Trump’s angry words spur warnings of real

violence

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man armed with an AR-15 dies in a shootout after trying to breach FBI offices in Cincinnati. A Pennsylvania man is arrested after he posts death threats against agents on social media. In cyberspace, calls for armed uprisings and civil war grow stronger.

This could be just the beginning...A growing number of ardent Donald Trump supporters seem ready to strike back against the FBI or others who they believe go too far in investigating the former president.

Law enforcement officials across the country are warning and being warned about an increase in threats and the potential for violent attack...

Experts who study radicalization and online disinformation — such as Trump’s aggressive false claims about a stolen election — note that the recent increase was sparked by a legal search of Trump’s Florida home. What might happen in the event of arrests or indictments?

 “When messaging reaches a certain pitch, things start to happen in the real world. And when people in positions of power and public trust start to echo extremist rhetoric, it’s even more likely that we’re going to see real-world consequences.”-former New Jersey Attorney General John Farmer.

...And at least a few of Trump’s supporters now appear to be acting on his anger.

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A joint intelligence bulletin from the FBI and Homeland Security warns about an increase in violent online threats targeting federal officials and government facilities. Those include “a threat to place a so-called dirty bomb in front of FBI headquarters,” along with calls for “civil war” and “rebellion,” according to a copy of the document obtained by The Associated Press.

Mentions of “civil war” on platforms including Facebook and Twitter increased tenfold in the hours immediately after last week’s search of Mar-a-Lago, according to an analysis by Zignal Labs, a firm that analyzes social media content.

Many of the posts contained baseless claims suggesting President Joe Biden ordered the FBI to search Trump’s home, or that the FBI planted evidence to incriminate Trump.

“Biden sending the FBI to raid a former President, Mr. Donald Trump’s home is a declaration of WAR against him and his supporters,” wrote one poster on the Telegram platform.

Bring it, bitch, I voted for Biden, I'm ready for you. 

The intelligence bulletin also noted federal law enforcement officials have identified multiple threats against government officials involved in the Mar-a-Lago search, including calls to kill the magistrate judge who signed the search warrant.

The names and home addresses of FBI agents and other officials have been posted online, along with references to family members who could be additional targets, according to the intelligence documents.

The threats are ominously similar to the online rhetoric that preceded the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, says Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat who chairs the House Jan. 6 committee and the Committee on Homeland Security.

The search of Trump’s residence was executed based on a lawfully obtained warrant signed by a judge. But that’s beside the point for Trump and his allies.

“This is an assault on a political opponent at a level never seen before in our Country,” Trump wrote Monday in a post on his Truth Social. “Third World!”

Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona equated the investigation with “tyranny” and tweeted, “We must destroy the FBI.”
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“The raid on Mar-a-Lago was not an act of law enforcement, it was the opposite of that,” Tucker Carlson said on his Fox News show Monday night. “It was an attack on the rule of law.”
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Baseless claims that the FBI secretly framed Trump supporters for their violent actions on Jan. 6 also stoked the ire of conservative social media users.

“Well guys you started this civil war,” wrote one poster on Gab “And others are going to sure end it for you.”