By Joseph Tanfani, Ned Parker and Peter Eisler
Supporters of former President Donald Trump, angered by his conviction on 34 counts by a New York jury, have flooded pro-Trump websites with calls for riots, revolution and violent retaliation.
After Trump became the first U.S. president to be convicted of a crime, his supporters responded with dozens of violent messages online, according to a Reuters review of comments on three Trump-aligned websites: the Truth Social platform from the former president, Patriots. the gateway expert.
Some called for an attack on the jurors, for the execution of the judge, for justice Juan Merchanor outright civil war and armed insurrection.
“Someone in New York who has nothing to lose needs to take care of Merchan,” one commenter wrote on Patriots.Win. “I hope he meets illegal immigrants with machetes,” the message said, referring to illegal immigrants.
On Gateway Pundit, a poster suggested shooting liberals after the verdict. “It’s time to start limiting some lefties,” the post said. “This cannot be resolved by voting.”
Threats of violence and intimidatory rhetoric increased after Trump lost the 2020 election and falsely claimed the vote was stolen. As he campaigns for a second term in the White House, Trump has baselessly portrayed the judges and prosecutors in his trials as corrupt tools of the Biden administration, intent on sabotaging his White House bid . His loyalists responded with a campaign of threats and intimidation targeting judges and court officials.
“It was a disgrace, it was a rigged trial by an adversarial and corrupt judge,” Trump later told reporters, echoing comments he often made during the trial.
A 12-member jury found Trump guilty Thursday of falsifying documents to conceal a payment to silence a porn star’s account of a sexual encounter before the 2016 election. Sentencing is set for July 11, a few days before the Republican Party officially nominates Trump for president ahead of the November 5 election. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and is expected to appeal.
Trump continued his attacks online after the verdict.
On Truth Social, he called Merchan “VERY CONFLICT” and criticized his jury instructions as unfair. One commenter responded by posting a photo of an executioner’s platform and a noose with the caption: “MAJOR JUSTICE SYSTEM TRAGGER!! »
Jacob Ware, co-author of the book “God, Guns, and Sedition: Far-Right Terrorism in America,” said the violent language used by Trump supporters was a testament to the former president’s “ironclad ability to mobilize more extremist supporters to act.” , both through the ballot box and through violence.”
“Until he accepts the process, the extremist reaction to his legal problems will be militant,” said Ware, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
A spokesperson for Truth Social said: “It’s hard to believe that Reuters, once a respected news service, has stooped so low as to publish such a manipulative, false, defamatory and blatantly stupid article like this , out of pure political malice. »
All three sites have policies against violent language, and some posts were later removed. Representatives for Patriots.Win and Gateway Pundit did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Trump spokesperson also did not respond to an email seeking comment.
“HANG EVERYONE”
After Thursday’s verdict, many of his supporters also said his conviction was proof that America’s political system was broken and only violent action could save the country.
“We need a million (armed) men to go to Washington and hang everyone. This is the only solution,” said one poster on Patriots.win. Another added: “Trump should already know he has an army ready to fight and die for him if he says these words…I will take up arms if he asks.” »
Other messages specifically called for targeting Democrats, in some cases suggesting they would be shot. “AMERICA COMPLETELY DESTROYED BY DEMOCRATS. LOCK AND LOAD,” one commenter wrote on Gateway Pundit.
Although the messages identified by Reuters all call for violence or insurrection, most do not meet the legal standards for an actionable threat, which generally require proof that the comment reflects a clear intention to act or instill fear, rather than simply suggesting a frightening outcome.
Still, a researcher who studies extremist militias said the guilty verdict could inspire violence by reinforcing the belief among some Trump supporters that he is the victim of a plot orchestrated by his enemies.
“I think a lot of these people have been looking for an excuse to mobilize for a while,” said Amy Cooter of the Center on Terrorism, Extremism and Counterterrorism at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. “I hope I’m wrong. But I have long said that I would not be shocked to see violence result from a guilty verdict, whether against jurors or others connected to the case.
(Joseph Tanfani and Peter Eisler reporting from Washington. Ned Parker reporting from New York. Editing by Jason Szep)
yahoo
