USA
This article was added by the user . TheWorldNews is not responsible for the content of the platform.

Analysts warn of violent rhetoric after FBI Mar-a-Lago search is upcoming preview

Ywas identified as a "witch hunt" for Donald Trump and his supporters this week after FBI agents raided the former president's residence. I've heard ears of tension and resentment about being there. at Mar-a-Lago.

From conservative pundits and legislators to far-right influencers, the search is fueled by television and online forums buzzing with terms like "civil war" and "tyranny" and existentially criticizing the United States. Thrown as a threat. Pro-Trump commentators have called for mass arrests, denounced the FBI, mourned "a dark day for our republic" and suggested the move would lead to political violence.

“This is war. must go' on the offense.

The surge in violent rhetoric has raised concerns that it could provoke attacks on law enforcement. Analysts have noted a wave of threats directed at FBI agents and leaders. Trump supporters picketed several field offices of his agency, planning a larger protest at his Washington, D.C. headquarters on Sunday. A federal judge in Florida, who signed a warrant allowing FBI agents to search Trump's residence, said far-right message channels had been exposed to intimidation, including exposing his address and spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. are flooding in.

However, former law enforcement officials and political violence analysts say this has led to further developments in various investigations into Trump, fueling speculation about his 2024 presidential campaign. He warned that it could be just a harbinger of the backlash that would erupt in the future. Mr Trump faces a range of investigations. The search for Mar-a-Lago is reportedly linked to alleged mishandling of classified documents, with a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack, a federal grand jury to announce in 2020 Investigating efforts to overturn 2016 elections. There are several state-level investigations investigating the 2020 election issue, as well as a legal battle over his tax returns.

Recent polls show that a growing number of Americans believe violence against the US government is justifiable, and right-wing celebrities have amplified alarming rhetoric, National security agencies have warned that the upcoming midterm elections could become a flashpoint for the United States. To avoid extremist violence, this kind of language is likely to be seen as a call to force, experts say.

Rachel Kleinfeld, a political violence analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said, "Republican politicians and media officials are playing with fire." Acceptance of violence is approaching the levels Northern Ireland saw at the height of the Troubles... Fanning the flames of violence with inflammatory language is the worst thing they can do.'

21} Trump and his allies quickly used their outrage over the FBI search for political gain, blasting fundraising emails and vowing to hold the Biden administration accountable. “I need all red-blooded American patriots to step up at this time,” read an email in Trump’s name sent Wednesday by his Political Action Committee, citing the “Deep State ” cast him as the victim of a conspiracy. There are signs that more radical peripheral supporters may be taking post-apocalyptic rhetoric seriously, especially as some Republican leaders echo and boost disturbing language.

READ MORE: Trump allies predict FBI hunt for Mar-a-Lago will help Republicans in midterms

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green tweeted a picture of an upside-down American flag, a symbol of suffering. "This is the wrongdoing of a communist country," the Georgia Republican said in a statement. "These are the types of things that happen in a country during a civil war." The House Judiciary Republican account tweeted, "If they can do a former president, imagine what they can do to you."

The enthusiastic partisan reaction to the Mar-a-Lago search only confirms the bleak picture painted by the recent National Security Assessment. Officials at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) say that the kind of belligerent rhetoric that has come to fruition on Jan. 6 and continues to be fueled by reactions to the ongoing Trump investigation has been reinforced by broader political views. We have been warning for months that we are increasing the risk of impact. Riots ahead of the November midterm elections.

"It is very dangerous for a leader to stir up this kind of anger," says Liliana Mason, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University who analyzes American polarization and political violence. says. "People using [this language] either don't care about potential violence or are long term about the potential consequences of angering voters in this way in potentially explosive ways. Just don't think about it, their voters are calling this to actually do something terrible.

"Someday it's going to explode"

Trump himself soon Turning to the FBI investigation, his Political Action Committee sent out at least eight emails in 48 hours and a raid. The email reflected the urgent and ominous tone of his statement leading up to the Jan. 6 riots. "These are dark times for our country," read the subject line of an email sent Wednesday morning from Trump's Save America PAC.

Mr Trump has also denounced the FBI raid as an attack on all supporters. This particular message was widely picked up by right-wing media and pro-Trump influencers. On Tuesday's primetime show, Fox host and Trump adviser Sean Hannity called it "a dark day for our republic."

"Make no mistake. If you are in any way related to Donald Trump, cross all I's and dot all T's," warned Hannity. . of the federal government.

Republican lawmakers and candidates, right-wing activists, and former Trump administration officials echo the rhetoric of the more radical groups that led the charges in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. seemed to be doing Keepers and Proud Boys. These groups see themselves as the "last line of defense against tyranny" and cast the investigation on Trump as a precursor to a greater war.

"This is one of the darkest days in American history. It is the day a government that was originally created by the people turned against us," said a statement last week. If we accept it, America is dead...we will not accept it."

The New York Young Republican Club issued a statement calling for mass arrests of those involved in the search. suggested that legal proceedings should be suspended. '' Monica Crowley, a former spokeswoman for the Treasury Department during the Trump administration, said, ``This is it. wrote in Telegram:

On Thursday, a man wearing his body armor and carrying an AR-15 rifle attempted to break into his FBI office in Cincinnati and nailed him to law enforcement before fleeing the scene. of guns. It was not immediately clear if the incident was related to the search for Mar-a-Lago. But the attempted attack shows that his aggressive denunciation of the FBI's "tyranny" in this confusing environment can find an audience willing to act. “The gap between violent rhetoric online and violence in the real world is closing,” said the former head of the DHS intelligence division, who now uses technology to help governments and businesses combat disinformation. says Brian Murphy, who works for the company Logically.

"The fact that the FBI has been publicly identified as the target of an attack is significant," Murphy says. "When this kind of rhetoric is also shared by public officials, it gives the language a sense of normalcy and adds fuel to the fire." , users are already threatening to take matters into their own hands. The user said the FBI raid felt "like a prelude to a civil war," posted advice on weapon and supply readiness, and said combat power "doesn't need to be very large to be completely overwhelmed." Stated. Another poster had the following response: "An encouraging reminder: More than 300 police officers and FBI agents froze in fear, and at Uvaldehe faced off against his one man with a rifle ."5 Moon.

According to law enforcement sources, Fox News quoted US Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Chris Wray, and his FBI agents. Death threats against Wray on Wednesday condemned the "deplorable and dangerous" threats to FBI agents. "Violence against law enforcement is not the answer, no matter who you're angry with," he said.

Recent polls show a growing acceptance of political violence among Americans. About one in three Americans says he believes violence against the government is sometimes justified, with right-wing showing more support. 23% of Democrats compared to 40% of Republicans, according to a January Washington Post University poll in Maryland.Another studyAccording to researchers at the University of California, Davis Violence Prevention Research Program and the California Center for Violence Research, more than half of Americans expect a civil war to break out in the United States. Sometime "within the next few years."

Recent data shared with TIME by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit that tracks political violence and demonstrations, Political demonstrations showed a significant increase, increasing the likelihood of violence. National security agencies are following similar trends."As the United States enters this year's midterm election season, calls for violence by domestic violence extremists directed at democratic institutions, politicians, party offices, election events, and election officials are likely to increase. ,” DHS warned. June terror bulletin. Now, the FBI's search for Mar-a-Lago has added another possible data point to the national security analyst's alert.

"As academics, we feel like we're on the edge of a cliff," says Mason.

vera. bergengruen@time. Write to Vera Bergengruen at com