In predictable fashion, Donald Trump quickly took to encouraging demonstrations on his behalf as he faces a possibly imminent set of criminal allegations in New York, a looming case that is expected to connect to the hush money illegally provided to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
His language — and the specifically apocalyptic rhetoric Donald used — easily called to mind the period before what became the deadly riot at the Capitol. Alvin Bragg, the district attorney in Manhattan who would be behind the potential case, wasn’t thrilled, but he remained resolute. “Please know that your safety is our top priority,” he told staff across his expansive office last week. “We do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York… [We] will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly, and speak publicly only when appropriate.” Bragg also referenced a cooperative relationship with local law enforcement to help deal with any relevantly dangerous threats.
“WE JUST CAN’T ALLOW THIS ANYMORE,” Trump recently screamed to the world on his personal account on Truth Social, his knock-off social media site. “THEY’RE KILLING OUR NATION AS WE SIT BACK & WATCH. WE MUST SAVE AMERICA! PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!!” It’s unclear his frenzied demands for demonstrations will actually materialize into much of anything substantial, although the record certainly suggests — very strongly — that what he’s encouraging, at least implicitly, is violence. After all, he’s still supportive of the Capitol rioters. Besides the case over the hush money, Trump is also still facing possibilities of criminal charges in connection to investigations including the probe into his harboring of classified documents at his southern Florida resort Mar-a-Lago and the investigation in Georgia into attempted meddling with the 2020 election results on his behalf.
Here is the full email from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to his employees, saying he will not tolerate intimidation after Trump called for protest. Story here: https://t.co/e6fuuYAKpV pic.twitter.com/8X3thHpwmy
— erica orden (@eorden) March 19, 2023
