this post was submitted on 05 Apr 2024
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United States | News & Politics

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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.”

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[–] JokeDeity@lemm.ee 14 points 7 months ago (2 children)

His cult will eat that shit up, completely forgetting he promised to lock up Hillary Clinton and they all ate that up too.

[–] delirious_owl 9 points 7 months ago

Fortunately they are a minority. Unfortunately the US isn't a democracy

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 6 points 7 months ago (6 children)

Yup, I highly doubt he'll actually do it. I really don't believe he actually cares that much about politics, he just wants his name repeated in every household.

That said, they are credible threats, and they should be treated as such.

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[–] zarkanian@sh.itjust.works 11 points 7 months ago (4 children)

What charges will he have them arrested for? I don't think that the president can just demand that people be arrested.

[–] chiliedogg@lemmy.world 9 points 7 months ago

They also can't tell people to storm the Capitol and try to overthrow an election they lost.

They also can't just take classified data when they're voted out of office and sell it to the Saudis.

They also can't fire the FBI director for investigating the White House.

They also can't with old military aid from another government because they won't fabricate evidence against their political rivals.

They also can't collude with state officials to throw out votes.

They also can't use campaign funds for hush-money payments.

There's a lot a President can't do that Trump has done.

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[–] alex_02@infosec.pub 10 points 7 months ago

It is good to see that people are finally talking about this outside of twitter.

[–] D61@hexbear.net 8 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

“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.”

They just have a bunch of Trump merch in hidden safes in their offices... "We'll just blend in! Tell them we were always one of them! Its a fool-proof plan!" inconceivable

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