Far right community The internet lit up Saturday night with calls for violence, revenge and civil war following the incident. assassination of former president donald trump.
“I guess they really want war,” a member of a pro-Trump forum called The Donald wrote Saturday night in a now-deleted post.
Several other members of the forum, who played key roles in coordinating the activities that led to the Capitol riot on January 6, agreed to respond to the post.
“Let them go,” one person wrote. Another added: “I’m ready. This is the last straw for me.” Another user wrote: “CIVIL.FUCKING.WAR. I’m ready to be done with this Democrat shit.”
Details of these posts were shared with WIRED by researchers from Advance Democracy, a nonprofit that conducts research in the public interest.
Mainstream online platforms like X and Facebook have also Conspiracy theories and misinformation abound in the wake of the shooting.But in far-right communities, much of the discussion focuses on what happens next.
“They’ve been trying to take this guy down since he took office,” a member of the Uncle Sam’s Proud Boys Upstate NY Telegram channel wrote in response to a photo of the shot Trump with his fist raised and blood on his face. “Too bad for them that they probably missed their only chance in this failed attempt because they’re about to really see what happens when you piss off the bear for too long, i.e. the real American patriots. Fuck the DNC, fuck the RINOs, fuck the FED, and fuck the MSM. They should all be hanging in the streets.”
In the Telegram channel of the Infamous Legend Valley Proud Boys, a far-right militia offshoot in Ohio, one member wrote: “Smile and smirk you left-wing bastards, but never forget that you will always reap what you sow.”
On The Donald, users also called for the arrest of all Democrats.
“War now,” the user wrote. “They don’t want to live and let others live. We need to finish what was supposed to be done after the civil war: wipe out and eliminate all democrats and anyone who thinks they are a democrat.”
Calls for violence and civil war from far-right communities are nothing new. After the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago in 2022, Trump supporters immediately call for an armed uprisingSimilar calls were made earlier this year when Trump was convicted. on 34 serious charges. Although these calls for violence do not always lead to actual action, there are more examples where online rhetoric has led to offline violence, most notably the riot at the Capitol.
“Unlike the messaging after the FBI attack in Cincinnati and Paul Pelosi, there is a concerted effort to present this as a consequence of the leftist rhetoric surrounding Trump and fascism,” Jon Lewis, a research fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, told WIRED. “A single clear message is being communicated from top to bottom and bottom to top, from members of Congress to right-wing influencers to neo-Nazi Telegram channels: We need to fight back.”
Researchers at Advance Democracy said it was difficult to assess the scale of the online attacks because the situation was still evolving and could escalate.
On Sunday, one of the main topics discussed on The Donald was what would happen if Trump were killed, with most suggesting the response would be much deadlier and much quicker.
“I told my neighbor that if Trump gets killed, I’m going to pack up, quit my job, and start working on my wish list,” one user wrote.
These calls for violence are not limited to the online space. Minutes after Trump was shot in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, supporters of the former president quickly turned to media outlets covering the protest.
“Fake news! This is your fault!” they shouted, by Axios reporter Sophia Caisomeone was there. “You’re next! Your time is coming,” another shouted. Several attendees attempted to break into the media area, but were stopped by security.
