Tag

#incitement

6 incidents

Updated February 13, 2021 Rule of Law
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Second Impeachment: Incitement of Insurrection — Impeached, Then Acquitted on Technicality

The House impeachment was adopted 232-197 with ten Republicans voting to impeach — the most bipartisan presidential impeachment in history. The single article charged Trump with incitement of insurrection for his speech at the Ellipse on January 6 and his conduct leading up to the attack. Senate Majority Leader McConnell voted to acquit on the grounds that the Senate lacked jurisdiction to try a former president, then immediately gave a speech from the Senate floor saying Trump was 'practically and morally responsible' for the attack. The acquittal was on procedural grounds, not on the merits.

Sources
4
impeachmentJanuary-6incitementfirst-termSenate
Rule of Law
War Crime / Crime Against Humanity

January 6 Capitol Insurrection: Incitement of an Attack on Democratic Transition of Power

Following months of false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, Trump held a rally on January 6 and incited his supporters to march to the Capitol. A mob of thousands stormed and occupied the building for hours, injuring 140 police officers, causing multiple deaths, and forcing the evacuation of Congress. Trump watched on television and, despite multiple requests, refused to call off the mob for over three hours.

Sources
6
January-6insurrectionCapitol-attackelection-fraudrule-of-law
Civil Rights
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Charlottesville: Trump's Defense of White Supremacists After the Unite the Right Rally

The August 12, 2017 Unite the Right rally drew hundreds of neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members, and white nationalists to Charlottesville. A rally participant drove a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer. Trump initially blamed 'many sides,' then under pressure condemned white supremacists, then two days later reinstated the 'very fine people on both sides' framing in a combative press conference. The statements were widely understood as a signal of presidential sympathy to white nationalist movements.

Sources
5
Charlottesvillewhite-supremacyracial-violencefirst-termincitement
Updated November 3, 2020 Civil Rights
War Crime / Crime Against Humanity

Charlottesville and Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories: Trump's Relationship with White Nationalism

Trump's failure to clearly condemn the Charlottesville marchers — who carried torches and chanted neo-Nazi slogans — was part of a documented pattern of engagement with white nationalist and anti-Semitic content. Trump retweeted accounts associated with white nationalism, used the word 'invasion' for Hispanic immigration (a term that appeared in the El Paso mass shooter's manifesto), shared memes created by neo-Nazi accounts, and refused to commit to accepting election results — all while white nationalist and anti-Semitic incidents rose sharply.

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5
white-nationalismCharlottesvilleanti-Semitismhate-crimesfirst-term
Updated November 8, 2016 Civil Rights
Major Abuse of Power

2016 Campaign Rally Violence: Incitement of Supporters to Attack Protesters

Trump's 2016 campaign rallies were sites of documented violence against protesters, directly preceded by Trump's explicit incitements from the stage. Trump offered to pay legal fees for supporters who assaulted protesters, described violence against protesters nostalgically, and encouraged crowds. Multiple protesters were punched, kicked, shoved, or sprayed with mace; in at least one case Trump faced civil liability for the conduct of his supporters. A federal appeals court allowed a lawsuit by injured protesters to proceed.

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5
incitementviolencecampaign-ralliespre-presidencycivil-rights
Updated June 18, 2019 Civil Rights
Major Abuse of Power

The Central Park Five: Trump's Decades-Long Targeting of Wrongfully Convicted Black and Brown Teenagers

Following the 1989 Central Park jogger case, Trump took out full-page ads in four New York newspapers calling for the death penalty for five teenagers — Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise — then aged 14-16. All five were convicted after making coerced false confessions. In 2002, the actual perpetrator confessed and DNA confirmed the exonerations. Trump refused to accept the exonerations for decades and called their civil settlement a 'disgrace' while running for president.

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5
Central-Park-Fivewrongful-convictionracial-justicepre-presidencyexoneration