Highlights:
August 2015: Trump Said There Would Be Fighting If Someone Tried To Hijack His Stage, Either By Him Or “Other People.” According to the Washington Post, “August 2015 Trump attacked Bernie Sanders for letting Black Lives Matter protesters hijack his stage and said that kind of thing would be physically stopped at one of his events. ‘I don’t know if I’ll do the fighting myself or if other people will,’ he clarified.” [Washington Post, 6/29/17]
November 2015: Trump Said That Maybe A Protestor “Should Have Been Roughed Up.” According to the Washington Post, “November 2015 ‘Get him the hell out of here, will you, please?’ Trump said of a protester. ‘Get him out of here. Throw him out!’ The next day, after video emerged of the protester being treated roughly, Trump said the man was “so obnoxious and so loud” that ‘maybe he should have been roughed up.’” [Washington Post, 6/29/17]
March 2016: Trump Said It Was “Very Appropriate” For Audience Members To Punch A Protestor. According to the Washington Post, “March 2016 ‘We have had a couple [protesters] that were really violent, and the particular one when I said I'd like to bang him, that was a very — he was a guy who was swinging, very loud and started swinging at the audience and the audience swung back, and I thought it was very, very appropriate.’ Trump added: ‘He was swinging, he was hitting people, and the audience hit back, and that’s what we need.’” [Washington Post, 6/29/17]
February 2016: Trump Said “Knock The Crap Out Of Them.” According to the Washington Post, “Trump said after someone threw a tomato at a rally: ‘If you see somebody with a tomato, knock the crap out of them.’” [Washington Post, 6/29/17]
March 2016: Trump Said “I’ll Beat The Crap Out Of You” When Talking About A Potential Rushing Of The Stage. According to the Washington Post, “Talking about someone rushing the stage: ‘I don't know if I would have done well, but I would have been out there fighting, folks. I don't know if I'd have done well, but I would've been — boom boom boom boom.’ Trump then mouthed, ‘I'll beat the crap out of you.’” [Washington Post, 6/29/17]
March 2016: Trump Said People Not Wanting To Hurt Each Other Was A Problem. According to the Washington Post, “Even if you don't believe Trump has technically incited violence (which he has been sued for), he clearly nodded toward violence at his campaign rallies. […] March 2016, again ‘Part of the problem and part of the reason it takes so long is nobody wants to hurt each other anymore, right?’” [Washington Post, 6/29/17]
March 2016: Trump Said It Was Better In The Good Old Days Because “They Used To Treat Them Very, Very Rough.” According to the Washington Post, “Even if you don't believe Trump has technically incited violence (which he has been sued for), he clearly nodded toward violence at his campaign rallies. […] March 2016, again […] ‘In the good old days this doesn't happen because they used to treat them very, very rough.’” [Washington Post, 6/29/17]
March 2016: Trump Said If A Protestor Got Hurt While Being Removed, Trump Would Defend Those That Hurt The Protestor. According to the Washington Post, “March 2016, again Trump suggested he would pay the legal fees of those who remove protesters if they get sued. ‘Get him out,’ Trump said. ‘Try not to hurt him. If you do, I'll defend you in court, don't worry about it.’” [Washington Post, 6/29/17]
July 2017: Trump Told Police Officers “Don’t Be Too Nice” When Arresting People. According to Axios, “During a speech to law enforcement officers in Long Island, New York, Trump seemingly encouraged police officers to be rough with people they were arresting, per ABC News. ‘Please don't be too nice,’ he told the audience.” [Axios, 5/2/22]
October 2018: Trump Praised Then-Rep. Greg Gianforte After He Body Slammed A Reporter. According to Axios, “While speaking at a Montana campaign rally, Trump publicly praised Montana's then-Rep. Greg Gianforte (R) — the state's current governor — for previously assaulting a reporter. ‘Any guy that can do a body slam, he is my type!’ Trump said.” [Axios, 5/2/22]
September 2020: Trump Lauded The Killing Of Michael Reinoehl, Saying, “There Has To Be Retribution.” According to Axios, “Trump lauded law enforcement officers for killing Michael Forest Reinoehl, a self-described Antifa member suspected of killing a right-wing activist the previous month. ‘That’s the way it has to be. There has to be retribution,’ Vox reported.” [Axios, 5/2/22]
May 2020: Trump Tweeted, “When The Looting Starts, The Shooting Starts.” According to Axios, “Trump used violent rhetoric when referring to protests in Minneapolis in the wake of George Floyd’s killing, tweeting, ‘when the looting starts, the shooting starts.’ The phrase has a racist history going back to police brutality against Black Americans in the 1960s, per the New York Times.” [Axios, 5/2/22]
June 2020: Trump Threatened To Use The Military Against Black Lives Matter Protestors. According to Axios, “Trump threatened to use the U.S. military to quell Black Lives Matter protests across the country. ‘If a city or state refuses to take the actions necessary to defend the life and property of their residents, then I will deploy the United States military and quickly solve the problem for them,’ Trump said.” [Axios, 5/2/22]
ABC News’ Johnathan Karl Claimed That Trump Said In 2019 That He Hoped His Supporters Would Act On His Words, Even If It Meant Violence. According to the Huffington Post, “Donald Trump has long been known for directing fiery rhetoric at his followers, and he apparently wants to them to take his words seriously. That’s according to ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, who said the former president admitted to him that he hopes his supporters act on his words ― even if it means violence. That was the assertion the Washington correspondent made Monday in an interview with MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace, when he discussed a conversation he had with Trump in August 2019, after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. ‘There were real concerns that there would be copycats, there would be more [shootings],’ Karl told Wallace.” [Huffington Post, 11/13/23]
December 19, 2020: Trump Told People To “Be There, Will Be Wild” At A Protest In Washington. According to the Guardian, “At 1.42am in the early hours of 19 December Trump tweeted the lie that it was ‘statistically impossible’ for him to have lost the presidential election. He gave his first notice of a ‘big protest in DC’ on 6 January. ‘Be there, will be wild!’ he said.” [Guardian, 1/7/21]
January 6, 2021: Trump Told A Crowd To March Over To The Capitol Building After Saying “We Will Not Take It Any More.” According to the Guardian, “Trump himself then addressed the crowd just outside the White House for more than an hour, urging them to march on the Capitol building. ‘We will not take it any more,’ he said. ‘You’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong … I know everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building. To peacefully, patriotically make your voices heard.’” [Guardian, 1/7/21]
Trump Called On His Supporters To “Fight” And “Never Concede” That He Lost The 2020 Election. According to Reuters, “Appearing at what could be his last rally as the sitting president, Trump exhorted his supporters ‘to fight.’ ‘We will never give up, we will never concede,’ Trump said, delighting the crowd by calling Democratic victories the product of what he called ‘explosions of bullshit.’ ‘Bullshit! Bullshit! Bullshit!’ people chanted in reply.” [Reuters, 1/6/21]
Trump Suggested There May Be Political Violence Over The 2024 Election Based On Americans’ Perception Of The Fairness Of The Election. According to Fox News, “Former President Trump suggested there could be political violence over the 2024 election, depending on whether Americans felt it was fair. ‘If we don’t win, you know, it depends,’ Trump told TIME staff writer Eric Cortellessa.” [Fox News, 5/1/24]
Trump On Post-2024 Election Violence: “It Always Depends On The Fairness Of The Election.” According to Time, “Trump does not dismiss the possibility of political violence around the election. ‘If we don’t win, you know, it depends,’ he tells TIME. ‘It always depends on the fairness of the election.’ When I ask what he meant when he baselessly claimed on Truth Social that a stolen election ‘allows for the termination of all rules, regulations and articles, even those found in the Constitution,’ Trump responded by denying he had said it.” [Time, 5/1/24]
August 2016: Trump Said The “Second Amendment People” Might Be Able To Stop Hillary Clinton From Appointing Judges That Would Abolish The Second Amendment. According to the Washington Post, “‘TRUMP: Hillary wants to abolish -- essentially abolish the Second Amendment. By the way, and if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. [Pause] Although the Second Amendment people -- maybe there is, I don't know. But I tell you what, that'll be a horrible day.’” [Washington Post, 8/10/16]
Trump Said Mitch McConnell Had A “Death Wish” For Working To Prevent A Government Shutdown. According to the Washington Post, “Former president Donald Trump is facing blowback for an inflammatory online message attacking Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) that many viewed as a threat. ‘He has a DEATH WISH,’ Trump posted late Friday on his Truth Social platform, criticizing McConnell for agreeing to a deal to fund the government through December. He also disparaged McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, who served as Trump’s transportation secretary and was born in Taiwan, in racist terms, calling her ‘his China loving wife, Coco Chow!’” [Washington Post, 10/1/22]
Trump Posted A Image Of Him Holding A Baseball Bat Next To Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg. According to the New York Times, “Shortly before that indictment, Mr. Trump posted an article on Truth Social, his social media platform, that included a photo of himself holding a baseball bat on one side, and Mr. Bragg in an adjacent photo.” [New York Times, 6/10/23]
Trump Suggested Retiring General Mark Milley Should Be Executed. According to the Atlantic, “Late Friday night, the former president of the United States—and a leading candidate to be the next president—insinuated that America’s top general deserves to be put to death. That extraordinary sentence would be unthinkable in any other rich democracy. But Donald Trump, on his social-media network, Truth Social, wrote that Mark Milley’s phone call to reassure China in the aftermath of the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was ‘an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH.’” [Atlantic, 9/25/23]
Trump Encouraged His Supporters To “Go After” New York Attorney General James. According to the New York Times, “Former President Donald J. Trump had a lot to say on the first day of the fraud trial against him and his company. Speaking to reporters at a Manhattan courthouse on Monday, he dismissed the judge as a ‘rogue’ justice and said he did not ‘think the people of this country are going to stand for it.’ And he focused on the official who filed the lawsuit against him, New York’s attorney general, Letitia James. ‘This is a disgrace,’ he said, ‘and you ought to go after this attorney general.’ The remark urging people to ‘go after’ a top elected official in New York, by a former president whose invective has become a familiar backdrop of American life, was part of a pattern of increasingly sharp language from Mr. Trump.” [New York Times, 10/3/23]
Trump Mocked Paul Pelosi For The Brutal Attack In His Home By A Man Motivated By Right-Wing Conspiracy Theories. According to the New York Times, “At the G.O.P. convention in California last week, Mr. Trump mocked Paul Pelosi, the husband of Representative Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker. Last year, Mr. Pelosi was brutally attacked in his home by a man who was wielding a hammer and who was motivated by right-wing conspiracy theories. ‘We’ll stand up to crazy Nancy Pelosi, who ruined San Francisco,’ Mr. Trump said, before pausing and looking out at the crowd. ‘How’s her husband doing, by the way, anybody know?’ he deadpanned, drawing laughter and a smattering of applause. ‘She’s against building a wall at our border even though she has a wall around her house, which obviously didn’t do a very good job.’”
Mediaite Released Audio Of Trump Advisor Roger Stone Calling For The Assassination Of Two Democratic Members Of Congress In 2020. According to Mediate, “Roger Stone has contested Mediaite’s reporting this week regarding comments he made on tape floating the assassination of two members of Congress. […] Mediaite is now publishing an excerpt of the audio, which was recorded in person at Caffe Europa, a public restaurant in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, weeks before the 2020 election. It has been lightly edited in order to protect our source, who requested anonymity out of fear of repercussions from Stone, whom they believe to be dangerous. ‘Roger spent election day and the months prior calling for acts of violence,’ the source told Mediaite. The conversation, which can be heard above, was between Stone and his associate Sal Greco, who at the time served as both an NYPD officer and security for the longtime political operative and confidant to Donald Trump. During the discussion, Stone speaks with Greco about assassinating two prominent House Democrats, Jerry Nadler and Eric Swalwell. ‘It’s time to do it,’ Stone told Greco. ‘Let’s go find Swalwell. It’s time to do it. Then we’ll see how brave the rest of them are. It’s time to do it. It’s either Swalwell or Nadler has to die before the election. They need to get the message. Let’s go find Swalwell and get this over with. I’m just not putting up with this shit anymore.’” [Mediaite, 1/12/24]
March 2024: Trump Shared A Video That Included A Picture Of Joe Biden Tied Up In The Back Of A Pickup Truck. According to NBC News, “Former President Donald Trump shared a video on social media Friday that included an image of President Joe Biden bound and restrained in the back of a pickup truck. The 20-second video, which Trump indicated was taken Thursday in Long Island, New York, shows a truck emblazoned with ‘Trump 2024’ and a large picture depicting Biden tied up and lying on his side. Trump was in Long Island Thursday for the wake of fallen NYPD officer Jonathan Diller. When reached for comment on the image in the video, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said, ‘That picture was on the back of a pick up truck that was traveling down the highway.’ Cheung also accused ‘Democrats and crazed lunatics’ of calling for violence against Trump and his family, arguing that ‘they are actually weaponizing the justice system against him.’” [NBC News, 3/29/24]
The Biden Campaign Said The Imagery Was Inciting Violence. According to Reuters, “U.S. President Joe Biden's re-election campaign on Monday accused former President Donald Trump of stoking political violence after Trump shared a video on social media that included an image of Biden bound and restrained in the back of a pickup truck. […] ‘Donald Trump is perfectly comfortable with violence when he thinks it benefits him. In fact, he encourages it. Put simply, his campaign is about itself. It's about revenge. It's about retribution,’ said Michael Tyler, Biden campaign's communications director.” [Reuters, 4/1/24]
Trump Called On His Supporters To Protest His Possible Indictment In The Stormy Daniels Investigation. According to Vanity Fair, “Suggesting that his indictment was imminent, former President Donald Trump on Saturday called on supporters to ‘PROTEST’ and ‘TAKE OUR NATION BACK’ — raising the specter that potential charges in Manhattan could be met with political violence. ‘OUR NATION IS NOW THIRD WORLD & DYING,’ Trump wrote in a two-post rant on social media early Saturday. ‘THE AMERICAN DREAM IS DEAD!’ ‘THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA…WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK,’ he continued, describing Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as ‘corrupt’ and ‘highly political.’” [Vanity Fair, 3/18/23]
Trump Said His Indictment Could Result In “Death And Destruction.” According to Vanity Fair, “Days after instructing his supporters to ‘PROTEST’ and ‘TAKE OUR NATION BACK,’ Donald Trump warned in a series of extremely disturbing social media posts that ‘death and destruction’ could come down upon the United States should he be criminally indicted by the Manhattan district attorney’s office. Early Friday morning, in a clear reference to Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg, the ex-president wrote, ‘What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country? Why & who would do such a thing? Only a degenerate psychopath that truely [sic] hates the USA!’” [Vanity Fair, 3/24/23]
Trump’s Violent Speech Increased With His Indictments. According to the New York Times, “Since he first became a political candidate in the 2016 presidential race, Mr. Trump has glorified violence, suggesting he wanted to hit a protester and offering to pay the legal fees if his supporters struck protesters at his rallies. But as Mr. Trump has been indicted four times in four jurisdictions in the last five months, and now faces a civil fraud trial in New York, his violent speech has escalated.” [New York Times, 10/3/23]
May 4, 2023: Judge Merchan Ruled That Trump Could Not Talk About Evidence, Including Names And Personal Information, That Was Obtained By The DA And Turned Over To Trump’s Defense Team. According to the New York Post, “Former President Donald Trump has been banned from talking — or posting — about certain evidence uncovered in the Manhattan District Attorney’s ‘hush money’ criminal case. Justice Juan Merchan handed down the ruling Thursday during a Manhattan Supreme Court hearing after prosecutors sought a protective order to restrict Trump, 76, from publicly revealing any evidence handed over to his legal team as the case unfolds. The judge — who insisted he was not imposing a ‘gag order’ — said Trump was prohibited from talking about evidence specifically obtained by the DA’s Office and turned over to the defense to prepare for trial, including people’s names or personal information. ‘I am not going to do anything … to infringe on his First Amendment rights,’ the judge said. Merchan said Trump is still free to talk about information that is already on the public record, as well as the vast majority of evidence tied to the case that has comes from the defense.” [New York Post, 5/4/23]
September 15, 2023: The Special Counsel Sought A “Narrowly Tailored” Gag Order On Trump. According to the New York Times, “Prosecutors have asked the judge overseeing former President Donald J. Trump’s federal indictment on charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election to impose ‘a narrowly tailored’ gag order on him, citing his ‘near-daily’ social media attacks on people involved in the case, according to court papers released on Friday.” [New York Times, 9/15/23]
October 16, 2023: Judge Chutkan Imposed A Limited Gag Order On Trump. According to the New York Times, “A judge imposed a limited gag order on former President Donald J. Trump on Monday, restricting Mr. Trump from making public statements attacking the witnesses and specific prosecutors or court staff members involved in the federal case concerning his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.” [New York Times, 10/16/23]
The Full D.C. Circuit Court Of Appeals Rejected Trump’s Bid To Lift The Federal Gag Order Imposed On Him In The January 6 Case. According to the New York Times, “The full federal appeals court in Washington on Tuesday rejected former President Donald J. Trump’s bid to lift a gag order imposed on him in the criminal case in which he stands accused of trying to subvert the results of the 2020 election. The terse ruling, issued on behalf of the 11 judges on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, leaves Mr. Trump with only the option of appealing to the Supreme Court if he wants to keep fighting the gag order, which restricts his ability to publicly criticize certain people involved in the legal proceeding.” [New York Times, 1/23/24]
October 3, 2023: Judge Engoron Issued A Gag Order After Trump Attacked Engoron’s Chief Law Clerk. According to Reuters, “The judge overseeing Donald Trump's civil fraud trial on Tuesday imposed a gag order - promising sanctions for any violations - on the former U.S. president and others in the case after Trump took to social media to lash out at the judge's top law clerk. Justice Arthur Engoron of the New York state court in Manhattan told lawyers for Trump and New York Attorney General Letitia James, who brought the fraud case, that such comments aimed at his staff were ‘unacceptable, inappropriate and will not be tolerated under any circumstances.’” [Reuters, 10/3/23]
Judge Engoron Threatened “Serious Sanctions” If Anyone Spoke About The Judge’s Staff. According to Reuters, “Acting during the trial's second day of testimony, the judge forbade both sides from speaking about his staff, and threatened ‘serious sanctions’ if anyone did. The judge did not specify the nature of these sanctions but they could include a finding of contempt of court, which can carry fines and in rare cases jail time. ‘Consider this statement a gag order,’ Engoron added.” [Reuters, 10/3/23]
October 20, 2023: Judge Engoron Said Trump Had Committed A “Blatant Violation Of The Gag Order.” According to the Daily Beast, “The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s bank fraud trial threatened to throw the former president in jail—and hit him with punishing fines—for ‘blatantly’ violating a gag order by refusing to delete a website post attacking court staff. Justice Arthur F. Engoron, striking a serious tone, began Friday at trial by laying out the high stakes and demanding that Trump’s lawyers explain themselves. ‘In the current overheated climate, incendiary comments can and in some cases already has, led to serious physical harm and worse. I will now allow the defendants to explain why this blatant violation of the gag order would not result in serious sanctions, including financial sanctions and/or possibly imprisoning him, Engoron said.” [Daily Beast, 10/20/23]
Trump Was Fined $5,000 For Violation Of His Gag Order. According to CNN, “Former President Donald Trump was fined $5,000 by a New York judge on Friday for violating a gag order not to speak about any members of the court staff – and was warned twice about possible imprisonment. ‘Donald Trump has received ample warning from this Court as to the possible repercussions of violating the gag order. He specifically acknowledged that he understood and would abide by it,’ Judge Arthur Engoron said in his order Friday. ‘Accordingly, issuing yet another warning is not longer appropriate; this Court is way behind the ‘warning’ stage.’” [CNN, 10/20/23]
October 25, 2023: Judge Engoron Fined Trump $10,000 For Violating The Gag Order. According to the New York Times, “A Manhattan judge briefly ordered Donald J. Trump to the witness stand on Wednesday after accusing him of breaking a gag order with critical comments that seemed aimed at a law clerk, and then fined him $10,000.” [New York Times, 10/25/23]
November 16, 2023: The Gag Order Against Trump And His Attorneys Was Temporarily Lifted. According to the Washington Post, “An appellate judge on Thursday temporarily lifted a limited gag order issued against Donald Trump and his attorneys in the $250 million civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The temporary pause on the order allows Trump and his defense team to discuss the judge’s law clerk, pending further appellate review. The decision followed a hearing at the Appellate Division’s First Department before Judge David Friedman. Friedman wrote after hearing arguments that the stay was being imposed in consideration of ‘constitutional and statutory rights at issue.’” [Washington Post, 11/16/23]
Trump Immediately Attacked Judge Engoron’s Law Clerk After The Order Was Lifted. According to the New York Times, “Later, shortly before 7 p.m., Mr. Trump himself seized on the pause by posting a message on his Truth Social platform in which he called Ms. Greenfield ‘politically biased’ and ‘out of control.’” [New York Times, 11/16/23]
November 22, 2023: The New York State Court System Said Trump’s Attacks On Judge Engoron’s Clerk Resulted In Hundreds Of Threats Against Her. According to the Messenger, “Former President Donald Trump's attack on a judge's clerk on social media resulted in ‘hundreds of threatening and harassing voicemail messages’ against her, appellate court documents revealed on Wednesday. Attorneys for the New York State court system disclosed some of the threats that Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron and his law clerk Allison Greenfield have faced since Trump started attacking them both over the last several weeks on social media. ‘I mean, honestly, you should be assassinated,’ a caller fumed in one of those voicemails, transcribed in court records made public on Wednesday. ‘You should be killed.’” [Messenger, 11/22/23]
The New York Court Of Appeals Rejected Trump’s Motion To Overturn The Gag Order Against Him. According to the Messenger, “The New York Court of Appeals has shot down an appeal from Donald Trump against a gag order issued in his civil fraud trial. ‘On the Court's own motion, appeal dismissed, without costs, upon the ground that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved,’ the court wrote in a Tuesday ruling. ‘Motion for a stay dismissed as academic.’” [Messenger, 1/16/24]
Trump Said Shoplifters Should Be Shot. According to USA Today, “Former President Donald Trump recently gave a glimpse into how his next administration would urge law enforcement to handle shoplifters if he wins the White House in 2024 − by shooting them in the store. ‘We will immediately stop all of the pillaging and theft. Very simply: If you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot as you are leaving that store,’ he said Friday during a speech to California Republicans. His comments drew applause from members of his party inside the Anaheim convention and he loudly said ‘shot’ again for emphasis.” [USA Today, 10/1/23]
A 2020 ABC News Report Found 40 Instances Where Trump Was Cited As The Inspiration For Threats Or Acts Of Violence. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
August 19, 2015: Steven Leader Told Police After He Beat A Homeless Man Of Mexican Descent That, “Donald Trump Was Right, All These Illegals Need To Be Deported.” According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
November 10, 2016: Caleb Illig Hit A Hispanic Man In The Back Of The Head While Yelling, “This Is For Trump.” According to the Gainesville Sun, “Post-election tension led to violence when a High Springs man was arrested Sunday after he attacked a Hispanic person days before, calling it a ‘Trump down,’ Gainesville police said. […] Caleb J. Illig was charged with simple battery after he struck a man in the back of the head and yelled, ‘This is for Trump’ on Nov. 10, a Gainesville Police report said.” [Gainesville Sun, 11/21/16]
August 16, 2019: Eric Lin, Who Was Arrested After He Threatened To Kill “All Hispanics In Miami And Other Places,” Praised Trump For “Making Racism Ok Again.” According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
December 5, 2015: A Defense Attorney For A Man Charged With Ethnic Intimidation Argued The Acts Were Motivated By His “Love Of Country” And Cited Trump’s Immigration Views. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
November 12, 2016: A White Man Shouted Racial Epithets And “Trump” While Attacking A Man From East Africa. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
January 22, 2019: David Boileau Said, “If He Doesn’t Get Rid of Them, Trump Will Handle It” After Being Arrested For Burglarizing An Iraqi Family’s Home. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
February 15, 2019: After Being Arrested For Stockpiling Weapons In A Plot To “Murder Innocent Civilians On A Scale Rarely Seen In This Country,” Christopher Hasson’s Lawyer Said It Was Hard To Differentiate The Racist And Anti-Immigrant Views Of Her Client From “The Random Musings Of Someone Like Donald Trump.” According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
November 1, 2019: Trump Supporter Clifton Blackwell Threw Acid On A Peruvian-American. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
June 3, 2016: Henry Slapnik Told Police That “Donald Trump Will Fix Them” After He Attacked His African-American Neighbors With A Knife. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
October 10, 2016: Todd Warnken Was Arrested After Telling An African-American Woman, “Trump Is Going To Win, And If You Don’t Like It I’m Gonna Beat Your Ass You N----r.” According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
November 16, 2016: Dusty Paul Lacombe Said He Was A Trump Supporter Before Assaulting A Black Man In A Convenience Store. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
September 1, 2016: Bordentown, New Jersey Police Chief Frank Nucera Said, “Donald Trump Is The Last Hope For White People” After Being Arrested For Assaulting An African-American Teenager. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
August 16, 2016: Daniel Rowe Told Police He Planned To Head To “The Next Donald Trump Rally And Stomping Out More Of The Black Lives Matter Group” After He Attacked An Interracial Couple With A Knife. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
September 2016: Mark Feigin Cited Trump’s Language In Defending The Threatening And Anti-Muslim Statements He Made On A Mosque’s Facebook Page. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
November 3, 2016: David Howard Cited Trump’s Warnings About Immigrants From Muslim-Majority Countries For Threatening To Burn Down The House Being Bought By A Muslim Family. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
January 25, 2017: Robin Rhodes Said, “Trump Is Here Now. He Will Get Rid of All Of You” While Verbally Assaulting A Delta Employee Wearing A Hijab. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
February 19, 2017: Gerald Wallace Threatened To “Shoot All Y’all” At A Mosque After Trump Falsely Claimed Muslim Refugees Launched A Terrorist Attack In Sweden. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
May 23, 2017: Kenneth Sjarpe Told Police He Supported Trump After Threatening To Kill Two Men He Thought Were Muslims. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
October 2016: An FBI Informant Foiled A Plot By Militia Men To Bomb A Mosque And Homes Of Muslim Refugees In Garden City, Kansas. According to ABC News, “In the final weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign, four militia men in Kansas were finalizing their own campaign: a plot to bomb the mosque and homes of Muslim refugees in the small town of Garden City, Kansas. ‘I’m a domestic terrorist on a f---ing federal government list right now,’ the plot's ringleader, Patrick Stein, was recorded saying before the FBI made arrests in October 2016. It was an attack authorities said could have eclipsed the Oklahoma City bombing. But one of the men, Dan Day, was actually an FBI informant, who over several months secretly recorded hundreds of hours with the small militia and derailed their deadly plot.” [ABC News, 11/1/21]
The Attorney For Patrick Stein, The Plot’s Ringleader, Said His Client’s Fear Of Muslims Was “Normalized” By Trump. According to ABC News, “Pratt also claimed in and outside of court that the misguided fear of Muslims festering inside Stein was ‘normalized’ by then presidential candidate Donald Trump’s rhetoric during his run for the White House in 2016. ‘Donald Trump continually stated that these refugees were coming in unvetted, they were dangerous, they didn’t know what was going on,’ Pratt said during a recent online forum about the case.” [ABC News, 11/1/21]
Stein’s Sister Said Trump’s “Message Spoke To” Her Brother. According to ABC News, “Stein’s sister told a documentary filmmaker last year that Trump’s ‘words and his message spoke to’ Stein and other people ‘who were already afraid.’” [ABC News, 11/1/21]
February 21, 2018: William Patrick Syring Was Indicted After He Called For The “Ethnic Cleansing Of Arabs In America” And Said Trump Would “Cleanse America” Of Arab American Institute President James Zogby. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
April 28, 2016: Avowed Trump Fan John Martin Roos, Who Was Arrested For Threatening To Kill Federal Officials Including President Obama, Claimed, “The Establishment Is Trying To Steal The Election From Trump.” According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
October 22, 2017: Anthony Scott Lloyd Threatened To Kill California Representative Maxine Waters Over Her Frequent Criticism of Trump. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
January 17, 2019: After Being Arrested For Threatening To Kill Waters, Stephen Taubert’s Defense Attorney Cited Trump’s Criticisms Of Waters In His Defense. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
June 8, 2018: Nicholas Bukoski Said He Was Very Supportive Of Trump After Being Arrested For Threatening To Kill Kamala Harris And Bernie Sanders. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
October 4, 2018: James Patrick’s Attorney Said That His Client Should Be Released After Threatening To Kill Democratic Office Holders And Their Families Because His Comments Were Similar To Those Of Trump. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
December 4, 2018: Michael Brogan Threatened To Shoot A U.S. Senator Over Their Criticism Of Trump. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
April 5, 2019: Patrick Carlineo Told Police He Loved Trump After He Threatened To Kill Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
April 18, 2019: John Kless Threatened To Kill Three Prominent Democrats, Including Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaib, For Their Opposition To Trump. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
October 25, 2019: Jan Meister Threatened To Kill California Representative Adam Schiff Over His Involvement In The Trump Impeachment. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
February 19, 2020: Salvatore Lippa Threatened To Kill New York Senator Charles Schumer And California Representative Adam Schiff Over Trump’s Impeachment. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
A Man Threatened To Kill Democratic Lawmakers Because Of Their Opposition To Trump
June 5, 2019: Scott Haven Was Arrested After Threatening To Kill Democratic Lawmakers For “Trying To Destroy Trump’s Presidency.” According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
February 23, 2023: Brandon Davis Yelled Anti-Gay Slurs And Said, “You Live In Trump Country Now” After He Ran His Moped Into Kevin Seymour. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
August 2018: Robert Chain Was Arrested After Repeatedly Threatening The Boston Globe, Which He Called “The Enemy Of The People.” According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
October 2018: Cesar Sayoc’s Attorney Said That Trump’s Rhetoric Contributed To Sayoc Sending Bombs To Media Members And Trump Critics. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
October 21, 2018: Bruce Alexander Said, “The President Of The United States Says It’s OK To Grab Women By Their Private Parts” After He Assaulted A Woman On A Flight. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
April 24, 2019: Matthew Haviland Threatened To Kill A College Professor And His Family Over His Criticism Of Trump. According to ABC News, “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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
October 7, 2019: Joseph Schumacher Was Arrested For Brandishing A Pistol After Yelling At A Woman Whose Car Had A Bumper Sticker That Was Not Aligned With Trump. According to ABC News, 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.” [ABC News, 5/30/20]
174 January 6 Defendants Said They Were Answering Trump’s Call When The Stormed The Capitol. According to the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, “One hundred seventy-four defendants from 37 states who were charged for their participation in the January 6th insurrection have said they were answering Donald Trump’s calls when they traveled to Washington and joined the violent attack on the Capitol. CREW’s examination of court filings, transcripts, and news items regarding defendants in January 6th cases shows that defendants—ranging from convicted seditionists such as members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to individual members of the public—considered Trump their leader and believed they were following his lead by joining the insurrection. In letters to federal judges, federal court filings, and appeals to the public, these defendants and their legal representatives have made it clear that Trump’s repeated false statements and calls to action drove their actions that day. These findings bolster those of the January 6th Select Committee which found Trump was the ‘central cause’ of the attack on the Capitol.” [Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, 7/6/23]
August 11, 2022: Ricky Shiffer Attacked An FBI Field Office In Cincinnati. According to CNN, “An account bearing the name of Ricky Shiffer, the man authorities say they killed after he tried Thursday to breach an FBI field office in Cincinnati, made posts on the social media platform founded by Donald Trump referencing the attempt to storm the office and encouraging others online to prepare for a revolutionary-type war. The post about the FBI office attack was made minutes after the Ohio State Highway Patrol said the incident at the FBI office in Cincinnati began, shortly after 9:15 a.m. ‘Well, I thought I had a way through bullet proof glass, and I didn’t,’ the user posted at 9:29 a.m. Thursday on Truth Social, Trump’s social media site. ‘If you don’t hear from me, it is true I tried attacking the F.B.I., and it’ll mean either I was taken off the internet, the F.B.I. got me, or they sent the regular cops while.’” [CNN, 8/12/22]
August 8, 2023: After Mar-a-Lago Was Searched By The FBI, An Account Believed To Belong To Shiffer Made A “Call To Arms” To “Be Ready For Combat.” According to CNN, “The user communicated to others with the account – which has only been active in the last few weeks – with increasingly politically violent and revolution-minded thoughts. Though the user’s push for violence did not start or stop with the FBI’s recent actions, the bureau’s search warrant execution early this week at Trump’s Florida home marked the start of the user’s intense fixation on responding with violence toward the agency. ‘People, this is it,’ the user wrote Monday, shortly after news broke of the search warrant. ‘I hope a call to arms comes from someone better qualified, but if not, this is your call to arms from me.’ In the post, the user also encouraged people to go to gun and pawn shops to ‘get whatever you need to be ready for combat.’” [CNN, 8/12/22]
August 9, 2023: An Account Believed To Belong To Shiffer Wrote That If The FBI Tried To Break Up A Gathering At Mar-a-Lago, “Kill Them.” According to CNN, “On Tuesday, the day after the FBI executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago, the poster wrote people were heading to gather in Palm Beach and if the FBI broke up the group, ‘kill them.’ When another user responded to his post, saying no one should resort to violence, the user of the account bearing Shiffer’s name responded with, ‘Why not?’” [CNN, 8/12/22]
August 9, 2023: Trump Called The Search By FBI Agents “Dark Times For Our Nation.” According to the Associated Press, “‘These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,’ Trump wrote. ‘Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before.’ ‘After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,’ Trump said in his statement.” [Associated Press, 8/9/22]
September 2024: Schools And Government Buildings In Springfield, Ohio Were Evacuated Following Bomb Threats Made After Trump Amplified Lies About Haitian Immigrants Living There. According to the Associated Press, “Bomb threats prompted the evacuation of schools and government buildings for a second day on Friday in an Ohio community that has been the focus of unwanted attention after former President Donald Trump amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants are abducting and eating pets. An emailed threat said bombs had been planted in the homes of Springfield’s mayor and other city officials, said Karen Graves, a city spokesperson. A second email said that bombs would be detonated at locations including Springfield City Hall, a high school, a middle school, two elementary schools, a local office of the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles and a licensing bureau. The buildings were evacuated, and authorities with explosive-detection dogs swept and cleared them, officials said. ‘We are committed to the safety and well-being of our community and take all threats to public safety with the utmost seriousness,’ Graves said. ‘We are currently collaborating with the Dayton office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine the origin of these email threats.’” [Associated Press, 9/13/24]