Stochastic Terrorism

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Trump posts dangerous rhetoric involving Jack Smith, proving his ONGOING danger to the community
by Glenn Kirschner
Justice Matters
Jul 5, 2023 #TeamJustice

Donald Trump continues to prove he is an extreme danger to the community and to our democracy. As he stands indicted for dozens of crimes, both state and federal, he continues to post dangerous, desperate and inflammatory things about Special Counsel Jack Smith, including how he should be "put out to rest."

In his daily, sometimes hourly, rants, Trump also incessantly - and inanely - continues to assert that prosecuting him for his crimes constitutes "election interference." This video discusses why Trump is absolutely wrong in that regard.



Transcript

you know friends Donald Trump can't stop
claiming that the fact that he's
criminally indicted a couple of times
over
somehow represents election interference
he couldn't be more wrong
let's talk about that because Justice
matters
[Music]
[Music]
hey all Glenn kirschner here so friends
Donald Trump's dangerous desperate
inflammatory rhetoric continues
unaddressed unabated
and more often than not part of his
daily sometimes hourly rants
involve this claim that the Democrats
are somehow perpetrating election
interference
well let's start by looking at one of
Donald Trump's most recent dog whistles
to his supporters to his followers and
then let's take on this inane Donald
Trump claim of election interference
let's start with this reporting from
Newsweek
headline Trump calls for sick puppet
Jack Smith to be put out to rest
and that article begins former president
Donald Trump is calling for special
counsel Jack Smith to be defunded and
put out to rest
Trump who faces federal and state felony
charges as he seeks the 2024 GOP
Presidential nomination has repeatedly
attacked Smith since he was appointed by
attorney general Merrick Garland last
year to oversee twin criminal
investigations into Trump's handling of
classified documents and activities
related to the January 6th U.S Capitol
attack
the ex-president was indicted on 37
felony counts in the documents case last
month with the possibility that the
ongoing January 6 investigation could
still bring further federal charges
Smith stressed that there was one set of
laws in this country that apply to
everyone in a brief statement that
followed the indictment
Trump celebrated the 4th of July on
Tuesday evening by launching his latest
attack on Smith in a truth social post
that described the special counsel as a
sick puppet of Garland and President Joe
Biden
quote as my poll numbers go higher and
higher the Communists marxists and
fascists get more and more crazy with
their ridiculous indictments and
election interference plans and plots
all controlled by an out of control and
very corrupt doj FBI Trump wrote they
have weaponized law enforcement in
America at a level not seen before
deranged Jack Smith who was a sick
puppet for A.G Garland and crooked Joe
Biden should be defunded and put out to
rest
Trump continued
put out to rest
of course this not so thinly veiled call
to Violence by Donald Trump comes on the
heels of Donald Trump
posting President Obama's home address
only to have one of his loyal followers
a guy named Taylor taranto himself an
insurrectionist who was wanted for what
he did at the U.S Capitol on January 6th
yeah this guy reposted Donald Trump's
post
of President Obama's home address then
he armed himself and headed to President
Obama's home fortunately he was arrested
as he was approaching the Obama
residence
you know if you look up the term danger
to the community in the dictionary you
might as well have a picture of Donald
Trump
but let's turn to his other claim this
repeated absurd claim of election
interference
so Donald Trump's claim is that if he is
prosecuted and imprisoned for his crimes
somehow that represents election
interference because you know he's
running for elected office and you can't
interfere with that by Prosecuting him
for his Crimes by imprisoning him for
his crimes
you know you couldn't be more wrong
about that
Donald
well you know what friends
law enforcement agencies actually can
interfere now I'm using that term
advisedly though not entirely accurately
law enforcement agencies actually can
interfere in elections
law enforcement agencies can interfere
in an election by indicting
Prosecuting convicting and imprisoning
someone who happens to be running for
office when the candidate is a criminal
because that can't accurately be called
election interference it's called basic
necessary law enforcement
and yet Donald Trump seems to think that
the term election interference is like
some magical get out of jail free card
right it's election interference if you
try to indict me prosecute me convict me
imprison me while I'm running for office
no fair election interference
nope not election interference Donald
just plain old
you know
Justice
and justice
matters
friends as always please stay safe
please stay tuned and I look forward to
talking with you all again tomorrow

*************************

Trump Calls for 'Sick Puppet' Jack Smith to Be 'Put Out to Rest'
by Aila Slisco
Newsweek
7/4/23 AT 9:34 PM EDT

Former President Donald Trump is calling for Special Counsel Jack Smith to be "defunded" and "put out to rest."

Trump, who faces federal and state felony charges as he seeks the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, has repeatedly attacked Smith since he was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland last year to oversee twin criminal investigations into Trump's handling of classified documents and activities related to the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack.

The ex-president was indicted on 37 felony counts in the documents case last month, with the possibility that the ongoing January 6 investigation could still bring further federal charges. Smith stressed that there was "one set of laws in this country" that "apply to everyone" in a brief statement that followed the indictment.

Trump celebrated the Fourth of July on Tuesday evening by launching his latest attack on Smith in a Truth Social post that described the special counsel as a "sick puppet" of Garland and President Joe Biden.

"As my Poll numbers go higher & higher, the Communists, Marxists, & Fascists get more & more CRAZY with their ridiculous Indictments & Election Interference plans & plots, all controlled by an out of control, & very corrupt, DOJ/FBI," Trump wrote. "They have WEAPONIZED Law Enforcement in America at a level not seen before."

"Deranged Jack Smith, who is a sick puppet for A.G. Garland & Crooked Joe Biden, should be DEFUNDED & put out to rest," he continued. "Republicans must get tough or the Dems will steal another Election. MAGA!"

The Department of Justice declined Newsweek's request for comment.

In a Truth Social post on Monday night, the former president called Smith "a major SleazeBag put up by the corrupt DOJ to damage the Republican Party," while again accusing him of participating in "election interference."

Trump also lashed out at Smith last week after CNN broadcast a leaked audio recording, cited in the federal indictment, that appears to feature the former president bragging in July 2021 about having a "highly confidential" document and saying that he did not have the power to declassify it.

Prior to the release of the audio, Trump repeatedly claimed that he had declassified every document he retained after leaving the White House in January 2021. Last week he claimed, without evidence, that Smith was responsible for the leak of the recording.

"The Deranged Special Prosecutor, Jack Smith, working in conjunction with the DOJ & FBI, illegally leaked and 'spun' a tape and transcript of me which is actually an exoneration, rather than what they would have you believe," wrote Trump. "This continuing Witch Hunt is another ELECTION INTERFERENCE Scam. They are cheaters and thugs!"

There has recently been increasing speculation that Smith's January 6 probe may be ending with another criminal indictment of the ex-president.

Trump could also be charged in Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis' investigation of his ill-fated attempt to overturn his 2020 loss to Biden, although he has predicted that Willis "will be dropping all charges against me for lack of a case."

Update 07/05/23, 4:14 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to reflect that the Department of Justice declined to comment.

[admin]

Trump 's dangerous posts continue unabated; Jack Smith's prosecutors now being threatened/harassed
Glenn Kirschner
Jul 7, 2023 #TeamJustice

Donald Trump continues to prove he is an extreme danger to the community and to our democracy. As he stands indicted for dozens of crimes, both state and federal, he continues to post dangerous, desperate and inflammatory things about Special Counsel Jack Smith, including how he should be "put out to rest."

In his daily, sometimes hourly, rants, Trump also incessantly - and inanely - continues to assert that prosecuting him for his crimes constitutes "election interference." This video discusses why Trump is absolutely wrong in that regard.



Transcript

so friends Donald Trump's dangerous
statements and posts continue unabated
unaddressed while the threat to those
who are trying to hold Donald Trump
accountable increases
let's talk about that
because Justice matters
[Music]
hey all Glenn Kirchner here
friends Donald Trump is a danger
he's a danger to the community he's a
danger to society he's a danger to
American democracy
Donald Trump stands indicted
for dozens of felony crimes twice over
once in state court in New York once in
federal court in Florida
and yet
he continues to say things and post
things that are
dangerous
that are Reckless that are not so thinly
veiled calls to violence
just a matter of a few days ago
he posted President Barack Obama's home
address
and one of Trump's loyal followers one
of his supporters read it reposted it
armed himself
and headed to President Obama's home
fortunately he was arrested before he
could get there
then Donald Trump posted that special
counsel Jack Smith
the man who is investigating and
Prosecuting Donald Trump federally
should quote
be put out to rest
close quote
and now
some brand new reporting from The
Washington Post
headline prosecutors in Trump classified
documents case are facing threats
FBI says it's working with partner
agencies to assess and respond to
threats as classified documents
prosecution moves forward
and that article reads in part
individual prosecutors involved in the
classified documents case against former
president Donald Trump are facing
substantial harassment and threats
online and elsewhere according to
extremism experts and the government
official familiar with the matter
experts in political extremism say
organize threats of violence against
government institutions are generally
down since the January 2021 attack on
the U.S Capitol in part because people
have realized they could face legal
consequences for taking action still
experts say they frequently observe
violent rhetoric targeting people who
are blamed for undermining the former
president not just prosecutors involved
in the criminal investigations
surrounding Trump but also swing state
election workers refuting false claims
of voter fraud
far-right Trump supporters are posting
the names of prosecutors and government
workers online and yelling them at
demonstrations threatening them and
sometimes revealing details about their
personal lives the experts said
at the Justice Department officials have
responded by trying to keep the names of
prosecutors and agents working the Trump
cases from becoming public in official
documents Congressional hearings and
less formal conversations about the case
the former president has written social
media posts directly attacking people
involved in investigating him including
special counsel Jack Smith and the New
York State judge handling a separate
criminal indictment against Trump
friends Donald Trump is a danger to the
community
and the danger to anyone who seeks to
hold him accountable for his crimes
and you know the ironic part
we actually have a remedy for that
if there's clear and convincing evidence
that a defendant who is pending a felony
trial poses a danger to others
a judge can and should
detain that defendant pending trial
clear and convincing evidence that's the
legal standard so friends let me ask you
is the evidence clear that Donald Trump
presents a danger to others
is the evidence convincing that Donald
Trump presents a danger to others
if anybody else in this country
other than Donald Trump
stood indicted
for dozens and dozens of felony crimes
in both state court and in federal court
you think that person would be detained
pending trial
How about if that defendant
posted a picture of himself swinging a
baseball bat at the State Court
prosecutor who was handling his case
you think that person would be detained
pending trial How about if that person
posted
something like yeah the special counsel
the federal prosecutor proceeding
against me should be put out to rest
you think that person would be detained
pending trial
you know the answer to that
the fact that
we sacrifice everybody's safety
to Donald Trump
we permit his dangerous inflammatory
violent rhetoric
to go unchecked unaddressed unabated
to the detriment of prosecutors and
their families judges and their families
Witnesses jurors
is really
inexplicable
and
entirely unjust
and justice
matters
hang in there friends
and as always please stay safe please
stay tuned and I look forward to talking
with you all again tomorrow
[Music]
thank you

[admin]

Jack Smith HOLDS PIVOTAL MEETING in Michigan on Trump’s Many CRIMES
by Ben Meiselas
MeidasTouch
Jul 13, 2023

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on the meeting that Special Counsel Jack Smith had with the Secretary of State of Michigan Jocelyn Benson about Donald Trump’s crimes and its broader implications on the prosecution of Trump.



Transcript

[Ben Meiselas] I'm Ben Meiselas from the MeidasTouch
Network. In connection with special
counsel Jack Smith's criminal
investigation into Trump's election
interference, we can now confirm that
special counsel Jack Smith's team has
indeed met with the secretary of state
of Michigan to ask numerous questions
about Donald Trump's efforts in that
state to try to overthrow the free and
fair election -- by the way, including
threats directed at the Secretary of
State Jocelyn Benson. A new CNN article
confirms that a meeting between Jack
Smith's team and the Secretary of State
of Michigan, Jocelyn Benson, took place as
early as March of this year. This is what
we have learned about the meeting from a
source that's quoted by CNN: "The
interview with Jocelyn Benson really
underscored, I think, the depth through
which the federal prosecutors are
looking into everything, and the
seriousness with which they're taking
what occurred, and a quest for justice to
ensure it doesn't happen again. Benson's
office did not reveal the specifics of
this interview with special counsel Jack
Smith about Trump's attempts to
overthrow the free and fair election in
the state of Michigan. She has not
confirmed to CNN or to any other sources
about the types of questions that were
asked, or whether Jack Smith was present. But
Benson did say that among the areas
investigators seemed focused on was
quote "the impact of the misinformation
on election workers lives, and the
threats that emerge from the various
sources. Now again, remember, Jocelyn
Benson received many death threats In
fact, a mob of Maga individuals were
outside Jocelyn Benson's home as she put
her kids to sleep, directly threatening
her. Benson said to CNN quote: "myself and
the election officials who have at the
request, or simply because we have a
story to tell, have been speaking to
authorities. I think it's really a
reflection of our desire to ensure that
the law is followed, and where there's
evidence of wrongdoing there is justice
served. Benson added that she's quote:
"willing to speak with anyone, including
the grand jury, about what we endured
leading up to the January 6th
insurrection, and after the 2020 election.
Quote: "If and when we are requested, we will
be a part of any proceeding that requires
my testimony as Secretary of State," Benson
said adding that quote "it's important
for the American public to know what
occurred in 2020 was really detrimental
to the lives of Americans."
The CNN article points out that this
Benson interview followed a subpoena
that was sent by special counsel Jack
Smith to the Michigan election
officials' offices as well requesting
communications that took place with
Trump officials, including there was a
voicemail that was received from Rudy
Giuliani's team that was sent to the
clerk of Rochester Hills, Michigan, in
December of 2020. And there was an email
confirming that there was this voicemail
of Rudy Giuliani reaching out. And we
know Giuliani was reaching out, and
threatening local and state election
officials, and telling them to manipulate
election data, to falsify election data.
You know all of this comes as earlier
this year in January of 2023 the
Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel -- by
the way, I'm such a big fan of the
Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel,
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and
Governor Gretchen Whitmer actually
showing what a working government can
look like. Fantastic! They deserve far
more credit than they get by national
media, so any chance we can say how great
they are we're going to do that here on
the MeidasTouch network. But in January
of 2023, Michigan attorney general Dana
Nessel opened up a criminal probe into
election crimes in Michigan in 2020. And
at that time, she had told reporters that
she was quote "a little worried that more
than a year had passed since she had
referred the cases related to the fake
electors to the justice department and
Merrick Garland. She believes that there
is clear evidence of crimes with the
fake elector scheme to support charges
against the fake electors in Michigan.
But at that time, in January of 2023, she
was worried that the Department of
Justice had not yet met with anybody in
Michigan. But now we know that meetings
have taken place in March of 2023, and
there have been numerous communications
back and forth, near constant
communications, as Secretary of State
Benson says, with Jack's team. It just seems
that Jack Smith's team was waiting for
the appropriate time, as they were
building the case before scheduling
these communications.
Nessel said the following to
CNN back in January of 2023.
She said quote "Well, we have seen from
the January 6 committee an
overwhelming amount of evidence. I
thought there was already a substantial
amount of evidence in that case. But now
there is just clear evidence to support
charges against these 16 false electors
in the state of Michigan. She said quite
candidly, yes, we are reopening our
investigation, because I don't know what
the federal government plans to do," she
added. And at that time CNN reached out
to the Justice Department which did not
respond. And of course the fake elector
scheme is becoming a major part of
special counsel Jack Smith's criminal
investigation of Donald Trump's election
interference. It was always a very
prominent part of the investigation, I
should say, but it seemed that special
counsel Jack Smith had kind of nailed
down other aspects of the potential
charges that he's going to be bringing
against Donald Trump and Trump's
co-conspirators, and then really homed in
on the fake elector scheme whereby Maga
allies of Donald Trump, many who were in
state legislatures, or affiliated with
the Republican leadership of the states
which have been taken over by Maga,
affixed their signatures fraudulently to
fraudulent electoral certificates and
tried to have those electoral
certificates counted instead of the real
ones saying that President Biden won in
those states. So a state like Michigan,
where then candidate Joe Biden won, the
fake electors would make a fake
certificate to send to be counted on
January 6 by then vice president Pence,
which Pence didn't do, saying that Donald
Trump won. It's a fraudulent document, a
perjurious document, making false
statements. And so there's a number of
crimes there.

I want to play for you this
testimony by Secretary of State Jocelyn
Benson to the Senate Judiciary Committee
that she gave basically a year ago,
talking about heightened federal laws,
criminal laws, that are needed against
individuals like these Maga stochastic
terrorists who threatened her life, and
threatened the life of other election
officials. That was the context of this
hearing. But watch this impassioned
testimony given by Jocelyn Benson. Play
this clip.

[Jocelyn Benson] ... ranking member Grassley, members of
the committee.
As Michigan's Chief election officer my
responsibility is to ensure our
elections are accessible, safe, secure, and
that the results are an accurate
reflection of the will of the people.
This is not a partisan role, and despite
it being an elected position, it's not a
political role. But it is a role that
increasingly forces us Republicans,
Democrats, or Independents, to endure
threats, harassment, false and malicious
attacks on our character and integrity,
and sometimes even violence.
I'm here today because we need your help.
We cannot have a secure democracy if we
do not protect the security of the
people who administer our elections. And
right now we are facing an unprecedented
wave of continuous, unrelenting harassment,
and threats. Enduring these threats
creates a near constant strain of
anxiety and stress on our work. The
status quo is unsustainable, and
unacceptable.
I've experienced these threats firsthand.
One night in December 2020, I was about
to put my son to bed, when dozens of
individuals descended upon our home.
Growing in numbers over the course of an
hour, they stood outside my front door
[inaudible] my neighbors, shouting
obscenities, and graphic threats into
bull horns.
To this day, these images and this memory
of that evening, still haunts me.
This was not the first, nor was it the
last time some group of people
showed up at my home, or threatened me, my
staff, or many of the hundreds of local
election officials in our state.
As a result there is an omnipresent
feeling of anxiety and dread that
permeates our daily lives and those of
our families. Not long ago my son,
standing in our driveway,
picked up a stick, turned to me and said,
"don't worry mom, if the bad guys come
again, I'll get them with this."
He's six years old.
Some of these incidents have been
reported and drawn media attention. Many
have not. From Rochester Hills are Tina
Barton. She received a voicemail filled
with explicit language threatening her
family. Detroit city clerk Janice Winfrey
was sent photos of a dead body with a
message to imagine that body as her
daughter.
Other clerks beyond Michigan have told
countless more stories. Local officials
from political parties of both sides
are enduring threats to their families and
their staff.
These threats are not limited to
personal attacks. They also involve
harassment, and attempts to criminalize
the basic work of local election
officials. We are threatened with arrest
for simply doing our jobs, for educating
citizens about their right to vote. Or we
are inundated with burdensome, and often
nonsensical, unnecessary demands for
information, and access to secure
election equipment. As a result, one in
three election officials report feeling
unsafe on a regular basis, and more than
half fear for the safety of their
colleagues in future elections.
And this is why we need your help.
I'm grateful that a group of your
colleagues have reached bipartisan
agreement on reforms to the Electoral
count act, but that is not enough.
Imposing stronger penalties on those who
would threaten or harm anyone involved
in election administration is an
important step, as is extending the same
protections for the personal information
of election officials that has been
considered or extended to federal judges.
The bottom line is we need you to act,
because many states like Michigan are
failing to do what is necessary to
protect us. For months, local election
officials and I have pleaded with
Michigan lawmakers to set aside money to
protect us even after threats of
violence, and sometimes death, are levied
at us and our families. Despite months of
specific requests, and a budget surplus,
they have failed to offer anything to
protect us. So you as national leaders
can do something to demonstrate that
you're willing, not just to protect all
of us, but protect democracy.
Like many of my colleagues, I have spent
my career defending and protecting the
right to vote of every eligible citizen.
That commitment has never wavered, and it
will not waver now. But we need you to
share that commitment with us. We need
you to stand with us to pass new
protections, additional protections now,
before it's too late.

[Unknown] Thank you for your testimony.

[Ben Meiselas] So not only
is Jocelyn Benson a critical witness to
special counsel Jack Smith because she's
the secretary of state of Michigan, but
also she was a target of the criminal
cartel of Magas who threatened her life.
This isn't normal political behavior by
these Mega Republicans. This isn't
conservative speech. These are threats.
These are crimes. This is terrorism
taking place. It's fascism. It's idiocracy.
And it's something we're going to call
out here all the time. Good to know
special counsel Jack Smith though has
met with Michigan Secretary of State, and
devastating news for Donald Trump, which
is good for justice.

I'm Ben Meiselas
from the MeidasTouch Network. Hit
subscribe. We're on our way to 1.5
million subscribers thanks to your
support. Check us out at patreon.com.
MeidasTouch, wherever you get audio
podcast. Subscribe to the MeidasTouch
podcast. Have an excellent day.

[admin]

WINSTON & STRAWN LLP

July 13, 2023

VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL

Mr. Todd Blanche, Esq.
Blanche Law
99 Wall Street, Suite 4460
New York, New York 10005

Mr. Christopher M. Kise, Esq.
Continental PLLC
255 Alhambra Circle, Suite 640
Coral Gables, Florida 33134

Mr. Joseph Tacopina, Esq.
Tacopina Seigel & DeOreo
275 Madison Ave., 35th Fl.
New York, New York 10016

Ms. Susan R. Necheles, Esq.
Necheles Law, LLP
1120 Sixth Avenue, 4th Fl.
New York, New York 10036

Re: Cease and Desist Notice to Donald J. Trump

Dear Todd, Chris, Joe, and Susan:

As you know, Winston & Strawn represents, and I am writing on behalf of our client, Hunter Biden. I am sending this letter to make a demand that your client, former president Donald Trump, cease and desist from making public statements about my client which are both defamatory and likely to incite Mr. Trump's followers to take action against Mr. Biden and which could lead to his or his family's injury. I am a little surprised to have to send this because it would seem that Mr. Trump is currently facing enough legal problems that he would not want to create any more liability for saying and doing things that could result in harm and injury, and because it appears you have enough to do in defending your client in various arenas now and yet to come than to have to deal with one more legal issue and case.

The most urgent issue is Mr. Trump's thinly veiled call to action to his easy-to-trigger followers. Most recently, on July 11, 2023, Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social: "Weiss is a COWARD, a smaller version of Bill Barr, who never had the courage to do what everyone knows should have been done. He gave out a traffic ticket instead of a death sentence...." (emphasis added). You may respond that this was a mere figure of speech. However, we have seen that what might pass as such a phrase when uttered by rationale people is heard by too many in this country as some terrible injustice for which they must take physical and violent action. Incidents of violence resulting from Mr. Trump's incitement, like the attack on The Capitol on January 6, 2021, have occurred with tragic, and even fatal, consequences.

This is not a false alarm. Late last year, former Speaker Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, was attacked in his home by an intruder. Mr. Biden was also on that attacker's hit list.1 [Zoe Richards, Alleged Pelosi attacker also planned to go after Hunter Biden, Tom Hanks and Gavin Newsom, police say, NBC NEWS (Dec. 14, 2022), https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/plitic ... -rcna61829.] just in the past two weeks, there was another incident, this one in D.C. On June 29, Taylor Taranto was arrested with weapons in his van in the Kalorama D.C. neighborhood where former President Obama and his family live. On the day of his arrest, Taranto reposted a Truth Social post from your client containing what Mr. Trump himself claimed was the Obama's home address. In a post on Telegram, Taranto wrote, "We got these losers surrounded! See you in hell, Podesta's and Obama's.2 [Prosecutors: Man went near Obama's home after Trump posted alleged address, AXIOS (Jul. 5, 2023), https://www.axios.com/2023/07/05/trump- ... ma-address.] Others, too, have faced serious threats from supporters of the former president, such as U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who faced a storm of death threats following approval of the warrant for the FBI to search Mr. Trump's Mar-A-Lago estate.3 [Donald Trump supporters send death threats to judge who approved Mar-a-Lago search, PBS (Aug. 17, 2022) https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/d ... ago-search.] Judge Reinhart's home address was even posted on right-wing Internet sites, along with anti-semitic slurs.

We are just one such social media message away from another incident, and you should make clear to Mr. Trump -- if you have not done so already -- that Mr. Trump's words have caused harm in the past and threaten to do so again if he does not stop.

It is not just his actual calls for action that inflame his followers. Mr. Trump has invoked my client's name on his social media accounts to harass and incite his followers on a near daily basis since Mr. Trump himself was indicted (e.g., mentioning my client more than 20 times in posts in July alone). Specifically, Mr. Trump has doubled down on his dangerous rhetoric about Mr. Biden in the days since he reached a resolution with the Department of Justice and even before:

On March 31, 2023, when Mr. Trump was notified that charges had been filed in New York state, your client's response was to post on Truth Social, "WHERE'S HUNTER?" The following week, during an evening address at Mar-A-Lago, after 34 charges against Mr. Trump were unsealed and he surrendered and was arraigned, your client's response was again to make wild allegations against Mr. Biden and his family.4 [Donald J. Trump, Trump Statements on Indictment from Mar-a-Lago (Apr. 4, 2023), available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLxS8OnvSrU ("And just recently, the FBI and DOJ in collusion with Twitter and Facebook in order not to say anything bad about the Hunter Biden laptop from hell, which exposes the Biden family as criminals in which, according to the pollsters, would have made a 17 point difference in the election result.... Just go $10 million from China. Where did that come from? I guess they were banking on Hunter's expertise.) (emphasis added).]

On June 24, 2023, Mr. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) posted repeated false charges on Truth Social: "When Hunter Biden harshly threatened the Chinese businessman, he and his father, Joe, were together in Joe's house (even the ownership of the house, and rent paid, are questionable and now forgotten about by the Fake News Media!) where classified documents having to do with CHINA were stored ... They took in millions of dollars from China - How much information was given. BIG STUFF! Joe is totally corrupt!!!"

The same day, Mr. Trump also posted: "Biden will do about Russia whatever President Xi of China wants him to do. Remember, Hunter & Joe illegally took large amounts of money from both countries, but China right now is the bigger threat."

Mr. Trump also re-posted on his Truth Social channel libelous comments about my client, including one on June 26, 2023 that said, "AMERICAN JUSTICE: 69-Year-Old Grandma with Cancer Given More Prison Time for Walking Inside US Capitol than Hunter Biden for Sharing Classified Documents with Foreign Regimes and Multi-Million Dollar Bribery Scheme." Mr Trump curtly captioned above the post: "HORRIBLE!"

And just this week, on July 10, 2023, Mr. Trump attacked our client (now four years sober and proud of his recovery) by baselessly claiming that the cocaine discovered in the White House over the July Fourth weekend "was for use by Hunter, & probably Crooked Joe, in order to give this total disaster of a President a little life and energy!"5 [Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Truth Social on July 10, 2023 (emphasis added).]

You know, if Mr. Trump does not, that Mr. Biden has neither committed nor been accused of the charges that your client is claiming (e.g., mishandling or even having access to classified information) and that the Biden family was not at the White House (let alone in the vestibule) in the period when the cocaine was found. Mr. Trump constantly and misleadingly agitating agitates his followers about the so-called injustice between what he is facing and what he perceives to be undue leniency to our client is exactly that which people use to justify "taking the law into their own hands." And, let's be clear: it was Mr. Trump, not Mr. Biden, who allegedly illegally shared classified documents with others and it is Mr. Trump who is accused of paying hush money (e.g., a bribe) to prevent publicity about his personal actions.

Accordingly, I am writing to demand a stop to this. Indeed, during the initial proceedings in New York on April 4, 2023, Judge Merchan made a similar request to you to speak to Mr. Trump "and anybody else you need to, and remind them to please refrain from making statements that are likely to incite violence or civil unrest." You need not respond, as I am hoping you will speak with Mr. Trump privately and explain to him how this incitement can further hurt people and cause himself even more legal trouble.

Sincerely,

Abbe David Lowell
Counsel for Robert Hunter Biden

[admin]

Trump’s THREATS Cause FBI Standoff
MeidasTouch
Aug 10, 2023

Legal AF Host Karen Friedman Agnifilo reports on a recent Utah raid by the FBI explaining why it all links back to disgraced Former President Trumps' dangerous rhetoric.



Transcript

I'm Karen Friedman Agnifolo from legal AF. And I wanted to talk tonight about this breaking news of a Utah man who was shot and killed during an execution of a FBI sting at his home. It's a guy who basically was armed, and threatened to assassinate President Biden. And his name is Craig Robertson, who's also charged with threatening to shoot other elected officials, like Alvin Bragg, who's the Manhattan D.A.

Law enforcement said that when they filed documents earlier today in Salt Lake City in district court, that this was directly related to threats against similar people, who Donald Trump likes to talk about and make threats about. Although they're not linking Donald Trump directly to this man, and to his actions, he has offered -- Donald Trump -- all of the fodder that they need, right, that they need in order to know exactly what they should be doing. And I wanted to get on here tonight and talk about the fact that these words -- he's trying to say free speech, and that's what his defense is is all free speech, free speech, I can say what I want --- these words have consequences. They are actions. And they are a dog whistle to extremists, like this man Craig Robertson who was going to, who who was involved in wanting to assassinate President Biden. He's armed, he's dangerous, he had guns, and he was very, very specific about who he was going to kill.

He put on social media last week that President Biden would be visiting Utah, and he was going to dust off an M24 rifle, and get out his old camouflage suit, and that's one that is typically used by snipers. And he had lots of online posts that he was going to kill President Biden -- he called him "Mr Biden" and "Mr Bragg" -- and that the time is right for a presidential assassination or two, first Joe, then Kamala, he wrote. And you know, on and on, the same rhetoric that we hear from MAGA supporters, and Donald Trump, and those individuals. And it's really scary, right?

He said something in September, for example, referring to Leticia James, who's the Attorney General in the state of New York who's suing Donald Trump and his family, and it's going to trial this October, he wrote on Facebook that "a sniper's bullet does not recognize your qualified immunity." He shared a picture in 2022 of a semi-automatic handgun, calling it, "a Merrick Garland eradication tool." And in another post he also described what he calls, "a patriotic dream," and he stood over a picture of a wounded Mr. Newsome, and, know, "my suppressed Smith and Weston MP nine millimeter, still smoking." And at another point he also taunted the FBI, "To my friends in the Federal Bureau of Idiots, I know you're reading this." And the FBI became increasingly concerned about his threats to his agents and to everybody else. And so what ended up happening is a confrontation with him today. And he ended up dying from a gunshot wound.

But I wanted to talk about this individual, because Trump's words -- you know, let's let's back up to his words surrounding January 6, right? He tweeted to people, you know, leading up to the events of January 6, "Be there on January 6th, it's going to be wild," right? Look at all the dangerous rhetoric the day of the speech on the ellipse. He was talking about how Mike Pence is, you know, weak. And he used other words for Mike Pence. And encouraging people to march to the Capitol. And he knew they were armed. Remember the testimony before the Jan 6 committee where people were telling him on the speech in the ellipse, you know, he was like, "Where are all the people? What's taking them so long to get through?" And they were saying, "They have to go through the magnetometers, because many of them are armed." And he said, "It doesn't matter. They're not here to hurt me." And so he knows he brought these individuals in armed. He whipped them into a frenzy, pointed them at the Capitol, and what did they do? They stormed in the Capitol. And afterwards, what did they all say, person after person? "We did it because we thought he wanted us to. We thought we were answering his call."

[President Donald Trump] We’re going to have to fight much harder and Mike Pence is going to have to come through for us. If he doesn’t, that will be a sad day for our country because you’re sworn to uphold our constitution. Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy. After this, we’re going to walk down and I’ll be there with you. We’re going to walk down. We’re going to walk down any one you want, but I think right here. We’re going walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators, and congressmen and women. We’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong...  

The Republicans have to get tougher. You’re not going to have a Republican party if you don’t get tougher. They want to play so straight, they want to play so, “Sir, yes, the United States, the constitution doesn’t allow me to send them back to the States.” Well, I say, “Yes, it does because the constitution says you have to protect our country and you have to protect our constitution and you can’t vote on fraud,” and fraud breaks up everything, doesn’t it? When you catch somebody in a fraud, you’re allowed to go by very different rules. So I hope Mike has the courage to do what he has to do...  

And we fight. We fight like Hell and if you don’t fight like Hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore...  

So we’re going to, we’re going to walk down Pennsylvania Avenue, I love Pennsylvania Avenue, and we’re going to the Capitol and we’re going to try and give… The Democrats are hopeless. They’re never voting for anything, not even one vote. But we’re going to try and give our Republicans, the weak ones, because the strong ones don’t need any of our help, we’re going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.  

-- Donald Trump Speech "Save America" Rally Transcript, by President Donald Trump, January 6, 2021

 

Remember when he said, during the debate, you know, "Proud boys, stand back and stand by," or something like that? Whatever. They knew what he was telling them. Everybody does.  

And then, you know, don't forget when Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan D.A., indicted him, the next thing you know, he puts up a picture of himself holding a baseball bat next to a picture of Alvin Bragg's head. And everybody knows that's a threat, right? It's a clear threat. And then he says, "Oh no, I was just, you know, it was a mistake. I was just advertising for, you know, American-made baseball bats." But his followers, they get the message loud and clear. They take it as he is sending them a message to commit acts of violence.  

And then we get another indication from Fani Willis that she's getting threats, because she said that she is upping her security detail. And we also know that the threat this weekend, that Jack Smith, when he asked for a protective order, he put the the tweet that Donald Trump, the social media posting that he put up that talked about, you know, "If you come after me, I'll come after you," in context with "The Fraud Squad -- you know, all the people who this individual today had threats against: Leticia James, Alvin Bragg, Joe Biden, Fani Willis, and Jack Smith, right?  

So there's a pattern here. Donald Trump is clearly putting a target on these individuals. He is clearly signaling to his followers that that they should commit violent acts against these people. And he is threatening them in the process. That's not free speech. That's action. Those are words that are threats. And those are causing people to act. And at this point, so many people have acted on his behalf, and so many people have taken his calls to action, that he can no longer look the other way, and must be held responsible for his words. He's going before Judge Chutkan this week, and hopefully she will not only in addition to giving Jack Smith the protective order for the discovery that he asked for, so he [Trump] can't put all of the discovery on social media, and thereby threaten witnesses, hopefully she'll also admonish him strictly to stop with these threats, stop with these words, and tell him if he does it again, there will be significant consequences. And hopefully he'll be treated like every other defendant and put in jail while he awaits his trial. You do not have a right to threaten and cause harm to prosecutors, judges, witnesses, etc. You don't have a Constitutional right to do that. And he should be ashamed of himself. He's the former president of the United States of America. He knows what he's doing. And there's enough evidence at this point, that everybody knows what he's doing, and he must be held to account.  

I'm Karen Friedman Agnifolo from legal AF.

*****************************

Utah man suspected of threatening President Joe Biden shot and killed as FBI served warrant: Authorities say an armed Utah man accused of making violent threats against President Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president was expected to land in the state Wednesday. (August 9)
by Lindsay Whitehurst and Sam Metz
Updated 7:55 PM MDT, August 9, 2023

PROVO, Utah (AP) — An armed Utah man accused of making violent threats against President Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president landed in the state Wednesday, authorities said.

Special agents were trying to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson in Provo, south of Salt Lake City, when the shooting happened at 6:15 a.m., the FBI said in a statement.

Robertson was armed at the time of the shooting, according to two law enforcement sources who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of an ongoing investigation.

Robertson posted online Monday that he had heard Biden was coming to Utah and he was planning to dig out a camouflage suit and begin “cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle,” a post that came after months of graphic online threats against several public figures, according to court documents. Robertson referred to himself as a “MAGA Trumper,” a reference to former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan, and also posted threats against top law enforcement officials overseeing court cases against Trump.

Neighbors described Robertson as a frail, elderly man — his online profile put his age as 74 — who walked with the aid of a hand-carved stick. Though he regularly carried guns, they said he didn’t seem a threat.

“There’s no way that he was driving from here to Salt Lake City, setting up a rifle and taking a shot at the president — 100% no way,” said neighbor Andrew Maunder outside the church across from Robertson’s street.

The attack comes as Republicans, who have traditionally touted themselves as the party of law and order, have escalated their attacks on law enforcement and especially the FBI. Trump has relentlessly attacked the agency, even though it is led by someone he appointed, Christopher Wray. Wray himself has warned of the dangers of recent rhetoric. Some officials have become increasingly alarmed as the former president has escalated his attacks on the FBI, Attorney General Merrick Garland and the local and federal prosecutors who have filed three separate criminal cases against him in recent months.

Biden flew to Utah Wednesday ahead of a visit to a Veterans Affairs hospital in Salt Lake City Thursday to talk about the PACT Act, which expanded veterans benefits. He also planned to hold a reelection fundraiser. A White House official who requested anonymity to discuss the matter said Biden was briefed after the raid.

Robertson’s posts indicated he did appear to own a long-range sniper rifle and numerous other weapons, as well as camouflage gear known as a “ghillie suit,” investigators said in court records. Robertson was charged under seal Tuesday with three felony counts, including making threats against the president and against FBI agents investigating him, court documents show.

Robertson also referenced a “presidential assassination” and also posted threats against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York Attorney General Letitia James, authorities said.

“The time is right for a presidential assassination or two. First Joe then Kamala!!!” authorities say Robertson wrote in a September 2022 Facebook post included in the filings. No attorney was immediately listed for Robertson in court documents and family members of Robertson could not be immediately reached for comment through publicly available phone numbers.

The FBI investigation began with a tip about the Bragg threat from Trump’s own social media platform Truth Social in March, after Robertson posted about “waiting in the courthouse parking garage” with a suppressed weapon and wanting to “put a nice hole in his forehead.” His account has since been suspended from the platform.

No further details were immediately released about the shooting, which is under review by the FBI.

At the Provo house where the confrontation apparently took place and which is connected with Robertson through public records, law enforcement could be seen Wednesday going in and out and removing items.

A broken window could be seen next to the door and the blinds inside were askew.

The road leading to the house was blocked by police. It is just up the street from a meeting house of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with the Wasatch Mountains rising in the background. Neighbors said authorities showed up around Robertson’s house early Wednesday and they heard a boom and possible gunshots.

Travis Lee Clark, who’s known Robertson for years from working at their church ward together, described Robertson as “frail of health,” a masterful woodworker and an “established icon” in their community. Robertson propped himself on a wood walking stick he’d carved himself, said Clark, who was surprised he was considered a serious threat.

“He was a boomer, and he was very political and sometimes made off-color jokes ... but nothing that indicated it was a threat,” said Clark, who added that he hadn’t seen Robertson’s Facebook posts until after his death.

Clark said Robertson had a collection of perhaps 20 guns, though he noted that that wasn’t unusual for the area.

Paul Searing, a businessman who lived in Provo before relocating to nearby Orem, said he had followed Robertson online for years and even warned him when he believed the other man was crossing a line in his posts.

“He believed in his right to bear arms. He believed in his right to say what he feels. When it came down to it, he knew the Lord wouldn’t have approved of killing innocent people,” Searing said. “Things got out of hand because he just was really frustrated.”

According to court documents, two FBI agents came to Robertson’s house after the initial warning about him from Truth Social in March. They found Robertson wearing a Trump cap and what one described in a search warrant affidavit as an “AR-15 style rifle lapel pin.”

According to the affidavit, he told them his initial threat was just “a dream” and demanded they only return with a warrant. In a Facebook post days later cited in the affidavit, he said, “To my friends in the Federal Bureau of Idiots: I know you’re reading this and you have no idea how close your agents came to ‘violent eradication.’”

In another undated social media post cited in the document, Robertson wrote: “Hey FBI, you still monitoring my social media? Checking so I can have a loaded gun handy in case you drop by again.” A post from July 21 unearthed by SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors online extremism, reads, “If I really told you what I’d like to do to Joe Biden Facebook would censor me and the FBI would pay me another visit.”

Rita Katz, SITE’s co-founder, said the social media posts attributed to Robertson show the challenges for law enforcement officials who must decide when speech rises to the level of an actual threat.

“Because you have the freedom of speech, it can be very difficult to tell what is allowed and what is not allowed,” she said.

Robertson had a custom woodworking business but did not renew his license after it expired last year, according to state records. On LinkedIn, Robertson said he worked for 45 years as a structural steel and welding inspector before retiring and starting his business, saying he specialized in “custom designs.”

State court records showed Robertson pleaded no contest to a disorderly conduct charge in 1998 but no details about the allegations were immediately available.

Biden, meanwhile, is in the middle of a trip to the Western United States, and flew to Salt Lake City after spending Wednesday in New Mexico, where he spoke at a factory that will produce wind towers.

__

Whitehurst reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Colleen Long and David Klepper in Washington, Nicholas Riccardi, Colleen Slevin and Jesse Bedayn in Denver and Chris Megerian in Belen, New Mexico, and researcher Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report.

*****************************

‘He has a gun!’ An eyewitness details what happened when the FBI came to a Provo neighborhood
by Kyle Dunphey
DeseretNews
Aug 9, 2023, 10:16pm MDT


Law enforcement agents confer at the home of Craig Deeleuw Robertson who was shot and killed by FBI agents in Provo on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Robertson allegedly posted threatening comments about President Joe Biden hours before the president was scheduled to visit Utah.Laura Seitz, Deseret News

“Craig Robertson, come out with your hands up! This is the FBI.”

That’s what residents of a quaint, suburban neighborhood pushed up against Provo Canyon near the BYU campus say they woke up to in the early morning hours Wednesday.

“It sounded like it was coming from inside my house,” said one neighbor, who asked not to be identified.

What followed was a barrage of gunshots. Moments later, authorities carried the overweight, elderly man out of his house, placed him on the sidewalk and tried, unsuccessfully, to render first aid, according to the witness. Several neighbors said his body remained on the concrete for two hours as blood soaked through a white sheet paramedics placed over him.

The FBI has not released details about the shooting. The neighbor’s eyewitness account provides the clearest picture so far of the fatal encounter between authorities and 75-year-old Craig Robertson.

After the sound of about six gunshots, “you hear them yell ‘shots fired, shots fired. He has a gun!’ And then a whole bunch more shots,” said the neighbor. There was such a loud barrage they were unable to tell how many times the agents inside Robertson’s home fired. “They were all shooting at the same time ... and at that point in time, I was in get-my-kid mode.”

Neighbors say Robertson was shot and killed between 6 and 6:30 a.m. Wednesday as the FBI carried out a raid related to his social media posts where he made threats to President Joe Biden and other Democrats. Not long after the shooting, Biden arrived in Utah as part of a tour of Western states.

Robertson had been under FBI surveillance for a number of months, according to a federal criminal complaint filed Tuesday. He was charged with making interstate threats, making threats against federal law enforcement and making threats against the president.

“I hear Biden is coming to Utah. Digging out my old ghille suit and cleaning the dust off the m24 sniper rifle. Welcom, buffoon-in-chief!” Robertson wrote on social media.

Neighbors who spoke with the Deseret News described Robertson as a markedly different person than what he portrayed online. One person called him a “teddy bear” known for his woodworking who would sit in the same seat at church every Sunday; another said he was barely mobile, weighed nearly 300 pounds and was unable to walk without a cane. He would drive to church, despite it only being about 200 yards from his home, because he had so much trouble moving around.

Neighbors also described a harrowing scene, with dozens of agents converging on the Provo house, rifles drawn and hiding behind bulletproof shields as flash bangs exploded.

“I just can’t believe that this man warranted that kind of response,” said Travis Clark, who lived up the street from Robertson.

The neighbor who spoke on the condition of anonymity said they were shocked by the police presence and disturbed by what they saw after the shooting.

“I understand they have procedures that have to be followed. But having his body out there for so long when there’s kids in the cul-de-sac ... they could have done more. Because he was bleeding through the sheet,” said the neighbor who asked to remain anonymous.

Through pictures and videos, the Deseret News was able to confirm the neighbor watched the scene unfold.


Craig Deeleuw Robertson, 75, pictured in a social media post. Robertson was shot and killed early Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023, by FBI agents trying to serve a warrant at his Provo home.Facebook

A neighborhood becomes a crime scene

It started early. The trucks rolled in quietly, under the cover of darkness, parking on lawns and blocking driveways in the suburb. It’s an unassuming street, where cottonwood trees grow in lawns and children ride bikes and scooters. But by Wednesday morning, it was blocked off with crime scene tape as investigators combed through the property.

It wasn’t until agents began calling to Robertson with a megaphone that the witness noticed the police. They looked out their window to see “dozens” of agents wearing fatigues and tactical gear with “FBI” plastered across their body armor. Parked nearly on the witness’ lawn was a tactical vehicle. The agents lined up in front of Robertson’s door, ordering him to exit with his hands up.

When Robertson wouldn’t comply, agents attempted to break his front door down, the neighbor said. The thud of a battering ram echoed through their house, at first sounding like a gunshot. The neighbor compared it to an “armory door. They could not get it open.”

That’s when agents used a breaching vehicle to go through the window, the neighbor said. Images taken in the aftermath show Robertson’s window shattered, with trim hanging from the frame and shades scattered.


Law enforcement agents investigate at the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson, who was shot and killed by FBI agents in Provo on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Robertson posted threatening comments about President Joe Biden hours before the president was scheduled to visit Utah.Laura Seitz, Deseret News

That’s when the neighbor heard the first shots, followed by a rapid hail of gunfire.

The neighbor’s dog, in a panic, jumped up on the window sill and barked, knocking over several houseplants and sending dirt and shards of clay through the living room.

Authorities have not confirmed whether Robertson had a weapon or whether he fired any shots. The New York Times, quoting a federal law enforcement official speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Robertson was armed at the time.

The silence after the shooting, the neighbor said, was deafening. As they were walking up from the basement, where they had momentarily been hiding with their child, they saw officers carrying Robertson, half-dressed and bloodied. They placed him on the sidewalk and rendered first aid.

“But you can tell from how they’re acting, there’s probably no chance. So then I watched him bleed out on the sidewalk,” the witness said.

It’s unclear when Robertson was pronounced dead. As he lay on the sidewalk, firetrucks and an ambulance arrived, and paramedics used an airway kit in an attempt to revive him, the witness said.

“Then paramedics packed all their stuff up. They put a sheet over him and then they just left, and they left him there. And the body was there for what felt like forever, just bleeding through the sheet, just laying in a pool of blood on the sidewalk. And then after a little while, I thought, ‘I can’t sit here and stare at his body,’” the witness said. At about 8:30 a.m., they left the neighborhood.


One person is dead following a shooting involving an FBI agent in Provo on Wednesday on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023.Laura Seitz, Deseret News

[admin]

Trump’s Social Media Used for MAJOR CRIME with Trump's Help
by Texas Paul
MeidasTouch
Aug 10, 2023

A Trump supporter who threatened President Biden died in an armed standoff with the FBI. Texas Paul reports.


TRUMP DID THIS!!!

Transcript

Self-proclaimed MAGA Trumper -- his words -- Craig Robertson gets shot and killed by the FBI when they go to arrest him for making credible threats of murdering the President of the United States. And the right wing is losing their mind. They're losing their damn minds.

I can't tell you folks: this is why we are too irresponsible as a society to have guns. I have said this over and over again, "Rhetoric matters." These people have become delusional, and fallen into this rhetoric. And we need to take action. We do. This kind of thing, this man, when the FBI came to talk to him about the threats he made, he confirmed their suspicions. He said, "Yeah, it was me." He thought he was kind of being anonymous with his handle, not proclaiming who he was, but he confirmed it, "Yeah, it was me."

"Perhaps Utah will become famous this week as the place a sniper took out Biden the Marxist."

-- Craig Robertson

"IN MY DREAM I SEE JOE BIDEN'S BODY IN A DARK CORNER OF A DC PARKING GARAGE WITH HIS HEAD SEVERED AND LYING IN A HUGE PUDDLE OF BLOOD. HOORAH!!!  

"IN MY DREAM I SEE JOE BIDEN'S BODY IN A DARK CORNER OF A DC PARKING GARAGE WITH HIS HEAD SEVERED AND LYING IN A HUGE PUDDLE OF BLOOD. SO SAD!!!  

-- Craig Robertson

"HEY FBI, YOU STILL MONITORING MY SOCIAL MEDIA? CHECKING SO I CAN BE SURE TO HAVE A LOADED GUN HANDY IN CASE YOU DROP BY AGAIN.  

-- Craig Robertson
July 27 at 5:01 PM

And he was aggressive enough that they took him seriously.

And then he told them, conversation's over, "Get off my property. Come back when you have a warrant."

So that's what they did. At six o'clock in the morning they came and knocked on his door with an arrest warrant. He shows up with a gun. And according to witness testimony from his neighbors, they hear him pop off a couple shots.

“Craig Robertson, come out with your hands up! This is the FBI.”

That’s what residents of a quaint, suburban neighborhood pushed up against Provo Canyon near the BYU campus say they woke up to in the early morning hours Wednesday....  

After the sound of about six gunshots, “you hear them yell ‘shots fired, shots fired. He has a gun!’ And then a whole bunch more shots,” said the neighbor. There was such a loud barrage they were unable to tell how many times the agents inside Robertson’s home fired. “They were all shooting at the same time ... and at that point in time, I was in get-my-kid mode.”  

Neighbors say Robertson was shot and killed between 6 and 6:30 a.m. Wednesday as the FBI carried out a raid related to his social media posts where he made threats to President Joe Biden and other Democrats. Not long after the shooting, Biden arrived in Utah as part of a tour of Western states.  

-- ‘He has a gun!’ An eyewitness details what happened when the FBI came to a Provo neighborhood, by Kyle Dunphey, DeseretNews

 

Then the FBI returned the favor. And then they heard a lot of shots. And old Craig was gone.

No, they didn't just brutally murder the man.

Then they carried him out of his home, secured the area, and then they started performing CPR on him, but they were unable to revive him.

And right wingers are losing their damn minds over this. They're comparing it to Kathy Griffin, and the obviously fake head she held up. She apologized for it. Said she was stupid. She was investigated by the FBI and cooperated 100 percent.

-- HEAD OF STATE: Kathy Griffin retweets pic of bloody ‘decapitated’ Trump head after president claims victory in 2020 election, by Tariq Tahir, The U.S. Sun, Published: 10:23 ET, Nov 4 2020, Updated: 16:25 ET, Aug 3 2021  

***

-- Kathy Griffin reveals why she 'felt guilty' after Trump photo, how the FBI saved her life, by Maeve McDermott, USA TODAY, July 31, 2019

They're comparing that situation to Craig Robertson who said, when President Biden, his latest threat was when President Biden was coming to his area to speak, that it was time for him to dust off his M24 sniper rifle.

Robertson made social media posts in September calling for the assassination of Biden and Harris, according to the complaint, and allegedly again made online threats toward Biden on Sunday, ahead of the president's Utah visit, scheduled for this week.

The complaint showed that Robertson was facing charged on three counts: Interstate threats, threats against the president, and influencing, impeding and retaliating against federal law enforcement officers by threat.  

According to documents, Robertson wrote "I hear Biden is coming to Utah. Digging out my old Ghille suit and cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle."

 

Yeah, that gets you a visit from the FBI, folks. And he had done so much, and made so many threats. He had threatened, he said it was his dream, it was time for him to live out his dream of going to New York and murdering D.A Alvin Bragg.

In an alleged threat to Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney whose office is prosecuting former President Donald Trump, Robertson called him a political hack and plotted to assassinate him in a parking garage, the charging documents said.

Robertson mentioned many other politicians, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to the documents.  

He had "intent to kill, at a minimum, D.A. Bragg and President Joe Biden," according to the charging documents.

 

It's not just rhetoric. It's not just rhetoric. They fall into this delusional stuff. And there are pictures of him, over and over again, you know, talking about his ghillie suit.

-- Craig D. Robertson added 14 new photos.
May 4, 2009

And for folks that aren't, you know, into this gun stuff, a ghillie suit is part of a sniper's gear. It helps them blend into, blend into the background so that they're not spotted. It allows them to get close to who they're trying to shoot. I mean, the guy has tactical gear.

He's one of these numbnuts. He's one of these pretend guys that you see all the time on the right wing, wearing, you know, tactical helmets and vests and shit like that. This guy is just a typical MAGA gun freak. And he fell into the delusion. He thought, he thought that he could sit there and make threats against the President of the United States and nobody would come talk to him about it. Of course they are. Of course they are. And he didn't cooperate. He showed up at the door with a weapon. And that gets you killed, folks! That gets you killed. You cannot do that. You have to comply. When the police come to your home to arrest you, you have to follow their orders. You do. That's the law. That's the way it works. This delusion that you're going to fight the government that's all over the right wing, this is what it gets you folks. Every one of you that have ever said, "I'm going to get my weapons in case the government, you know, 'I gotta fight him off.' No. You're going to end up like Craig Robertson. You fight the government at the ballot box. That's where you fight the government, folks. That's where you fight the government. You don't end up in freaking gun battles with the government. That's a delusional stupidity. And it is so rife, and so rampant within our society right now, these numbnuts out there, living these, just fantasies. And if you look at the pictures of this guy Craig Robertson, you can just see him living these fantasies. 75-year-old-man in tactical gear! Really! You dumbass! You're nobody's hero! You're nobody's hero! Just stop it! Just stop it!

This is why you're losing your weapons. And the right wingers are attacking the government for this! They are so wrong on this. The FBI showed up to someone's home who made credible threats against the President of the United States to arrest him, and the right[wing] is on the side of the guy who made the threats!!!

This is why you can't have weapons. This is why we need a time out. Because you are gone. The MAGAts are gone.

I love you folks. Please reach down and hit the Subscribe button. Help us get this message out so that we can embolden Democrats to send a message to these nuts that this is not okay. Because I assure you folks, they are not sitting there saying he should have complied. They aren't. They are saying, "Oh, this is the government, the big bad wolf government!

Neighbors described Craig Robertson as a kind churchgoer who was into carpentry and collecting guns. They said they were stunned to learn about some of the social media posts outlined in court documents...

-- Andrew Adams
@AndrewAdamsKSL

There are posts out there where they're saying, "Oh, he was such a sweet guy." No! He wasn't a sweet guy! He was a guy that talked about murdering people.

Hit that subscribe button, folks. We are at about 1.5 million followers. We need to get to 2 million. Help us out. Meidas Touch is not the news media, the corporate news media. We are the independent news media. We are doing right by the American people. We are not doing drama. We're not doing stupidity. We're not saying things that aren't true. You've got the right wing media saying he "allegedly" made threats. No, no, no, no. He made threats. He confirmed he made threats. It's not "allegedly." He said that out of his own mouth, and through his own fingers all over social media.

Help us out folks. Love you. Old Texas Paul out.

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How to Address Right-Wing Extremism Among LDS [Mormon] Members
by Sam Brunson
By Common Consent
August 10, 2023

Yesterday, the FBI shot and killed Craig Robertson at his Provo home while attempting to serve a search warrant. Based on media reports, Robertson appears to have been an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [Mormon]. He was also a right-wing extremist who threatened violence against the President of the United States and fantasized (online, at least) about murdering people he perceived as his political enemies.

We don’t know a lot of details about the service of the warrant or the shooting. It shouldn’t need to be said, but I’m going to say it anyway: his death is tragic. Yes, the things he wrote were not only disgusting, but actually evil. Still, the penalty for being evil is not death: threats against the President or the Vice President are punishable by a fine and/or not more than five years in prison.[fn1]

At the same time, I’m sympathetic to the FBI having a hair trigger here. Robertson had guns, and had made threats not only against the President and various politicians, but against FBI agents themselves. On three days in March he posted “TO MY FRIENDS IN THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF IDIOTS: I KNOW YOU’RE READING THIS AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW CLOSE YOUR AGENTS CAME TO ‘VIOLENT ERADICATION,'”, “TO MY FRIENDS IN THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF IDIOTS: I KNOW YOU’RE READING THIS AND YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW CLOSE YOUR AGENTS CAME TO ‘BANG,'” and “THE FBI TRIED TO INTERFERE WITH MY FREE SPEECH RIGHT IN MY DRIVEWAY. MY 45ACP WAS READY TO SMOKE ‘EM!!!”

We don’t know whether Robertson was carrying, pointing, or firing a gun when the FBI tried to serve the warrant. We don’t know whether the shooting was legally justified. But in a better world, Robertson would still be alive, either because he hadn’t made his stupid and terroristic threats or because the FBI had subdued him by other than shooting him. But to be clear: (a) his death is not something to celebrate, and (b) his death isn’t the result of unjustifiable FBI overreach.

[ALICIA MENENDEZ] FRANK FIGLIUZZI, YOU HAVE BEEN IN THE ROOM WHERE THOSE CONVERSATIONS HAPPEN, AND WHERE THOSE THREATS ARE ASSESSED. TALK TO US ABOUT HOW THOSE DECISIONS ARE MADE ORDINARILY, AND THE COMPLICATIONS OF MAKING THOSE CHOICES IN THIS MOMENT.

[FBI FRANK FIGLIUZZI] YEAH. THE "IN THIS MOMENT" PART IS SOMETHING WORTHY OF LOTS OF DISCUSSION. BUT LET'S ADDRESS HOW THESE DECISIONS ARE MADE. FIRST OF ALL, THEY ARE DONE IN CONCERT WITH THE U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, OF COURSE, WHO'S GOING TO HAVE TO PROSECUTE A CASE IF THEY AGREE TO CHARGE. IN THIS CASE, THERE WERE THREE DISTINCT FEDERAL CHARGES THAT WERE APPLIED HERE IN THE ARREST WARRANT. AND A BIG FACTOR HERE IS SPECIFICITY AS TO TARGET, TIME, METHOD, AND LOCATION OF WHERE THE THREAT WILL BE ENACTED. AND WE SEE THIS THROUGHOUT HIS MULTIPLE THREATS. NOT ONLY MULTIPLE THREATS AGAINST THE SAME PERSON, BUT MULTIPLE THREATS AGAINST VARIOUS PEOPLE. REALLY GRAPHIC SPECIFICITY. REALLY TOO MUCH TO GO INTO HERE IN THIS HOUR IN TERMS OF DISTURBING CONTENT. BUT IT WAS ALL THERE. AND ENOUGH FOR A U.S. ATTORNEY. AND ULTIMATELY A JUDGE WHO WOULD ACCEPT THIS EASILY AS VALID CHARGING.

AND THEN YOU START LOOKING AT WHEN WE APPROACHED HIM, WE APPROACHED HIM EARLY ON IN THE SPRING. WE ASKED HIM WHAT'S UP WITH THE THREATS? HE ESSENTIALLY BLEW THE FBI OFF SAYING, "HEY, WE'RE DONE. COME BACK WITH A WARRANT." AND IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER THE SUBJECT STARTS POSTING THREATS AGAINST THE FBI AGENTS. SO, YOU KNOW, HE'S DOUBLING DOWN ON THE THREATS HERE.

SO NOW, WITH REGARD TO THIS ENVIRONMENT. YEAH, LOOK. A LOT OF HAND WRINGING HERE, "HEY, IF WE DO THIS, THE GUY IS ELDERLY. YOU KNOW, HE'S A PART OF, HE'S KNOWN IN THE COMMUNITY. THE GUY GOES TO CHURCH. THIS ISN'T GOING OVER WELL. HOW DO WE DO IT? WELL, LET'S DO IT SAFELY. LET'S BRING A SWAT TEAM."

IT TURNS OUT TO BE A BARRICADE SITUATION. NOT SURPRISING. AND THERE'S A BACK AND FORTH. YOU CAN EVEN SEE SOME OF IT IN A VIDEO BY A NEIGHBOR THAT'S BEEN RELEASED. "HEY, GET THE HANDS UP." BUT I'M TOLD REPEATED COMMANDS WERE GIVEN AND REPEATEDLY REFUSED. THIS GUY REPEATEDLY REFUSED TO COMPLY. EVEN, I'VE HEARD SOME REPORTS, THAT A DRONE WAS SENT IN TO SCOUT OUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THIS GUY. AND THEN SOME NEGOTIATION. ALL OF IT FAILING. ULTIMATELY, I'M TOLD, AND WE'RE GOING TO HOPEFULLY HEAR MORE FROM THE SALT LAKE CITY FBI OFFICE THIS AFTERNOON, ULTIMATELY THERE WAS A THREAT POSED TO AN AGENT, AND AN AGENT FIRED BACK AT THIS GUY, BECAUSE THERE WAS A WEAPON, I'M TOLD, THAT WAS INVOLVED.

SO THE BIGGER PICTURE HERE, ALICIA, MOVING FORWARD IS, LOOK, THIS IS NOT THE LAST ONE WE'RE GOING TO SEE. QUITE THE OPPOSITE. THIS IS STOCHASTIC TERRORISM. THIS IS THE IDEA THAT PEOPLE CAN BE INCITED TO VIOLENCE BY A LEADERSHIP FIGURE WHO IS PAINTING ANOTHER GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL AS LESS THAN HUMAN. DEHUMANIZING THEM. THEY'RE EVIL. THEY'RE BAD. AND THEREFORE IT MAKES IT MUCH EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO CARRY OUT VIOLENT ACTS ON BEHALF OF SOMEONE ELSE'S IDEOLOGY THAT THEY ADOPTED. AND I'M TELLING YOU, YOU'LL RECALL AFTER 9/11 PEOPLE KIND OF MADE FUN OF THE COLOR-CODED THREAT LEVEL WE HAD FOR A WHILE: "TODAY'S ORANGE, YELLOW, IT'S RED." IF WE HAD THAT IN PLACE, WE WOULD BE CHANGING THE COLOR AND ESCALATING THE THREAT LEVEL AS TRUMP CONTINUES TO FACE CHARGES AND TRIAL.

-- 'Pouring kerosene on the fire': Trump ramping up dangerous combo of 'fear, chaos and violence', by Alicia Menendez, MSNBC

With that said, the LDS church has a right-wing extremist problem. It’s not just Robertson. Ammon Bundy and his family have been engaging in violent right-wing insurrection. Members of the church participated in the January 6 insurrection.

Now, the church and Robertson’s ward members are not directly responsible for his violent threats (or for the Bundys’ behavior or for the January 6 rioters). I’ve seen people suggest that Robertson’s ward members should have taken more seriously his Facebook posts and, perhaps that, in light of them, he shouldn’t have had a calling. Which is possible, if his ward members or bishop were aware of them. But different wards seem to have different cultures around Facebook. I suspect, for instance, that I’m only connected to my wife and two or three other people in my ward on Facebook. If his ward members were unaware of his online extremism, I don’t see any reason why they should be expected to react to it.

But the church could be more direct in its condemnation of violent right-wing extremism. Yes, it condemned “violence and lawless behavior” (which was a good move!). Yes, Pres. Oaks has championed civility in public political discourse. But these messages don’t seem to be sticking. Or, at least, they’re not being received by the people who need to hear them.

But the church could! In researching my forthcoming book,[fn2] I came across discussions of LDS tax protestors in the 1970s. Basically, by the 1960s, tax protest had become a big thing in the South and in the West, including in Utah. But members of the church put a uniquely LDS gloss to tax protest, with one man claiming had had a “deep religious conviction” that the federal income tax was unconstitutional.[fn3] A Salt Lake-based precious metals dealer told the LA Times that Utah was at the heart of the tax protest movement, with 14,000 people actively opposing and defying the tax law.

The IRS disputed his claim. But whether or not members of the church were leading, or disproportionately participating in, the tax protest movement, the perception that they were proved an embarrassment to the church. In an October 1972 Conference address, President Harold B. Lee said,

“Now there is another danger that confronts us. There seem to be those among us who are as wolves among the flock, trying to lead some who are weak and unwary among Church members, according to reports that have reached us, who are taking the law into their own hands by refusing to pay their income tax because they have some political disagreement with constituted authorities.”[fn4]

Instead, Pres. Lee said, members must not “break the laws of the land.”

The following year, the church followed up with a Priesthood Bulletin in which it said that tax protestors should not speak in priesthood or sacrament meetings, firesides, or other places they could propound their anti-tax ideology.

These statements actually were not as effective as one would expect so, in 1976, the church announced that conviction for tax fraud or evasion would automatically lead to disciplinary proceedings, and instructed bishops to ask known tax protestors about their tax payments during temple recommend interviews.

And that seemed to turn the tide. That same year, Utah’s IRS director announced that he saw a shift in tax protest in Utah. But that shift required direct (and repeated) language from church leaders as well as ecclesiastical penalties for failing to comply.

Now, does that mean that no member of the church today is a tax protestor? Absolutely not. And there’s no way to know whether Robertson would have made terroristic threats if the church had been more direct and aggressive about rooting out right-wing extremism.

But there’s reason to think it would have reduced the chances. After all, as an active member of the church, presumably a clear statement by the church that this type of behavior was absolutely inappropriate (along with potential sanctions) would have made him think twice about his behavior.[fn5]

And even if it didn’t, to the extent it is clear that church culture condemns that type of behavior and rhetoric, he would have found a less-receptive (or, at least, smaller) audience for his violent threats (assuming, of course, that most people who saw his Facebook posts were his coreligionists). This type of cultural approbation would do at least some work toward stemming the types of rhetorical violence and extremism that bled into the real world with actual violence and extremism.

Robertson’s death was tragic. His Facebook posts were disgusting. And, even though I believe that this type of violent right-wing extremism is embraced by a tiny minority of church members, it is prevalent and accepted enough that the church needs to be direct and forceful in quashing it. And, based on its experience in the 1970s, the church is capable of being direct and forceful.

_______________

Notes:

[fn1] The Supreme Court has made clear that “true threats” are not protected by the First Amendment as free speech. It’s not my area, so I don’t know the precise contours of “true threats,” but one at least one legal commentator I respect believes that at least some of Robertson’s posts would meet the standard for being unprotected true threats.

[fn2] I’m not sure yet about the timing, but never fear! I’ll tell you about it once the publication schedule is complete!

[fn3] For the record, a religious conviction that you don’t need to pay your taxes doesn’t somehow invoke a First Amendment trump card. The courts have been very clear that the government’s need for revenue is compelling enough that it supersedes even a sincere religious opposition to taxpaying.

[fn4] While I’m talking tax here, interestingly, the next paragraph could have been spoken specifically about Robertson, the Bundys, or the January 6 rioters: “Others have tried to marshal civilians, without police authority, and to arm themselves to battle against possible dangers, little realizing that in so doing they themselves become the ones who, by obstructing the constituted authority, would become subject to arrest and imprisonment.”

[fn5] Of course, there’s no guarantee; in Evangelical circles, congregants are pushing back when their pastors teach them to behave in Christlike ways.

[admin]

Part 1 of 2

STOCHASTIC TERRORISM: Former Top FBI Agent EXPOSES Trump LEGAL CHAOS & MAGA Threats
Lights On with Jessica Denson
MeidasTouch
8/11/2023

Lights on! Former FBI assistant director Frank Figliuzzi joins Jessica Denson for an eye-opening LIVE hour on the danger Trump poses as indictments pile up, his possible incarceration pending trial, this week’s FBI killing of a wanna-be Biden assassin, MAGA calls for civil war, how we confront the growing threat of stochastic terrorism, and much more.



Transcript

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'No Blame?' ABC News finds 54 cases invoking 'Trump' in connection with violence, threats, alleged assaults. President Donald Trump insists he deserves no blame for divisions in America.
by Mike Levine
May 30, 2020, 6:20 AM
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/blame-a ... d=58912889

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Supporters look on as President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Evan Vucci/AP

President Donald Trump has repeatedly distanced himself from acts of violence in communities across America, dismissing critics who point to his rhetoric as a potential source of inspiration or comfort for anyone acting on even long-held beliefs of bigotry and hate.

"I think my rhetoric brings people together," he said last year, four days after a 21-year-old allegedly posted an anti-immigrant screed online and then allegedly opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 and injuring dozens of others.

But a nationwide review conducted by ABC News has identified at least 54 criminal cases where Trump was invoked in direct connection with violent acts, threats of violence or allegations of assault.

After a Latino gas station attendant in Gainesville, Florida, was suddenly punched in the head by a white man, the victim could be heard on surveillance camera recounting the attacker’s own words: “He said, ‘This is for Trump.'" Charges were filed but the victim stopped pursuing them.

When police questioned a Washington state man about his threats to kill a local Syrian-born man, the suspect told police he wanted the victim to "get out of my country," adding, "That’s why I like Trump."

Reviewing police reports and court records, ABC News found that in at least 12 cases perpetrators hailed Trump in the midst or immediate aftermath of physically assaulting innocent victims. In another 18 cases, perpetrators cheered or defended Trump while taunting or threatening others. And in another 10 cases, Trump and his rhetoric were cited in court to explain a defendant's violent or threatening behavior.

When three Kansas men were on trial for plotting to bomb a largely-Muslim apartment complex in Garden City, Kansas, one of their lawyers told the jury that the men "were concerned about what now-President Trump had to say about the concept of Islamic terrorism." Another lawyer insisted Trump had become "the voice of a lost and ignored white, working-class set of voters," and Trump's rhetoric meant someone "who would often be at a 7 during a normal day, might ‘go to 11.'"

Thirteen cases identified by ABC News involved violent or threatening acts perpetrated in defiance of Trump, with many of them targeting Trump's allies in Congress. But the vast majority of the cases – 41 of the 54 – reflect someone echoing presidential rhetoric, not protesting it.

ABC News could not find a single criminal case filed in federal or state court where an act of violence or threat was made in the name of President Barack Obama or President George W. Bush.

The 54 cases identified by ABC News are remarkable in that a link to the president is captured in court documents and police statements, under the penalty of perjury or contempt. These links are not speculative – they are documented in official records. And in the majority of cases identified by ABC News, it was perpetrators themselves who invoked the president in connection with their case, not anyone else.


Shoppers exit after a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, Aug. 3, 2019. Reuters

The perpetrators and suspects identified in the 54 cases are mostly white men – as young as teenagers and as old as 75 – while the victims largely represent an array of minority groups – African-Americans, Latinos, Muslims and gay men.

Federal law enforcement authorities have privately told ABC News they worry that – although Trump has offered public denunciations of violence – his statements have been inconsistent and Trump's style could inspire violence-prone individuals to take action against minorities or others they perceive to be against the president's agenda.

"Any public figure could have the effect of inspiring people," FBI Director Chris Wray told a Senate panel last year. "But remember that the people who commit hate fueled violence are not logical, rational people."

While asserting that "fake" media coverage is exacerbating divisions in the country, Trump has noted that "a fan" of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders opened fire on Republican lawmakers playing baseball in a Washington suburb two years ago. "Nobody puts ... 'Bernie Sanders' in the headline with the maniac," Trump said last year.

And, last year, Trump similarly insisted that the man who fatally shot nine people in Dayton, Ohio, three days earlier "supported" Sanders and other liberal causes.

But there's no indication either of those shooters mentioned Sanders while launching their attacks, and no charges were ever filed because they were both fatally shot during their assaults.

In addition, a president inhabits a unique position in America, with access to a special bully pulpit. On Twitter, Trump currently has 80.7 million followers – nearly seven times the number of Sanders followers.

In identifying the 54 Trump-related cases, ABC News excluded incidents of vandalism. ABC News also excluded many cases of violence – from attacks on anti-Trump protesters at Trump rallies to certain assaults on people wearing "Make America Great Again" hats – that did not establish explicit ties to Trump in court records or police reports. Similarly, being a documented Trump supporter who committed an assault, even at a Trump-related location, would not be enough to be included if official records did not document a specific connection to Trump.

ABC News found several cases where pro-Trump defendants were charged with targeting minorities, or where speculation online suggested the defendants were motivated by Trump, but in those cases ABC News found no police records, court proceedings or other direct evidence presenting a definitive link to the president.

In many cases of assault or threat, charges are never filed, perpetrators are never identified or the incident is never even reported to authorities. And most criminal acts committed by Trump supporters or his detractors have nothing to do with the president. But in 54 cases, court records and police reports indicated some sort of link.

Nevertheless, Trump has said he deserves "no blame" for what he called the "hatred" seemingly coursing through parts of the country. And he told reporters that he's "committed to doing everything" in his power to not let political violence "take root in America."

The White House did not respond to a request seeking comment for this report.

Here are the 54 cases identified by ABC News:


An undated police photo of Steven Leader. Suffolk County District Attorney's Office

Aug. 19, 2015: In Boston, after he and his brother beat a sleeping homeless man of Mexican descent with a metal pole, Steven Leader, 30, told police "Donald Trump was right, all these illegals need to be deported." The victim, however, was not in the United States illegally. The brothers, who are white, ultimately pleaded guilty to several assault-related charges and were each sentenced to at least two years in prison.

Dec. 5, 2015: After Penn State University student Nicholas Tavella, 19, was charged with "ethnic intimidation" and other crimes for threatening to "put a bullet" in a young Indian man on campus, his attorney argued in court that Tavella was just motivated by "a love of country," not "hate." "Donald Trump is running for President of the United States saying that, 'We've got to check people out more closely,'" Tavella's attorney argued in his defense. Tavella, who is white, ultimately pleaded guilty to ethnic intimidation and was sentenced to up to two years in prison.


One of four IEDs recovered by law enforcement at the home of John Roos in April 2016. U.S. Department of Justice

April 28, 2016: When FBI agents arrested 61-year-old John Martin Roos in White City, Oregon, for threatening federal officials, including then-President Barack Obama, they found several pipe bombs and guns in his home. In the three months before his arrest, Roos posted at least 34 messages to Twitter about Trump, repeatedly threatening African Americans, Muslims, Mexican immigrants and the "liberal media," and in court documents, prosecutors noted that the avowed Trump supporter posted this threatening message to Facebook a month earlier: "The establishment is trying to steal the election from Trump. ... Obama is already on a kill list ... Your [name] can be there too." Roos, who is white, has since pleaded guilty to possessing an unregistered explosive device and posting internet threats against federal officials. He was sentenced to more than five years in prison.

June 3, 2016: After 54-year-old Henry Slapnik attacked his African-American neighbors with a knife in Cleveland, he told police "Donald Trump will fix them because they are scared of Donald Trump," according to police reports. Slapnik, who is white, ultimately pleaded guilty to "ethnic intimidation" and other charges. It's unclear what sentence he received.

Aug. 16, 2016: In Olympia, Washington, 32-year-old Daniel Rowe attacked a white woman and a black man with a knife after seeing them kiss on a popular street. When police arrived on the scene, Rowe professed to being "a white supremacist" and said "he planned on heading down to the next Donald Trump rally and stomping out more of the Black Lives Matter group," according to court documents filed in the case. Rowe, who is white, ultimately pleaded guilty to charges of assault and malicious harassment, and he was sentenced to more than four years in prison.


Henry Slapnik in an undated police photo. Cleveland Police Department

Sept. 1, 2016: The then-chief of the Bordentown, New Jersey, police department, Frank Nucera, allegedly assaulted an African American teenager who was handcuffed. Federal prosecutors said the attack was part of Nucera's "intense racial animus," noting in federal court that "within hours" of the assault, Nucera was secretly recorded saying "Donald Trump is the last hope for white people." The 60-year-old Nucera, who is white, was indicted by a federal grand jury on three charges, including committing a federal hate crime and lying to the FBI about the alleged assault. He was convicted of lying to the FBI, but a jury deadlocked on the other charges, so Nucera is now awaiting a second trial. He has pleaded not guilty.

September 2016: After 40-year-old Mark Feigin of Los Angeles was arrested for posting anti-Muslim and allegedly threatening statements to a mosque's Facebook page, his attorney argued in court that the comments were protected by the First Amendment because Feigin was "using similar language and expressing similar views" to "campaign statements from then-candidate Donald Trump." Noting that his client "supported Donald Trump," attorney Caleb Mason added that "Mr. Feigin's comments were directed toward a pressing issue of public concern that was a central theme of the Trump campaign and the 2016 election generally: the Islamic roots of many international and U.S. terrorist acts." Feigin, who is white, ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of sending harassing communications electronically. He was sentenced to probation.

Oct. 10, 2016: Police in Albany, New York, arrested 55-year-old Todd Warnken for threatening an African-American woman at a local grocery store “because of her race,” according to a police report. Warnken allegedly told the victim, “Trump is going to win, and if you don’t like it I’m gonna beat your ass you n----r,” the police report said. He ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in the case and completed a local “restorative justice program,” allowing the charges against him to be dismissed, according to the district attorney’s office.

Oct. 13, 2016: After the FBI arrested three white Kansas men for plotting to bomb an apartment complex in Garden City, Kansas, where many Somali immigrants lived, one of the men's attorneys insisted to a federal judge that the plot was "self-defensive" because the three men believed "that if Donald Trump won the election, President Obama would not recognize the validity of those results, that he would declare martial law, and that at that point militias all over the country would have to step in." Then, after a federal grand jury convicted 47-year-old Patrick Stein and the two other men of conspiracy-related charges, Stein's attorney argued for a lighter sentence based on "the backdrop" of Stein's actions: Trump had become "the voice of a lost and ignored white, working-class set of voters" like Stein, and the "climate" at the time could propel someone like Stein to "go to 11," attorney Jim Pratt said in court. Stein and his two accomplices were each sentenced to at least 25 years in prison.

Nov. 3, 2016: In Tampa, Florida, David Howard threatened to burn down the house next to his "simply because" it was being purchased by a Muslim family, according to the Justice Department. He later said under oath that while he harbored a years-long dislike for Muslims, the circumstances around the home sale were "the match that lit the wick." He cited Trump's warnings about immigrants from majority-Muslim countries. "[With] the fact that the president wants these six countries vetted, everybody vetted before they come over, there's a concern about Muslims," Howard said. Howard, who is white, ultimately pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights violation, and the 59-year-old was sentenced to eight months in prison.


A surveillance camera at a store in Gainesville, Fla., captures what police described as an unprovoked attack on a Hispanic man cleaning the store's parking lot. Nov. 10, 2016. Gainesville Police Department

Nov. 10, 2016: A 23-year-old man from High Springs, Florida, allegedly assaulted an unsuspecting Hispanic man who was cleaning a parking lot outside of a local food store. "[H]e was suddenly struck in the back of the head," a police report said of the victim. "[The victim] asked the suspect why he hit him, to which the suspect replied, 'This is for Donald Trump.' The suspect then grabbed [the victim] by the jacket and proceeded to strike him several more times," according to the report. Surveillance video of the incident "completely corroborated [the victim's] account of events," police said. The suspect was arrested on battery charges, but the case was dropped after the victim decided not to pursue the matter, police said. Efforts by ABC News to reach the victim for further explanation were not successful.

Nov. 12, 2016: In Grand Rapids, Michigan, while attacking a cab driver from East Africa, 23-year-old Jacob Holtzlander shouted racial epithets and repeatedly yelled the word, "Trump," according to law enforcement records. Holtzlander, who is white, ultimately pleaded guilty to a charge of ethnic intimidation, and he was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Nov. 16, 2016: Police in San Antonio, Texas, arrested 32-year-old Dusty Paul Lacombe after he and a companion assaulted a black man at a convenience store. According to a police report, Lacombe “stepped out of a vehicle and walked to the [victim] and stated he was a Trump supporter and swung at him several times.” The victim “was punched in the face several times,” the police report said. When police arrived, Lacombe – who “smelled strongly of alcohol” – “stated something about Trump and admitted to fighting with [the victim],” the police report noted. Lacombe was charged with misdemeanor assault and ultimately received “deferred adjudication,” which is akin to probation. Lacombe ultimately pleaded “no contest” to the charge and was granted “deferred adjudication” with a $450 fine.

Jan. 3, 2017: In Chicago, four young African-Americans -- sisters Brittany and Tanishia Covington, Jordan Hill and Tesfaye Cooper -- tied up a white, mentally disabled man and assaulted him, forcing him to recite the phrases "F--k Donald Trump" and "F--k white people" while they broadcast the attack online. Each of them ultimately pleaded guilty to committing a hate crime and other charges, and three of them were sentenced to several years in prison.

Jan. 25, 2017: At JFK International Airport in New York, a female Delta employee, wearing a hijab in accordance with her Muslim faith, was "physically and verbally" attacked by 57-year-old Robin Rhodes of Worcester, Mass., "for no apparent reason," prosecutors said at the time. When the victim asked Brown what she did to him, he replied: "You did nothing, but ... [Expletive] Islam. [Expletive] ISIS. Trump is here now. He will get rid of all of you." Rhodes ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of "menacing," and he was sentenced to probation.

Feb. 19, 2017: After 35-year-old Gerald Wallace called a mosque in Miami Gardens, Florida, and threatened to "shoot all y'all," he told the FBI and police that he made the call because he "got angry" from a local TV news report about a terrorist act. At a rally in Florida the day before, Trump falsely claimed that Muslim refugees had just launched a terrorist attack in Sweden.

WATCH WALLACE'S INTERVIEW WITH THE FBI AND POLICE:

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FBI and police interview suspect in mosque threats. ABC News obtained video from an FBI and police interview with George Sloane Wallace on Feb. 27, 2017.

Wallace's attorney, Katie Carmon, later tried to convince a federal judge that the threat to kill worshippers could be "protected speech" due to the "very distinctly political climate" at the time. "There are courts considering President Trump's travel ban ... and the president himself has made some very pointed statements about what he thinks about people of this descent," Carmon argued in court.

HEAR CARMON'S REMARKS IN COURT:

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Defense attorney ties mosque threat to Trump. Gerald Sloane Wallace's attorney cited Trump as part of his defense in a June 2017 court hearing.

Wallace, who is African American, ultimately pleaded guilty to obstructing the free exercise of his victims' religious beliefs, and he was sentenced to one year in prison.

Feb. 23, 2017: Kevin Seymour and his partner Kevin price were riding their bicycles in Key West, Florida, when a man on a moped, 30-year-old Brandon Davis of North Carolina, hurled anti-gay slurs at them and "intentionally" ran into Seymour's bike, shouting, "You live in Trump country now," according to police reports and Davis' attorney. Davis ultimately pleaded guilty to a charge of battery evidencing prejudice, but in court, he expressed remorse and was sentenced to four years of probation.

May 3, 2017: In South Padre Island, Texas, 35-year-old Alexander Jennes Downing of Waterford, Connecticut, was captured on cellphone video taunting and aggressively approaching a Muslim family, repeatedly shouting, "Donald Trump will stop you!" and other Trump-related remarks. Police arrested downing, of Waterford, Connecticut, for public intoxication. It's unclear what came of the charge.

May 11, 2017: Authorities arrested Steven Martan of Tucson, Arizona, after he left three threatening messages at the office Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz. In one message, he told McSally he was going to "blow your brains out," and in another he told her that her "days are numbered." He later told FBI agents "that he was venting frustrations with Congresswoman McSally's congressional votes in support of the President of the United States," according to charging documents. Martan's attorney, Walter Goncalves Jr., later told a judge that Martan had "an alcohol problem" and left the messages "after becoming intoxicated" and "greatly upset" by news that McSally "agreed with decisions by President Donald Trump." Martan, 58, has since pleaded guilty to three counts of retaliating against a federal official and was sentenced to more than one year in prison.

May 23, 2017: George Jarjour and his brother, Sam Jarjour, were getting gas at a station in Bellevue, Washington, when 56-year-old Kenneth Sjarpe started yelling at them to “go back to your country,” according to a police report. Sjarpe then drove his truck toward the brothers, rolled down his window, and declared, “F--k you, you Muslims,” and “I’ll f---ing kill you,” the police report stated. When police officers interviewed Sjarpe the next day, according to the report, he “became animated and his voice got louder as he started talking about how he hated those people… [particularly] Iranians, Indians and Middle Easterners.” And, the report recounted, “He said he supports Trump in keeping them out.” A week later, Sjarpe threatened another man at a local business, yelling, “I hate foreigners,” according to a police report. He was arrested days later. Sjarpe ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of malicious harassment and was sentenced to six months behind bars.

Oct. 22, 2017: A 44-year-old California man threatened to kill Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., for her frequent criticism of Trump and her promise to "take out" the president. Anthony Scott Lloyd left a voicemail at the congresswoman's Washington office, declaring: "If you continue to make threats towards the president, you're going to wind up dead, Maxine. Cause we'll kill you." After pleading guilty to one count of threatening a U.S. official, Lloyd asked the judge for leniency, saying he suffered from addiction-inducing mental illness and became "far too immersed in listening to polarizing political commentators and engaging in heated political debates online." His lawyer put it this way to the judge: "Mr. Lloyd was a voracious consumer of political news online, on television and on radio … [that are] commonly viewed as 'right wing,' unconditionally supportive of President Trump, and fiercely critical of anyone who opposed President Trump's policies." The judge sentenced Lloyd to six months of house arrest and three years of probation.


President Donald J. Trump stops to talk to reporters and members of the media as he walks to Marine One to depart from the South Lawn at the White House on Wednesday, Aug 07, 2019 in Washington. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Feb. 21, 2018: A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., indicted a former U.S. diplomat – William Patrick Syring, 60, of Arlington, Virginia – on several counts for threatening employees of the Arab American Institute. He had previously served nearly a year in prison for threats he made in emails and voicemails to the same organization in 2006, but soon after serving his time he began emailing the organization again. In January 2017, a week after Trump was inaugurated, Syring sent one email saying: "It's time for ethnic cleansing of Arabs in America. Elections have consequences. President Trump will cleanse America of [AAI President James] Zogby … and all Arab American terrorists." Within months, he began sending particularly “charged” rhetoric that constituted “a true threat” – and emails like the one from January 2017 reflect the type of language that was “part and parcel of” his threats, prosecutors said in court documents. In May 2019, a federal jury convicted Syring on all 14 counts against him, including seven hate-crime charges and seven interstate-threat charges. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

March 1, 2018: The FBI arrested 24-year-old Daniel Frisiello of Beverly, Massachusetts, for sending envelopes with white powder to at least five politically-charged locations around the country. One of those envelopes was addressed to “Donald Trump Jr.” in New York, and it included a typed letter stating, “You are an awful, awful person, I am surprised that your father lets you speak on TV.” Trump Jr.’s then-wife received and then opened the letter. The FBI ultimately determined Frisiello was responsible for a rash of threatening letters sent to various public servants since 2015. In 2016, Frisiello sent white powder to Trump’s family in what federal authorities called “a bid to persuade [Trump] to drop out of the presidential race.” Frisiello then sent white powder to Trump Jr. in early 2018 “because of the victim’s connection with his father,” federal authorities said. Frisiello ultimately pleaded guilty to 13 federal counts of mailing a threat. He was sentenced to five years’ probation, including one year of home confinement, after even prosecutors acknowledged there were “unique circumstances concerning Mr. Frisiello’s mental and emotional conditions,” as they said in court documents.

April 6, 2018: The FBI arrested 38-year-old Christopher Michael McGowan of Roanoke, Virginia, for allegedly posting a series of Twitter threats against Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., over several months. In one posting in December 2017, McGowan wrote to Goodlatte: "I threatened to kill you if you help Trump violate the constitution," according to charging documents. In another alleged post, the self-described Army veteran wrote: "If Trump tries to fire [special counsel Robert] Mueller I WILL make an attempt to execute a citizens arrest against [Goodlatte] and I will kill him if he resist." In subsequent statements to police, he said he drinks too much, was "hoping to get someone's attention over his concerns about the current status of our country," and did not actually intend to harm Goodlatte, court documents recount. A federal grand jury has indicted McGowan on one count of transmitting a threat over state lines, and it's unclear if he has entered a plea as he awaits trial.

June 8, 2018: Federal authorities arrested Nicholas Bukoski of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, for threatening to kill Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California. “You wouldn’t want to be caught off guard when I use my second amendment protected firearms to rid the world of you,” Bukowski wrote to Sanders via Instagram on March, 24, 2018. Two minutes later, he wrote to Harris saying he will “make sure you and your radical lefty friends never get back in power … because you won’t make it to see that day.” At a mental treatment facility shortly after his arrest, he said, “He was watching the news and social media, which made him want to send the threats. He stated that he was frustrated with liberals and he is very supportive of the current president,” court documents signed by Bukoski recount. Other court documents describe Bukoski’s criminal past unrelated to politics, including a series of arsons he committed in 2017 and early 2018 and an armed robbery he committed in January 2018. In the most recent case involving threats to lawmakers, he ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting interstate threats and was sentenced to six months in prison.

July 6, 2018: Martin Astrof, 75, approached a volunteer at the campaign office of Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., in Suffolk County, New York, and "state[d] he was going to kill supporters of U.S. congressman Lee Zeldin and President Donald Trump," according to charging documents. Astrof was arrested and ultimately pleaded guilty to reckless endangerment. He was sentenced to one year of probation.

August 2018: After the Boston Globe called on news outlets around the country to resist what it called "Trump's assault on journalism," the Boston Globe received more than a dozen threatening phone calls. "You are the enemy of the people," the alleged caller, 68-year-old Robert Chain of Encino, California, told a Boston Globe employee on Aug. 22. "As long as you keep attacking the President, the duly elected President of the United States ... I will continue to threat[en], harass, and annoy the Boston Globe." A week later, authorities arrested Chain on threat-related charges. After a hearing in his case, he told reporters, "America was saved when Donald J. Trump was elected president." Chain has pleaded guilty to seven threat-related charges, and he is awaiting sentencing.

Oct. 4, 2018: The Polk County Sheriff's Office in Florida arrested 53-year-old James Patrick of Winter Haven, Florida, for allegedly threatening "to kill Democratic office holders, members of their families and members of both local and federal law enforcement agencies," according to a police report. In messages posted online, Patrick detailed a "plan" for his attacks, which he said he would launch if then-nominee Brett Kavanaugh was not confirmed as a Supreme Court justice, the police report said. Seeking Patrick's release from jail after his arrest, Patrick's attorney, Terri Stewart, told a judge that her client's "rantings" were akin to comments from "a certain high-ranking official" -- Trump. The president had "threatened the North Korean people -- to blow them all up. It was on Twitter," Stewart said, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Patrick has been charged with making a written threat to kill or injure, and he has pleaded not guilty. His trial is pending.


Mail bombing suspect Cesar Sayoc's van is seen in Boca Raton, Fla. on Oct. 18, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media. Ed Kennedy via Reuters

Late October 2018: Over the course of a week, Florida man Cesar Sayoc allegedly mailed at least 15 potential bombs to prominent critics of Trump and members of the media. Sayoc had been living in a van plastered with pro-Trump stickers, and he had posted several pro-Trump messages on social media. Federal prosecutors have accused him of "domestic terrorism," and Sayoc has since pleaded guilty to 65 counts, including use of a weapon of mass destruction. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison. "We believe the president's rhetoric contributed to Mr. Sayoc's behavior," Sayoc's attorney told the judge at sentencing.

Oct. 21, 2018: While Bruce M. Alexander of Tampa, Florida, was flying on a Southwest Airlines flight from Houston, Texas, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, he assaulted a woman by “reaching around the seat” in front of him and “offensively touching” her, he acknowledged in court documents. When federal authorities then arrested him, he “stated that the President of the United States says it’s ok to grab women by their private parts,” an FBI agent wrote in court documents. Alexander ultimately pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor count of simple assault and was sentenced to two days behind bars.

Nov. 3, 2018: Police in Tucson, Arizona, arrested 42-year-old Daniel Brito of Rockville, Maryland, on a robbery charge after he allegedly stole a Tucson man’s “Make America Great Again” hat and punched the victim several times. When a police officer responded to the scene, Brito told the officer, “I saw this guy with a Trump hat walk by and think about, ‘You know what, f--k him,” according to a police report. Brito later told two other officers that he believed the victim was a “Neo-nazi Jew hater” because the victim supported Trump, another police report said.

Dec. 4, 2018: Michael Brogan, 51, of Brooklyn, New York, left a voicemail at an unidentified U.S. Senator's office in Washington insisting, "I'm going to put a bullet in ya. … You and your constant lambasting of President Trump. Oh, reproductive rights, reproductive rights." He later told an FBI agent that before leaving the voicemail he became "very angry" by "an internet video of the Senator, including the Senator's criticism of the President of the United States as well as the Senator's views on reproductive rights." "The threats were made to discourage the Senator from criticizing the President," the Justice Department said in a later press release. Brogan has since pleaded guilty to one count of threatening a U.S. official, and he is awaiting sentencing.

Jan. 17, 2019: Stephen Taubert of Syracuse, New York, was arrested by the U.S. Capitol Police for threatening to kill Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., and for threatening to "hang" former President Barack Obama. Taubert used "overtly bigoted, hateful language" in his threats, according to federal prosecutors. On July 20, 2018, Taubert called the congresswoman's Los Angeles office to say he would find her at public events and kill her and her entire staff. In a letter to the judge just days before Taubert's trial began, his defense attorney, Courtenay McKeon, noted: "During that time period, Congresswoman Waters was embroiled in a public feud with the Trump administration. … On June 25, 2018, in response to Congresswoman Waters' public statements, President Trump tweeted: 'Congresswoman Maxine Waters, an extraordinarily low IQ person, has … just called for harm to supporters … of the Make America Great Again movement. Be careful what you wish for Max!'" As McKeon insisted to the judge: "This context is relevant to the case." A federal jury ultimately convicted Taubert on three federal charges, including retaliating against a federal official and making a threat over state lines. He was sentenced to nearly four years in prison.


A cache of guns and ammunition uncovered by U.S. federal investigators in the home of U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant Christopher Paul Hasson in Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S., is shown in the photo provided, Feb. 20, 2019. U.S. Attorney's Office Maryland/Reuters

Jan. 22, 2019: David Boileau of Holiday, Florida, was arrested by the Pasco County Sheriff's Office for allegedly burglarizing an Iraqi family's home and "going through" their mailbox, according to a police report. After officers arrived at the home, Boileau "made several statements of his dislike for people of Middle Eastern descent," the report said. "He also stated if he doesn't get rid of them, Trump will handle it." The police report noted that a day before, Boileau threw screws at a vehicle outside the family's house. On that day, Boileau allegedly told police, "We'll get rid of them one way or another." Boileau, 58, has since pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of trespassing, and he was sentenced to 90 days in jail.

Feb. 15, 2019: The FBI in Maryland arrested a Marine veteran and U.S. Coast Guard lieutenant, Christopher Paul Hasson, who they said was stockpiling weapons and "espoused" racist and anti-immigrant views for years as he sought to "murder innocent civilians on a scale rarely seen in this country." In court documents, prosecutors said the 49-year-old "domestic terrorist" compiled a "hit list" of prominent Democrats. Two months later, while seeking Hasson's release from jail before trial, his public defender, Elizabeth Oyer, told a federal judge: "This looks like the sort of list that our commander-in-chief might have compiled while watching Fox News in the morning. … Is it legitimately frustrating that offensive language and ideology has now become part of our national vocabulary? Yes, it is very frustrating. But … it is hard to differentiate it from the random musings of someone like Donald Trump who uses similar epithets in his everyday language and tweets." Hasson ultimately pleaded guilty to federal weapons-related charges, and he was sentenced to more than 13 years in federal prison.


U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Christopher Paul Hasson was allegedly stockpiling weapons as he sought to launch a major attack, authorities said. Feb. 20, 2019.
Source

Feb. 15, 2019: Police in Falmouth, Massachusetts, arrested 41-year-old Rosiane Santos after she "verbally assault[ed]" a man for wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat in a Mexican restaurant and then "violently push[ed] his head down," according to police reports. Apparently intoxicated, "she stated that [the victim] was a 'motherf----r' for supporting Trump," one of the responding officers wrote. "She also stated that he shouldn't be allowed in a Mexican restaurant with that." Santos was in the United States unlawfully, federal authorities said. Police arrested her on charges of "simple assault" and disorderly conduct. She has since admitted in local court that there are "sufficient facts" to warrant charges, and she has been placed on a form of probation.

Feb. 25, 2019: An 18-year-old student at Edmond Santa Fe High School in Edmond, Oklahoma, was captured on cellphone video "confronting a younger classmate who [was] wearing a 'Make America Great Again' hat and carrying a 'Trump' flag," according to a press release from the local school system. "The [older] student then proceeds to grab the flag and knock the hat off of his classmate's head." The 18-year-old student was charged in local court with assault and battery, according to Edmond City Attorney Steve Murdock. The student has since pleaded guilty and was placed on probation, Murdock added.

March 16, 2019: Anthony Comello, 24, of Staten Island, New York, was taken into custody for allegedly killing Francesco "Franky Boy" Cali, the reputed head of the infamous Gambino crime family. It marked the first mob boss murder in New York in 30 years, law enforcement officials told ABC News the murder may have stemmed from Comello's romantic relationship with a Cali family member. Court documents since filed in state court by Comello's defense attorney, Robert Gottlieb, said Comello suffers from mental defect and was a believer in the "conspiratorial fringe right-wing political group" QAnon. In addition, Gottlieb wrote: "Beginning with the election of President Trump in November 2016, Anthony Comello's family began to notice changes to his personality. … Mr. Comello became certain that he was enjoying the protection of President Trump himself, and that he had the president's full support. Mr. Comello grew to believe that several well-known politicians and celebrities were actually members of the Deep State, and were actively trying to bring about the destruction of America." Comello has been charged with one count of murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. His trial is pending, and he has pleaded not guilty.


Anthony Comello appears for his extradition hearing in Toms River, N.J., March 18, 2019. Seth Wenig/AP

April 5, 2019: The FBI arrested a 55-year-old man from upstate New York for allegedly threatening to kill Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., one of the first two Muslim women elected to the U.S. Congress. She is an outspoken critic of Trump, and Trump has frequently launched public attacks against her and three other female lawmakers of color. Two weeks before his arrest, Patrick Carlineo Jr. allegedly called Omar's office in Washington labeling the congresswoman a "terrorist" and declaring: "I'll put a bullet in her f----ing skull." When an FBI agent then traced the call to Carlineo and interviewed him, Carlineo "stated that he was a patriot, that he loves the President, and that he hates radical Muslims in our government," according to the FBI agent's summary of the interview. Federal prosecutors charged Carlineo with threatening to assault and murder a United States official. He has since pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to one year in prison.

April 13, 2019: 27-year-old Jovan Crawford, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, and 25-year-old Scott Roberson Washington, D.C., assaulted and robbed a black man wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat while walking through his suburban Maryland neighborhood. Before punching and kicking him, "The two suspects harassed [the victim] about the hat and asked why he was wearing it. [The victim] told them he has his own beliefs and views," according to charging documents filed after their arrest by Montgomery County, Maryland, police. Crawford later received a text message noting that, "They jumped some trump supporter," the charging documents said. Crawford and Roberson have since pleaded guilty to assault charges. They were each sentenced to at least one year in prison.

April 18, 2019: The FBI arrested John Joseph Kless of Tamarac, Florida, for calling the Washington offices of three prominent Democrats and threatening to kill each of them. At his home, authorities found a loaded handgun in a backpack, an AR-15 rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. In later pleading guilty to one charge of transmitting threats over state lines, Kless admitted that in a threatening voicemail targeting Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., he stated: "You won't f---ing tell Americans what to say, and you definitely don't tell our president, Donald Trump, what to say." Tlaib, a vocal critic of Trump, was scheduled to speak in Florida four days later. Kless was awaiting sentencing. In a letter to the federal judge, he said he "made a very big mistake," never meant to hurt anyone, and "was way out of line with my language and attitude." Kless was sentenced to one year behind bars.

April 24, 2019: The FBI arrested 30-year-old Matthew Haviland of North Kingstown, Rhode Island, for allegedly sending a series of violent and threatening emails to a college professor in Massachusetts who publicly expressed support for abortion rights and strongly criticized Trump. In one of 28 emails sent to the professor on March 10, 2019, Haviland allegedly called the professor "pure evil" and said "all Democrats must be eradicated," insisting the country now has "a president who's taking our country in a place of more freedom rather than less." In another email the same day, Haviland allegedly wrote the professor: "I will rip every limb from your body and … I will kill every member of your family." According to court documents, Haviland's longtime friend later told the FBI that "within the last year, Haviland's views regarding abortion and politics have become more extreme … at least in part because of the way the news media portrays President Trump." Haviland has since pleaded guilty to charges of cyberstalking and transmitting a threat in interstate commerce. He is awaiting sentencing.


Law enforcement agencies respond to an active shooter at a Wal-Mart near Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas, Aug. 3, 2019. Joel Angel Juarez/AFP/Getty Images

June 5, 2019: The FBI arrested a Utah man for allegedly calling the U.S. Capitol more than 2,000 times over several months and threatening to kill Democratic lawmakers, whom he said were "trying to destroy Trump's presidency." "I am going to take up my second amendment right, and shoot you liberals in the head," 54-year-old Scott Brian Haven allegedly stated in one of the calls on Oct. 18, 2018, according to charging documents. When an FBI agent later interviewed Haven, he "explained the phone calls were made during periods of frustration with the way Democrats were treating President Trump," the charging documents said. The FBI visit, however, didn't stop Haven from making more threats, including: On March 21, 2019, he called an unidentified U.S. senator's office to say that if Democrats refer to Trump as Hitler again he will shoot them, and two days later he called an unidentified congressman's office to say he "was going to take [the congressman] out … because he is trying to remove a duly elected President." A federal grand jury has since charged Haven with one count of transmitting a threat over state lines. Haven has since pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting a threat over state lines. He was sentenced to time served.

Aug. 3, 2019: A gunman opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 people and injuring 24 others. The FBI labeled the massacre an act of "domestic terrorism," and police determined that the alleged shooter, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, posted a lengthy anti-immigrant diatribe online before the attack. "We attribute that manifesto directly to him," according to El Paso police chief Greg Allen. Describing the coming assault as "a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas," the screed's writer said "the media" would "blame Trump's rhetoric" for the attack but insisted his anti-immigrant views "predate Trump" -- an apparent acknowledgement that at least some of his views align with some of Trump's public statements. The writer began his online essay by stating that he generally "support[s]" the previous writings of the man who killed 51 Muslim worshippers in New Zealand earlier this year. In that case, the shooter in New Zealand said he absolutely did not support Trump as "a policy maker and leader" -- but "[a]s a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose? Sure." Crusius has been charged with capital murder by the state of Texas.

Aug. 16, 2019: The FBI arrested Eric Lin, 35, of Clarksburg, Maryland, for sending threatening and hate-filled messages over Facebook vowing to kill a Miami-area woman and “all Hispanics in Miami and other places,” as the Justice Department described it. Over two months, the woman received 150 pages’ worth of messages from Lin, the FBI said. In June 2019, Lin allegedly wrote: “In 3 short years your entire Race your entire culture will perish only then after I kill your [epithet] family will I permit you to Die by Hanging on Metal Wire.” A month later, on July 19, 2019, he allegedly wrote: “I Thank God everday President Donald John Trump is President and that he will launch a Racial War and Crusade to keep the n----rs, S---s, and Muslims and any dangerous non-White or Ethnically or Culturally Foreign group ‘In Line.’” On his Facebook account, Lin says he "Studied at Trump University," and he repeatedly praises Trump for, among other things, “fomenting racial hatred” and “Making Racism Ok Again.” At the same time, a few of his posts seem to praise Democrats and minorities. In January, Lin pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting a threatening communication. He has yet to be sentenced.

Aug. 21, 2019: Nathan Semans of Humphreys County, Tennessee, was arrested by state law enforcement for allegedly emailing a threat to a local TV station that demanded the station broadcast a certain story. “Look if you don’t run story I’m going to state capital to blow someone’s brains out,” the email stated. The email then added in part: “I don’t look good at the moment cause the tyranny of what trump did … I’m sick of this nonsense and bologna hanging around that trumps [sic] the perfect American, hallelujah against Trump.” Semans has been charged with one count of making terrorist threats, and his trial is pending. It’s unclear if he has entered an initial plea.

Oct. 7, 2019: A woman driving in Moorhead, Minnesota, called police after 27-year-old Joseph Schumacher of North Dakota allegedly rolled down his window and “began yelling at the female expressing his dislike for the political bumper sticker [she] had displayed on her car,” according to police reports. Schumacher then allegedly pointed to the “Trump Pence” bumper sticker on his own vehicle “and further expressed his difference in national political views” before “brandishing a pistol” inside his vehicle, police said. Schumacher was ultimately arrested on three misdemeanor charges, including disorderly conduct that could “reasonably arouse alarm.” He ultimately pleaded guilty to the disorderly conduct charge and a “gross misdemeanor” charge of carrying a weapon without a permit. He was sentenced to a year behind bars.

Oct. 25, 2019: The FBI arrested Jan Peter Meister of Tucson, Arizona, for threatening to kill House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff, D-California. Three weeks earlier, he left a voicemail at Schiff’s office in Washington, D.C, promising to “blow your brains out.” According to court documents filed in the case, Meister told FBI agents that “he strongly dislikes the Democrats, and feels they are to blame for the country's political issues.” In other court documents, Meister’s attorney, Bradley Roach, noted that the charge his client ultimately accepted “involves threats of injury of death against a political figure who figures very prominently in the ongoing impeachment of President Trump.” Meister has pleaded guilty to one count of threatening a U.S. official. A plea agreement with prosecutors calls for Meister to be sentenced to time already served.

Oct. 26, 2019: During a Collier County fair in Florida, a teenage girl allegedly assaulted a man dressed as Trump. “While standing in line [with my wife and stepdaughter] waiting our turn to go in to the haunted house exhibit, [she] … walked over to me and punched me in my left jaw. She laughed and ran back to her place in line,” the man told police, according a police report of the incident. The unidentified girl’s “sole motivation was to strike ‘Trump,’” and a video of the incident was posted on social media, the police report added. The girl was issued a civil citation and ordered to appear in court, according to the Collier County sheriff’s office.

Nov. 1, 2019: Clifton Blackwell, 61, of Milwaukee was arrested by local police after allegedly throwing acid on a Peruvian-American’s face and accusing him of being inside the United States illegally. Before attacking the victim outside of a Mexican restaurant, Blackwell allegedly asked the victim “Why you invade my country?” and “Why don’t you respect my laws?” The attack was captured on video by surveillance cameras, and the victim suffered second-degree burns on his face and neck. When police then searched Blackwell’s home, they found gun parts and “three letters addressed to President Donald Trump,” a police report noted. And when police interviewed an employee at a grocery store frequented by Blackwell, the employee told police that Blackwell “many times talked about his political support for President Trump,” according to a police report. “She stated she was even warned by the security guard James to not talk about political issued when [Blackwell] is in the store because of how he acts.” Blackwell was charged with first-degree reckless injury during a hate crime. He pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

Nov. 6, 2019: Lawrence K. Garcia of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, area was arrested by the FBI for allegedly threatening to kill local law enforcement and bomb a U.S. bank’s offices. In a phone call to the bank, Garcia said, “If Donald J. Trump doesn’t step down by my birthday, the day after, we shall declare war against the devil. … [S]o Donald J. Trump you are going to bow to the American people,” according to charging documents filed in the case. A federal grand jury indicted Garcia on one count of communicating a threat over state lines, but he has a history of mental illness and a federal judge later determined he “is not presently competent to stand trial.” Garcia was placed into federal custody to receive treatment.

Feb. 11, 2020: Patrick Bradley, 34, of Windham, N.H., was arrested by local police for allegedly assaulting a pro-Trump teenager on the day of New Hampshire’s primary election for presidential nominees. According to police, “Bradley had exited the voting polls located inside Windham High School and was walking by a TRUMP campaign tent occupied by several campaign supporters / workers. As he passed by the tent Bradley slapped [the] 15-year old juvenile across the face. He then assaulted two other adults who attempted to intercede. Bradley was also accused of throwing TRUMP campaign signs and attempting to knock over the aforementioned tent.” Bradley was charged with three misdemeanor counts of simple assault and one count of disorderly conduct. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

Feb. 19, 2020: The FBI arrested Salvatore Lippa II, 57, of upstate New York for allegedly threatening to kill Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, the top Democrat in the Senate, and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. In late January, he left a voicemail at Schiff’s office in Washington, D.C., calling Schiff a “scumbag” and threatening to “put a bullet in your [expletive] forehead,” according to charging documents. Two weeks later, he allegedly left a voicemail at Schumer’s office in Albany, New York, saying “somebody wants to assassinate you.” When federal authorities confronted Lippa, he “admitted that he made the threatening calls because he was upset about the impeachment proceedings” targeting Trump. Lippa has been charged with threatening to kill a U.S. official and is currently engaged in plea negotiations with the government, according to court records.

April 30, 2020: A Pennsylvania man who fled Cuba nearly two decades ago, Alazo Alexander, allegedly opened fire on the Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C. When police officers first arrested Alexander, he was holding an American flag and yelling nonsensical statements, according to charging documents filed in the case. He had also unsuccessfully tried to burn a Cuban flag that had several phrases written on it, including, “Trump 2020.” After his arrest, Alexander told authorities he had heard voices in his head and believed certain Cubans were trying to kill him, so he “wanted to get them before they got him,” the charging documents said. His wife later told authorities that Garcia was previously diagnosed with a delusional disorder. Garcia has been charged with three firearms-related offenses, including one count of using a deadly weapon to attack a foreign official. It’s unclear if he’s entered an initial plea.

ABC News' Aaron Katersky, Meg Cunningham, Luke Barr, Karen Travers, and Alexis Scott contributed to this report.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article has been updated since it was first published in October 2018.

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Part 2 of 2

Trump Extremists Demand Civil War, Mass Murder After New Indictment. “Why are we talking about anything but dragging the political elite out of their homes and setting them on fire?” asked a poster on online forum, The Donald
by Tim Dickinson
Rolling Stone
June 9, 2023


The Trump stans at the online forum The Donald are calling for violence in defense of their hero. DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES

EXTREME SUPPORTERS OF Donald Trump have met news of his federal indictment with visions of violence and retribution.

At The Donald, a forum for ultra-MAGA Trump supporters, users demanded public executions and other forms of lynching to avenge the federal prosecution of Trump, for the alleged mishandling of state secrets at Mar a Lago after he was no longer president.

The calls for violence appeared in comment threads, responding to posts on the front page of the forum Thursday night, after news broke of Trump’s latest legal troubles. The most extreme comments were written in response to a fanciful post insisting “the only solution” to DOJ’s efforts to lock up Trump would be to vote him back into the presidency, so Trump could “pardon himself and begin arresting those guilty of insurrection and sedition.”

A user named “Belac186” offered a far deadlier fix: “The only way this country ever becomes anything like the Constitution says this country should be is if thousands of traitorous rats are publicly executed.” Commenter “DogFaceKilla” quickly chimed in to offer supplies: “I got some rope somewhere in the garage…” And “Heavy_Metal_Patriot” added: “Hans says we can borrow the flammenwerfer” — a reference to a battlefield flame thrower used to by German soldiers in World War II.

The proposal for mass killing struck user “BlackPilledMAGA” as going too far: “Doesn’t have to be thousands, just a few dozen would do. Shit would STOP immediately.” But user “Nerdrem1” insisted taking out a few elites wouldn’t make the difference, suggesting the number of dead required was on a genocidal scale: “Millions. The real problem is the people that vote for them, as long as they exist the problem can’t be solved.” A user named “Heavy_Metal_Patriot” concurred: “Correct.”

It might be tempting to dismiss these calls for mass murder as loose talk among angry MAGAdonians. Yet there is dark history here. In a previous iteration, The Donald was used to help plot and promote the violence at the Capitol in 2021, as detailed in the final report of the House Jan. 6 Committee, including by users who “openly discussed surrounding and occupying the U.S. Capitol.”

On The Donald, users can post a headline or a meme with hopes that others will “upvote” to the front page. Clicking on a post then brings up a comment section, where the most popular comments similarly rise to the top. The forum is rightly notorious as a place for bad Internet behavior. It began on Reddit, before getting banned for upvoting “rule-breaking content” and for moderators who “refused to meet our most basic expectations.” The forum then launched as a standalone site at TheDonald.win, but a top moderator pulled the plug on that site following the havoc of Jan. 6. Finally it was rebooted for third time at Patriots.win, where it continues to connect the Trump faithful — and offer the rest of us a disturbing window into the psyche of the MAGA fever swamps.

The Donald still bills itself as “a high-energy rally for supporters of President Trump” and the forum’s rules include exhortations to “Follow the Law” and to “Be Vigilant” because “your posts and comments may become news.” The forum did not respond to questions emailed to its press line about its moderation practices or how it handles open calls to violence.

As Rolling Stone has reported, The Donald has lately gravitated away from hero worship of the 45th president and toward noxious culture-war issues, particularly promoting hate toward LGBTQ people. (To wit: the top “Hot” post by Friday morning was a post bemoaning the endorsement of Pride month by a fast-casual restaurant chain: “Cracker Barrel went woke.”)

But big news events involving Trump still stoke the passions of extremist users. Katie McCarthy is an investigative researcher with the Anti-Defamation League who monitors The Donald closely. She recalls that users were also ”very angry” about Trump’s first indictment in New York, making posts that included “calls for civil war, violence, and retribution.”

In fact, the threat of civil war was on the minds of The Donald again on Thursday. Under a meme post showing Donald Trump with laser eyes and the text “YUGE MISTAKE,” forum posters wrote of preparing for violence.

User “horsepaste420” wrote: “I just feel like we’re going through the motions until all hell breaks loose.” A commenter named “Blackrider” concurred: “Same here dude. Stacking bags and loading mags. Just waiting for the calm to end, and the chaos to begin.” A responding to another user’s prediction of “civil war,” a commenter named ”pushbackv2” called such a conflict “inevitable” and predicted “it’s right around the corner.”

Elsewhere in the same comments section, user “vax_was_a_bioweapon” posted about the indictment as though it were interference in the democratic process — a development that would demand a deadly response: “If they steal the election again why are we talking about anything but dragging the political elite out of their homes and setting them on fire?” User “HawkTheSlayer” suggested a somewhat different lynching strategy: “I prefer tying them to vehicles and dragging them across concrete until they are ground down to nothing.”

A user whose handle is “-jjjjjjjjjj-” then appeared to reference a famous revolutionary quote from Thomas Jefferson about the “the tree of liberty” needing to be “refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants,” suggesting that Trump could jumpstart hostilities with a single phrase:

“The only thing that’s going to change the course of this country from its present heading of a Marxist dictatorship,” the commenter wrote, “is if Trump stands up in Court and says ‘to all of my supporters, the tree needs watering and now is the time.’”

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Trump: Gen Milley Should be Executed for Treason for Betraying Me! This post was insane.
by Ron Filipkowski
9/23/23

Donald Trump is coming apart in a hurry. Every day his social media posts and public statement become more and more insane.

Trump has always been incensed about reports that General Mark Milley contacted his counterpart in China about security concerns if an unhinged Trump continued to go further off the deep end in the closing days of his presidency.

On Friday night, Trump posted on Truth Social that act by Milley constituted treason: "This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!"

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
Mark Milley, who led perhaps the most embarrassing moment in American history with his grossly incompetent implementation of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, costing many lives, leaving behind hundreds of American citizens, and handing over BILLIONS of dollars of the finest military equipment ever made, will be leaving the military next week. This will be a time for all citizens of the USA to celebrate! This guy turned out to be a Woke train wreck who, if the Fake News reporting is correct, was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States. This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH! A war between China and the United States could have been the result of this treasonous act. To be continued!!!

*********************

‘Punishment Would Have Been DEATH!’ Trump Accuses Mark Milley of Treason
by Charlie Nash
Mediaite
Sep 23rd, 2023, 8:34 am
https://www.mediaite.com/politics/punis ... f-treason/

[x]
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Former President Donald Trump accused Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley of treason on Friday and said he would have been put to death “in times gone by” as punishment.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump lashed out at Milley — who he appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 2018 — ahead of the general’s retirement at the end of this month:

Mark Milley, who led perhaps the most embarrassing moment in American history with his grossly incompetent implementation of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, costing many lives, leaving behind hundreds of American citizens, and handing over BILLIONS of dollars of the finest military equipment ever made, will be leaving the military next week. This will be a time for all citizens of the USA to celebrate! This guy turned out to be a Woke train wreck who, if the Fake News reporting is correct, was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States. This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH! A war between China and the United States could have been the result of this treasonous act. To be continued!!!

Despite the fact that Trump appointed Milley in 2018, the two have had a tumultuous relationship and Trump has repeatedly lashed out at his appointee in recent years.

In 2021, Trump called Milley a “f*cking idiot,” and said, “If I was going to do a coup, one of the last people I would want to do it with is General Mark Milley.”

Milley, meanwhile, allegedly compared Trump to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and reportedly took “top-secret action to limit Trump from potentially ordering a dangerous military strike or launching nuclear weapons,” for fear that Trump could go “rogue.”

According to a profile of Milley published by The Atlantic this week, Milley expressed concern that Trump would “start throwing people in jail” if he were reelected in 2024, and that he would “be on the top of the list.”

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Trump’s threats to Milley fuel fears he’ll seek vengeance in second term
by Brad Dress
The Hill
09/27/23 6:00 AM ET

Former President Trump’s violent rhetoric toward Gen. Mark Milley is raising fears he will use a second term in the Oval Office to seek retribution against his enemies.

Trump suggested Friday that Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who is stepping down from his post at the end of the week, deserves the death penalty for allegedly betraying him and committing an act of treason.

The threat came just days after Milley warned that if Trump wins the presidency in 2024, he would enact vengeance against those he felt have done him wrong.

And Milley believes he is at the top of that revenge list.

“He’ll start throwing people in jail, and I’d be on the top of the list,” Milley told The Atlantic in a profile of the four-star general published last week.

Kristy Parker, a legal counsel at Protect Democracy who leads litigation on abuses of power and interference with government functions, said Trump’s comments about Milley are “deeply troubling” for American democracy.

“Even just the threats have an incredibly chilling effect on public actors’ ability to do the jobs we need them to do to have a functional democracy,” she said.

“Trump has shown and talked about weaponizing the Justice Department to retaliate against people who he perceives as his enemies and he did, in fact, do that to people when he was president the first time.”

The Trump-Milley feud has simmered for years, with the two clashing over the military’s role in the 2020 racial justice protests and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

But long after the administration ended, Milley remains at the top of Trump’s mind as books and articles have documented steps the general says he took to protect against Trump’s erratic behavior.

Last week’s death threat stems from reports that at the end of his presidency, Milley reassured Chinese officials there would be no threat to Beijing in the final days of Trump’s administration, according to the 2021 book “Peril” by journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa.

The communication has long infuriated Trump, who took to Truth Social last week to condemn Milley’s years of service as “treasonous” ahead of his retirement from the Joint Chiefs later this week.

“[Milley] was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States,” he posted. “This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!”

Peter Feaver, a civil-military relations scholar who recently published a new book on public confidence in the military, said Trump is so enraged by Milley because of these public accounts portraying the general as a protector against his presidency.

Feaver said Trump’s quest to castigate Milley is also designed to warn other potential critics from speaking out. He said the strategy has damaged the civilian-military relationship and could backfire on Trump and his allies.

“Trump thinks he can just personalize this to Milley,” said Feaver. “But he’s failing to understand how this is going to be corrosive of civil-military relations more generally [because …] if they haven’t done something wrong and you’re punishing them, then you get a perverse civil-military relationship.”

The spat is the second time this year their feud has come into the spotlight. Trump has also lobbed accusations at Milley over Iran, disputing claims that the general moved to ensure he wouldn’t attack the country and arguing Milley was the one who recommended an attack.

But Milley is not the only one in Trump’s crosshairs: Former Attorney General Bill Barr and former Defense Secretary Mark Esper have also drawn his ire.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Esper, Barr and Milley were all once “praised by Trump” but are “now all regularly attacked by Trump because they had the nerve to put the country ahead of him.”

“What kind of person threatens execution on a third-tier social media site? A sad and disturbed person who has no place being near the White House, let alone living inside it,” said Christie, a Republican presidential candidate challenging Trump.

Esper told CNN that Milley “deserves praise and thanks” and “does not deserve what he is receiving from President Trump right now.”

Referring to the China conflict, Esper said after the 2020 election, he told Chinese officials the U.S. was steady and directed Milley to send a similar message to his Chinese counterpart.

Esper said the way Milley’s main offense was offering “candid, frank advice” did not comport with Trump’s expectations.

“He wants to find ‘yes’ men in his office,” Esper said.

“The president has also said that a second term would be about retribution, right? So, I think these are all legitimate concerns,” he later added.

While experts agree Trump would have no case to prosecute Milley for treason, the death threats alone are already alarming advocacy groups.

Abe Bonowtiz, the founder of Death Penalty Action, an organization working to abolish the death penalty, said, “Trump has an unhealthy addiction for the dictatorial power to execute political rivals.”

“The death penalty is a very serious matter,” he said in a statement, “and it’s being tossed around as a political tool by Republican presidential candidates, which should concern everyone.”