The political consequences of the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago, have been predictable, given the new normal of today’s polarized America.
All we have to do is look back to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and see how easily tensions can boil over into devastating political violence. And the problem is only getting worse.
FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week that political violence is becoming “almost a 365-day phenomenon.” Wray continued, “I feel like every day I’m getting briefed on somebody throwing a Molotov cocktail at someone for some issue, It’s crazy.”
Perhaps what is most disturbing is the increased risk of violent rhetoric turning into widespread civil breakdown. It is actually easy to see this happening, given the extremist views exhibited by some of ex-president Trump’s followers.
The FBI’s search of former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence spurred a wave of threats against individuals involved in nearly every level of the process.
According to Fox News, Attorney General Merrick Garland, Wray, and FBI agents have faced an uptick in online threats since Monday.
The biography and contact information of Bruce Reinhart, the judge who approved the search warrant, were scrubbed from his district court’s website, and his synagogue canceled a Shabbat event amid anti-Semitic threats.
“I hear Judge Reinhart has been getting threats, that his information was taken down from the judicial directory, and he’s the object of vitriol from supporters of the former president,” Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg told Axios.
But the absolute worst is the political violence that is displayed on social media. Just this morning, NBC News did a report on a GOP candidate in Florida getting permanently banned from Twitter because of a post he made condoning violence.
Luis Miguel, who’s running in Florida’s House District 20, said on Twitter that under his plan, federal agents could be shot on sight in the state. He told the website Florida Politics that Twitter had notified him that his account had been permanently suspended, which he later confirmed to NBC News on Friday.
Miguel confirmed to NBC News that his tweet on Thursday said: “Under my plan, all Floridians will have permission to shoot FBI, IRS, ATF, and all other feds on sight! Let freedom ring!”
Now many people might be reading this and thinking, yeah, that’s a good one, and is funny as all get out. But, seriously, There are some real assholes out there that would take a tweet or message like Miguel’s as the “truth from on high,” and act on it.
All this crap about blowing away FBI agents or any other law enforcement people is nothing more than a lot of mean-spirited and vile hate-mongering and it has to stop.
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Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
