President Donald Trump dangled the threat of violence before would-be protesters last night, harkening back to past campaign rallies where several were assaulted.
During a rally outside Pittsburgh, Trump referred generally to “some kind of anti-Trump person” and then noted, “You don’t see it much anymore. You know why? It’s dangerous! It’s dangerous for them.”
Trump on why you don’t see anti-Trump protesters at his rallies anymore: “It’s dangerous. It’s dangerous for them.” pic.twitter.com/dkgzaP9Vl9
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 22, 2020
He’s right. When Trump has spoken about protesters in this way in the past — saying in 2016, for example, that he would “pay for the legal fees” of supporters that knocked out protesters — his supporters did attack some of them. It happened over and over and over and over again.
Dallas Frazier, who repeatedly punched an anti-Trump protester multiple times outside a Trump rally in 2019, was sentenced to four months in prison earlier this year. But others who’ve attacked protesters haven’t faced penalties at all.