![]() ![]() ![]() "But remember that the people who commit hate fueled violence are not logical, rational people." "Any public figure could have the effect of inspiring people," FBI Director Chris Wray told a Senate panel last year. The perpetrators and suspects identified in the 54 cases are mostly white men – as young as teenagers and as old as 75 – while the victims largely represent an array of minority groups – African-Americans, Latinos, Muslims and gay men.įederal law enforcement authorities have privately told ABC News they worry that – although Trump has offered public denunciations of violence – his statements have been inconsistent and Trump's style could inspire violence-prone individuals to take action against minorities or others they perceive to be against the president's agenda. And in the majority of cases identified by ABC News, it was perpetrators themselves who invoked the president in connection with their case, not anyone else. These links are not speculative – they are documented in official records. The 54 cases identified by ABC News are remarkable in that a link to the president is captured in court documents and police statements, under the penalty of perjury or contempt. But the vast majority of the cases – 41 of the 54 – reflect someone echoing presidential rhetoric, not protesting it.ĪBC News could not find a single criminal case filed in federal or state court where an act of violence or threat was made in the name of President Barack Obama or President George W. ![]() Thirteen cases identified by ABC News involved violent or threatening acts perpetrated in defiance of Trump, with many of them targeting Trump's allies in Congress. When three Kansas men were on trial for plotting to bomb a largely-Muslim apartment complex in Garden City, Kansas, one of their lawyers told the jury that the men "were concerned about what now-President Trump had to say about the concept of Islamic terrorism." Another lawyer insisted Trump had become "the voice of a lost and ignored white, working-class set of voters," and Trump's rhetoric meant someone "who would often be at a 7 during a normal day, might ‘go to 11.'" When police questioned a Washington state man about his threats to kill a local Syrian-born man, the suspect told police he wanted the victim to "get out of my country," adding, "That’s why I like Trump." "I think my rhetoric brings people together," he said last year, four days after a 21-year-old allegedly posted an anti-immigrant screed online and then allegedly opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 and injuring dozens of others.īut a nationwide review conducted by ABC News has identified at least 54 criminal cases where Trump was invoked in direct connection with violent acts, threats of violence or allegations of assault.Īfter a Latino gas station attendant in Gainesville, Florida, was suddenly punched in the head by a white man, the victim could be heard on surveillance camera recounting the attacker’s own words: “He said, ‘This is for Trump.'" Charges were filed but the victim stopped pursuing them. President Donald Trump has repeatedly distanced himself from acts of violence in communities across America, dismissing critics who point to his rhetoric as a potential source of inspiration or comfort for anyone acting on even long-held beliefs of bigotry and hate. ![]()
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