Tag: Trump inciting his supporters to violence

Two men charged in alleged plot to firebomb California Democratic Party headquarters

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Two men have been charged in an alleged plot to firebomb the California Democratic Party’s headquarters in Sacramento, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

Ian Benjamin Rogers and Jarrod Copeland were “prompted by the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election” and believed their attack would spark a “movement,” according to federal prosecutors, who said the men were members of a militia group.

Law enforcement officers seized five pipe bombs, thousands of rounds of ammunition and “between 45 and 50 firearms, including at least three fully-automatic weapons” during a January search of Rogers’s home and business, according to the indictment. Continue reading.

MNGOP BPOU Chair Threatens “Casualties” for Officials Upholding the Integrity of Elections

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, the Minnesota DFL Party condemned violent threats issued by a Minnesota Republican Party BPOU (Basic Political Operating Unit) Chair on the steps of the Minnesota Capitol. Alley Waterbury, Chair of the House District 53A Republican Party, used violent rhetoric to both encourage protesters to visit the homes of judges and elected officials opposed to efforts to baselessly overturn the 2020 election and to spur on the rioters in Washington D.C.

In a speech earlier today, Waterbury said, in part:

“We are going to start raising hell. And these other judges that we’re coming for, we’re going to come for you in a way where we are gonna back you into a corner. We are going to bring your decision-making to the forefront because you’re not going to hide behind that bench anymore. You’re not going to make those decisions behind closed doors. You’re going to answer to we the people… It’ll be interesting to see how many of you show up to that house tour with us.”

Waterbury then turned to spurring on the numerous violent rioters currently clashing with police at the United States Capitol. In response to Vice President Pence’s decision not to interfere with the certification of results, Waterbury said that:

“…over one million patriots stormed, I think it was the White House grounds, I believe.Now you know why Trump wanted us there! I can’t express to you guys, you will be threatened, you will be scorned. My god you guys, we are going to fight, we are going to go down, there’s going to be casualties. I’ll be the first casualty, I do not care. We are not going to give up.”

DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement calling on Republican Party of Minnesota Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan to apologize for Waterbury’s remarks and remove her from her leadership position within the party:

“The violence that engulfs the United States Capitol did not emerge out of nowhere. It was stoked, fueled, and encouraged by reckless and irresponsible rhetoric carelessly thrown around by leaders within the Republican Party. Enough is enough.

“By threatening elected officials and civil servants with casualties and organizing protests outside their homes, Alley Waterbury has crossed a dangerous line and must be immediately removed from her leadership position with the Minnesota Republican Party. I am also calling for Minnesota Republican Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan to issue a full and immediate apology for Waterbury’s inciting language.

“Just as today’s violence did not emerge on its own, it will not be quelled on its own. It is past time for Republican leaders to accept responsibility for the radicalizing misinformation and violent sentiments tearing through their party, start telling their supporters the truth about the 2020 elections, and remove bad actors from within their ranks.”

Pence removed from Senate as protestors breach Capitol security

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Vice President Mike Pence was taken from the Senate chamber after protesters entered the Capitol to protest the results of President-elect Joe Biden‘s win.

The House and Senate gaveled out of their debates on the Electoral College results as footage showed protesters breaching security and entering the Capitol.

The doors of the House chamber were locked for safety purposes. A member of the Capitol Police confirmed protesters had entered the building. Continue reading.

Capitol placed on lockdown, buildings evacuated amid protests

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The U.S. Capitol Police on Wednesday locked down the Capitol building and evacuated multiple congressional buildings amid increasingly violent protests outside.

Buildings being evacuated included the Library of Congress’s Madison Building across from the Capitol as well as the Cannon House office building. In an alert sent to Hill staffers, police ordered occupants of the Madison building to “move in a safe manner to the exists” and “close doors behind you but do not lock.”

Capitol police also told those in the Cannon House building to “take visitors, escape hoods, and Go Kits” and report to a tunnel connected to a nearby building. Continue reading.

As Trump Rails Against Loss, His Supporters Become More Threatening

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The president’s baseless claims of voting fraud have prompted outrage among his loyalists and led to behavior that Democrats and even some Republicans say has become dangerous.

With a key deadline passing Tuesday that all but ends his legal challenges to the election, President Trump’s frenzied campaign to overturn the results has reached an inflection point: Certified slates of electors to the Electoral College are now protected by law, and any chance that a state might appoint a different slate that is favorable to Mr. Trump is essentially gone.

Despite his clear loss, Mr. Trump has shown no intention of stopping his sustained assault on the American electoral process. But his baseless conspiracy theories about voting fraud have devolved into an exercise in delegitimizing the election results, and the rhetoric is accelerating among his most fervent allies. This has prompted outrage among Trump loyalists and led to behavior that Democrats and even some Republicans say has become dangerous.

Supporters of the president, some of them armed, gathered outside the home of the Michigan secretary of state Saturday night. Racist death threats filled the voice mail of Cynthia A. Johnson, a Michigan state representative. Georgia election officials, mostly Republicans, say they have received threats of violence. The Republican Party of Arizona, on Twitter, twice called for supporters to be willing to “die for something” or “give my life for this fight.” Continue reading.

A Black Michigan lawmaker criticized Giuliani’s voter fraud claims. Now she’s getting racist, lynching threats.

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Hours after Michigan state Rep. Cynthia A. Johnson blasted Republicans for inviting President Trump’s personal attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, to hold a hearing last week with supposed witnesses of voter fraud, the Democratic lawmaker’s phone began ringing nonstop.

Over two days, Johnson, who is Black, received nearly 100 calls from angry Trump supporters, according to a Facebook post with 10 screenshots of the incoming calls, which she called “a sampling.” She had been doxed, she said, and now her harshest critics had a direct line to aim their racist threats.

“You should be swinging from a f—— rope, you Democrat,” one woman said in a voice mail laced with racial slurs, according to Johnson’s Facebook post linking to a recording of the message. Continue reading.

Stop The Steal’ Protests Are Getting Smaller — And More Violent

Right-wing demonstrations protesting the November election results on Donald Trump’s behalf began winding down in numbers this weekend—but decidedly picked up intensity in the violence and threatening rhetoric that have accompanied them all this month, thanks mainly to the presence of armed paramilitary groups such as the Proud Boys and various militia groups.

The pro-Trump “Stop the Steal” protests seemed to lose some momentum this week, with just over a dozen such rallies recorded. However, what they lacked in numbers they made up for in ugliness: A demonstration in Olympia, Washington, on Saturday turned into a running series of brawls, culminating in gunfire, though no one was seriously injured. And in Michigan, a couple dozen armed protesters showed up at the home of the secretary of state during the evening as she was finishing up Christmas decorations and shouted threats at her and her family.

According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project (ACLED), the total number of demonstrations, including those against COVID-19 pandemic health measures, declined this week. The majority of protests were Stop the Steal events, though both the numbers of the rallies and the numbers of participants declined sharply. Continue reading.

Armed protesters alleging voter fraud surrounded the home of Michigan’s secretary of state

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Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson had just finished wrapping string lights around her home’s portico on Saturday evening and was about to watch “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” with her 4-year-old son when a crowd of protesters marched up carrying American flags and guns.

About two dozen protesters chanted “Stop the Steal” and accused Benson, a Democrat and Michigan’s chief election officer, of ignoring widespread voter fraud — an echo of President Trump’s continued unfounded claims as he seeks to overturn the results of the election that President-elect Joe Biden won.

“She’s decided to completely ignore all of the credible, credible, fraudulent evidence that has been continually pointed out,” demonstrator Genevieve Peters said of Benson, as she live-streamed the protest in Detroit on Facebook. “We’re out here in front of the secretary of state’s house and we want her to know we will continue to be here.” Continue reading.

After thousands of Trump supporters rally in D.C., violence erupts when night falls

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President Trump’s supporters had celebrated for hours on Saturday, waving their MAGA flags and blaring “God Bless the U.S.A.” as they gathered in Washington to falsely claim that the election had been stolen from the man they adore. The crowd had even reveled in a personal visit from Trump, who passed by in his motorcade, smiling and waving.

But that was before the people who oppose their hero showed up and the mood shifted, growing angrier as 300 or so counterprotesters delivered a message the president’s most ardent backers were unwilling to hear: The election is over. Trump lost.

On stark display in the nation’s capital were two irreconcilable versions of America, each refusing to accept what the other considered to be undeniable fact. Continue reading.