Trump's explosive emails trigger concerns of violence
Following his unprecedented conviction as the first former President charged with a felony, Trump seized the moment to intensify his inflammatory rhetoric, particularly in his addresses to supporters.
According to recollections by Salon and The New Republic, Trump's fundraising email blasts have become increasingly violent and promote some false accusations against public officials.
One example is an email from early June, in which the former President claimed Biden "raided his home" to "take him out with deadly force."
In a different email, Trump suggested he could face a life sentence, which is not possible given the charges he is facing. He also claimed that Biden tried to give him a death sentence.
He frequently accuses Biden of having the nefarious purpose of destroying America. He claims the ultimate target would be the person receiving the email if it weren't for Trump shielding them.
Outside the email blasts, the former President has called for a "reckoning day" or even a "bloodbath" after the November elections, per declarations collected by Reuters.
All these declarations aim to rattle up his followers to donate or vote. Still, some recipients have also shown increasing violent attitudes toward the officials involved in Trump's criminal cases.
A Reuters investigation found that Trump followers had made over a hundred violent threats to the judge and prosecutors of his New York hush money trial online.
According to the news agency, hundreds more make vague threats, and they often come after Trump accuses them of performing a "witch hunt."
Experts told Reuters that even if the people behind these posts do not intend to act on them, their words have the same effect as a regular threat: fear and intimidation.
Still, the constant repetition of menacing language can normalize the idea of violent actions, which increases the risk of someone carrying them out.
A former New York Police intelligence analysis director told the news agency that the calls for violence against judges were comparable to the calls to stop Biden from taking office that resulted in the Jan 6 assault.
USA Today politics columnist Rex Huppke pointed out that one of the main issues behind the violent posts and threats of Trump followers is that they are cheered on.
Huppke argues that most rhetoric comes from Trump, so it is accepted. He compared it to Democrat officials' reactions to extremism from the left or similar events.
The analyst used a recent example: Biden's reaction to the conviction of his son, Hunter Biden, on a gun-related felony.
While Trump has undermined the American judicial system and called his case rigged and a witch hunt, Biden said he respected the outcome.