U.S
Trump increases warnings to incarcerate individuals he views as enemies
The former president is vowing to prosecute those he sees as working to deny him a victory, while laying the groundwork to claim large-scale voter fraud if he loses.
Updated 2024-Oct-05 09:34
A close portrait of Donald Trump, with the lower right corner of the photograph obscured in shadow.
Trump has also mentioned the idea of using both federal law enforcement authority and the threat of extrajudicial violence against members of the news media whom he has consistently criticized as the enemy of the people.
He has continually proposed using prison rape to coerce the Politico reporters who exposed a leaked draft of the Supreme Court decision ending abortion rights in 2022 to disclose their source.
You obtain the information very effortlessly Mr. Trump stated at a November 2022 rally. You ask the reporter Who is it? and they may or may not tell you.
If the journalist refuses to disclose it s farewell. The journalist is imprisoned. Once the journalist discovers he is set to marry a specific inmate in just two days he will express how resolute and cruel it is stating I believe I will provide you with the details.
This is the person who leaked the information. Take me out of here immediately! Mr. Trump has also appeared to encourage vigilantism as a different way of exerting pressure.
Donald J. Trump has long used strongman style threats to prosecute people he vilifies as a campaign tactic dating back to encouraging his 2016 rallygoers to chant lock her up about Hillary Clinton.
And during his term as president he repeatedly pressed the Justice Department to open investigations into his political adversaries.
But as November nears the former president has escalated his vows to use the raw power of the state to impose and maintain control and to intimidate and punish anyone he perceives as working against him.
After Democrats replaced President Biden with Vice President Kamala Harris as their 2024 nominee and Mr.Trump’s lead in the polls eroded Mr. Trump’s targets expanded. He has been laying the groundwork to claim that there was large scale voter fraud if he loses a familiar tactic from his 2016 and 2020 playbooks but this time coupled with threats of prosecution.
Those who may face criminal scrutiny for purported efforts at election fraud Mr. Trump has declared will include election workers a tech giant political operatives lawyers and donors working for his opponent.
Over the past month he has shared a post calling for former President Barack Obama to be subject to military tribunals and reposted fake images of well known Democrats clad in prison garb.
He has threatened the Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg with a life sentence for helping state and local governments fund elections in 2020.He stoked fears of voter intimidation by urging police officers to watch for the voter fraud at polling places because some voters may be afraid of that badge and warned that people deemed to have cheated in this election will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
WHEN I WIN those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again Mr.Trump wrote on his website Truth Social on Saturday. He added: Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out caught and prosecuted at levels unfortunately never seen before in our Country.
In his latest book Save America Mr. Trump threatened Mr. Zuckerberg who in 2020 donated with his wife more than $400 million to nonpartisan groups that helped local election agencies deal with the Covid 19 pandemic such as by expanding access to mail in balloting.
Mr. Trump has falsely portrayed that effort as an illegal contribution to the 2020 Biden campaign.
During the 2016 election he promised to cover the legal expenses of any followers who physically harmed demonstrators at his events.
In a more recent development he has promised to forgive backers who have been accused of or found guilty of offenses related to the Capitol attack on January 6 2021.When federal prosecutors requested a gag order to prevent Mr. Trump from defaming individuals involved in the election fraud case they mentioned a range of threats and harassment suffered by election workers and others he has criticized stating that he understands that by publicly criticizing individuals and organizations he encourages others to carry out threats and harassment against his targets.
Trump has demonstrated a longstanding perspective.
