on Twitter that he wasn't calling for violence against Obama or Black Lives Matter activists. But he told CNN's Don Lemon Friday night that he stands by his words and that Twitter "shut me down."Former Rep. Joe Walsh tweeted angry messages related to the Dallas shootingsHe later told CNN he believes Obama's rhetoric has led to violence against police officers
_ would not comment on Walsh's claims, citing privacy and security reasons. "I didn't intend to say everybody go threaten Barack Obama or incite violence against _. "The last couple of years, _ has done nothing but hate on cops.