Republicans' dangerous reaction to Trump Conviction
The Republican reaction to Donald Trump's criminal conviction is a predictor of perilous times ahead in our politics.
There was very little violence following the trial, but the incendiary and duplicitous broadsides defending Trump by top Republicans is only a prelude to what likely would occur if this November's election looks anything like 2020. They attacked the jury and the judge, charged the Department of Justice was politically corrupt, and vowed retribution.
Trump and his allies are emboldening the violent white power movement which has rebounded from the criminal convictions for the January 6 assault on the Capitol. In an in-depth Reuters article, one member of the Proud Boys said after the Trump conviction, this is "war,"; another warned that if Trump is denied the presidency, "bad things are going to happen."
The Proud Boys are back: How the far-right group is rebuilding to rally behind Trump
The deterrent of jail for this all-male extremist group has dissipated as Trump has promised he'd pardon the January 6 perpetrators. It’s no surprise that most Americans fear election violence this year.
Trump and his loyalists are attacking pillars of the Democratic system: fair elections and fair trials. Any Republican who urges respect for the law, like Maryland Senate candidate Larry Hogan, has been ostracized by the Trump Republican party.