Members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol have warned America for three years to take former President Donald Trump at his word.
Now, as Trump is poised to win the Republican presidential nomination, his criminal trials face delays that could stall them past Election Day, and his rhetoric grows increasingly authoritarian, some of those lawmakers find themselves following their own advice.
In mid-March, Trump said on social media that the committee members should be jailed. In December he vowed to be a dictator on “day one.” In August, he said he would “have no choice” but to lock up his political opponents.
“If he intends to eliminate our constitutional system and start arresting his political enemies, I guess I would be on that list,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose). “One thing I did learn on the committee is to pay attention and listen to what Trump says, because he means it.”
Lofgren added that she doesn’t yet have a plan in place to thwart potential retribution by Trump. But Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), who has long been a burr in Trump’s side, said he’s having “real-time conversations” with his staff about how to make sure he stays safe if Trump follows through on his threats.
“We’re taking this seriously, because we have to,” Schiff said. “We’ve seen this movie before … and how perilous it is to ignore what someone is saying when they say they want to be a dictator.”
Kind of rich how you guys are against arresting your political opponents after what is currently happening to trump and the jan 6th prosecutions. You guys dont give a shit about justice, you just want to win, and its going to screw all of us.
Non-American just double-checking I’ve got his right…
Private citizen makes actionable credible threat to unlawfully detain legislators, legislators choose to do nothing for about half a year before slowly murmuring without specifics other than “yeah he said it” and “I think he means us”.
You OK USA? Just checking in.
https://images.app.goo.gl/fQWwqgb2CPyjUDkM7
Jokes aside, if the US falls to fascism, it’s gonna be a massive problem for Europe. Imagine fascists in charge of the biggest nation with a history of colonialism, and the world’s largest stockpile of nukes.
It would be awesome if the other first-world nations started taking this threat seriously, before it’s too late.
European here.
This comment takes assumption that by “US falling to fascism” you meant Trump taking control of the USA. Please ignore everything if I misunderstood.
Trump’s among the few US presidents that didn’t start a new war. Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN2A22QR/
He also scaled down wars in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. I AM NOT SAYING THOSE ACTIONS WERE GOOD OR BAD FOR THE USA, or for the rest of the world for that matter. And I’m really not qualified to discuss that.
This comment is ONLY a direct reply to a concern that Trump’s rule should have Europe worried in the sense that he’ll nuke us.
Maybe someone else nukes us as a consequence of his inaction, idk. But Trump nuking Europe is what you said, and I disagree.
I’m not talking about trump, actually. He’s just a carnival barker. If he wins the next election, he’ll do whatever his handlers want him to do, which will hasten things. But him losing will not stop the fascist movement in progress. There’s a group of actual fascists who have been working on this for decades. Some are in Congress, some are high up in organisations like the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society (writing bills and selecting judges), and others are consultants and advisers.
I’m actually concerned that when trump loses, people will think the threat has passed. His loss will mitigate it somewhat, but it won’t stop them. A large part of the threat is Christian nationalists in Congress, the Supreme Court, and in many other seats of power throughout the country.
“We’re taking this seriously”
Then why have they not arrested (and hopefully executed) Trump and most of his toadies yet? Seems like they’re not that serious.
Executed?
Either Trump is an existential threat that requires the strongest possible response, or he’s just another corrupt asshole in a country dominated by others like him.
And before you go “but America doesn’t do that sort of thing!”, I’d encourage you to look up Fred Hampton.
I’m familiar with COINTELPRO and more recent black sites used by CPD.
My point is that we shouldn’t sink to their level. We can neutralize the threat of a wanna-be dictator man child without murder. The man is sick and he deserves to be treated for his illness.
Sure, imprison, convert or kill. Those are the three ways to neutralize someone and they should at least try one.
The sentence in prison should be as long as is needed to rehabilitate them.
Prison isn’t a place to “convert” or “torture” or “punish” someone. Its s place for them to get care and education until they are safe to return to society without being a risk to themselves or others.
There is no point in claiming that the purpose of a system is to do what it constantly fails to do.
The purpose of a system is what it does.
There are countries where prisons are used to torture and there are countries where prisons are used as rehabilitation centers. Both exist.
My point is that we should build the later, not the former.
And this is different than Assange and Snowden?
