Opinion: If Republican senators acquit Trump, they will own the violence that follows

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House impeachment managers closed their prosecution Thursday with a warning to Republican senators: If they vote to acquit former president Donald Trump, the blood will be on their hands when he unleashes political carnage again.

“When” is the proper word, for, given Trump’s long pattern of inciting violent threats and actions, the next brutal outburst is not a question of “if.”

“If we don’t draw the line here, what’s next?” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the lead impeachment manager, asked the senators. “Is there any political leader in this room who believes that, if he is ever allowed by the Senate to get back into the Oval Office, Donald Trump would stop inciting violence to get his way? … If he gets back into office and it happens again, we will have no one to blame but ourselves.” Continue reading.