CPAC chair says he would fear for Romney's "physical safety" if he attended

Matt Schlapp, chair of the Conservative Political Action Conference, said in an interview with Full Court Press Sunday that he would be afraid for Sen. Mitt Romney's (R-Utah) safety if the former presidential candidate attended the yearly conservative conference.

Driving the news: Romney has faced substantial blowback from Trump loyalists in the Republican Party over his vote last week to convict the president in his impeachment trial. Schlapp had already announced on Twitter that Romney was "formally NOT invited" to CPAC after his vote to call new impeachment witnesses.

• Donald Trump Jr. called on Romney to be expelled from the GOP last week, tweeting that the 2012 Republican presidential nominee is "forever bitter" that he will never be elected to the White House.

What he's saying: “We won’t credential him as a conservative. I suppose if he wants to come as a nonconservative and debate an issue with us, maybe in the future we would have him come,” Schlapp told host Greta Van Susteren.

• “This year, I would actually be afraid for his physical safety, people are so mad at him.”
• Schlapp later tweeted: "I wish Gov Romney no harm I just want him to find a new hobby away from destroying GOP momentum."

Go deeper: Romney explained impeachment vote in note to colleagues