Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says the ruling to remove Donald Trump from the Colorado primary ballot is part of a scheme by Democrats to help Trump win, but someone needs to tell that to Trump supporters. As NBC News reports, threats against the Colorado justices have been pouring in since the ruling was announced. Those threats include beheading judges and murdering their children.
For months, Republicans have been repeating claims about the supposed “weaponization” of the Justice Department. House Republicans have been working on plans to punish both the Department of Justice and the FBI. That has included efforts to defund the department and to impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland.
All of this has come over a constant drumbeat of false statements from Trump in which he has repeatedly blamed President Joe Biden and Democratic lawmakers for his own criminal indictments and even his civil cases. At the same time, Trump has demeaned judges, court officials, and prosecutors in a way that invites his followers to join in the harassment. And on Wednesday evening, Trump made his threats even more ominous.
In a series of posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump responded to the Colorado ruling with claims that Biden is behind all his woes. That appears to include both the writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case and the in-progress case for overvaluing his properties. “Biden should drop all of these fake political indictments against me, both criminal & civil,” wrote Trump. “Every case I am fighting is the work of the DOJ & the White House. No such thing has ever happened in our country before. Banana republic??? Election interference!!!” (Note: This statement’s use of ALL CAPS has been reduced in the interest of preserving the reader’s vision.)
Trump followed this up with claims that “Crooked Joe Biden” is an insurrectionist and reposts of multiple right-wing pundits making outrageous claims about the Colorado ruling. That included this one encouraging a “civil war.”
In another post, Trump repeated claims that Biden has weaponized the Department of Justice, again blaming him for both the criminal and civil charges Trump faces. But this time, Trump added a thick layer of implied threats.
The “Pandora’s Box” phrase has been picked up by right-wing commentators and social media, where it has become a synonym for how the Justice Department can be turned against Trump’s opponents once he is returned to power.
The threats of violence that have reportedly flooded in following the Colorado ruling have included some genuine nastiness. A Trump forum frequented by Jan. 6 rioters included the message, “This ends when we kill these fuckers.” Even though the court ruling was a split 4-3 decision, it hasn’t stopped Trump supporters from calling for the death of all seven Colorado justices.
And the threats have not been limited to the judges in this case. With Trump, other Republicans, and right-wing pundits all claiming that the whole judicial system has been leveraged by Democrats, threats have been extended to everyone considered an enemy of Trump. Those threats have included images of guns, rope, and bombs.
"Kill judges. Behead judges. Roundhouse kick a judge into the concrete," read one post. "Slam dunk a judge's baby into the trashcan."
All of this is an extension of an existing pattern. When Trump made false claims about court clerk Allison Greenfield, she received hundreds of “serious and credible” threats. More threats were leveled at Judge Arthur Engoron’s wife after Trump promoted false claims that an anti-Trump account on social media belonged to her. Trump has also made claims about Engoron’s son being in attendance and profiting from the trial, but those claims are absolutely false.
As both Engoron and special counsel Jack Smith have made clear, they’re willing to stand up to the threats leveled by Trump—even knowing that those threats sometimes lead to violence, as they did when a Trump supporter tried to shoot his way into the Cincinnati FBI office following the Mar-a-Lago search in 2022. That level of bravery is something expected from judges and prosecutors who face threats from criminals with some regularity.
But when the threats are extended to staff members, family, and friends, it’s much harder to stand in a courtroom and deliver a ruling that Trump may find objectionable. It demands bravery and a commitment to justice that few people may possess.
The threat to use the Justice Department as an instrument of retribution should he regain power is terrifying to everyone. And should be. But mixed in with that is the more immediate effort that Trump is making to intimidate every judge, prosecutor, and witness in the trials ahead.
Trump faces criminal proceedings in New York, Florida, and Georgia, and he wants those judges to be afraid. He wants every ruling to be made in the shadow of what might happen to them, to their friends, to their kids. He wants them to understand that should they dismiss the charges against him, or delay his case into the indefinite future, his social media will be full of praises for their wisdom and fairness. But if they try to bring him to equitable justice, they will face the kind of treatment he has delivered to “deranged” Engoron and “racist” New York Attorney General Letitia James, and to their staff and families.
In his posts, Trump keeps insisting that nothing like this “has ever happened in our country before.” He’s right about that. Trump is a unique threat.
Seeing him face justice is going to require an equally unique level of fortitude.
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For months, Republicans have been repeating claims about the supposed “weaponization” of the Justice Department. House Republicans have been working on plans to punish both the Department of Justice and the FBI. That has included efforts to defund the department and to impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland.
All of this has come over a constant drumbeat of false statements from Trump in which he has repeatedly blamed President Joe Biden and Democratic lawmakers for his own criminal indictments and even his civil cases. At the same time, Trump has demeaned judges, court officials, and prosecutors in a way that invites his followers to join in the harassment. And on Wednesday evening, Trump made his threats even more ominous.
In a series of posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump responded to the Colorado ruling with claims that Biden is behind all his woes. That appears to include both the writer E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case and the in-progress case for overvaluing his properties. “Biden should drop all of these fake political indictments against me, both criminal & civil,” wrote Trump. “Every case I am fighting is the work of the DOJ & the White House. No such thing has ever happened in our country before. Banana republic??? Election interference!!!” (Note: This statement’s use of ALL CAPS has been reduced in the interest of preserving the reader’s vision.)
Trump followed this up with claims that “Crooked Joe Biden” is an insurrectionist and reposts of multiple right-wing pundits making outrageous claims about the Colorado ruling. That included this one encouraging a “civil war.”
In another post, Trump repeated claims that Biden has weaponized the Department of Justice, again blaming him for both the criminal and civil charges Trump faces. But this time, Trump added a thick layer of implied threats.
The “Pandora’s Box” phrase has been picked up by right-wing commentators and social media, where it has become a synonym for how the Justice Department can be turned against Trump’s opponents once he is returned to power.
The threats of violence that have reportedly flooded in following the Colorado ruling have included some genuine nastiness. A Trump forum frequented by Jan. 6 rioters included the message, “This ends when we kill these fuckers.” Even though the court ruling was a split 4-3 decision, it hasn’t stopped Trump supporters from calling for the death of all seven Colorado justices.
And the threats have not been limited to the judges in this case. With Trump, other Republicans, and right-wing pundits all claiming that the whole judicial system has been leveraged by Democrats, threats have been extended to everyone considered an enemy of Trump. Those threats have included images of guns, rope, and bombs.
"Kill judges. Behead judges. Roundhouse kick a judge into the concrete," read one post. "Slam dunk a judge's baby into the trashcan."
All of this is an extension of an existing pattern. When Trump made false claims about court clerk Allison Greenfield, she received hundreds of “serious and credible” threats. More threats were leveled at Judge Arthur Engoron’s wife after Trump promoted false claims that an anti-Trump account on social media belonged to her. Trump has also made claims about Engoron’s son being in attendance and profiting from the trial, but those claims are absolutely false.
As both Engoron and special counsel Jack Smith have made clear, they’re willing to stand up to the threats leveled by Trump—even knowing that those threats sometimes lead to violence, as they did when a Trump supporter tried to shoot his way into the Cincinnati FBI office following the Mar-a-Lago search in 2022. That level of bravery is something expected from judges and prosecutors who face threats from criminals with some regularity.
But when the threats are extended to staff members, family, and friends, it’s much harder to stand in a courtroom and deliver a ruling that Trump may find objectionable. It demands bravery and a commitment to justice that few people may possess.
The threat to use the Justice Department as an instrument of retribution should he regain power is terrifying to everyone. And should be. But mixed in with that is the more immediate effort that Trump is making to intimidate every judge, prosecutor, and witness in the trials ahead.
Trump faces criminal proceedings in New York, Florida, and Georgia, and he wants those judges to be afraid. He wants every ruling to be made in the shadow of what might happen to them, to their friends, to their kids. He wants them to understand that should they dismiss the charges against him, or delay his case into the indefinite future, his social media will be full of praises for their wisdom and fairness. But if they try to bring him to equitable justice, they will face the kind of treatment he has delivered to “deranged” Engoron and “racist” New York Attorney General Letitia James, and to their staff and families.
In his posts, Trump keeps insisting that nothing like this “has ever happened in our country before.” He’s right about that. Trump is a unique threat.
Seeing him face justice is going to require an equally unique level of fortitude.
Campaign Action