(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Swatting and the Dangerous Rise of Political Violence [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-01-23 In her guest editorial Barbara McQuade calls out an aspect of Republican machinations that others have barely mentioned. This is vital, for everyone’s understanding of how far the RW puppet masters and their minions will go to subvert our justice system and our very democracy. Expanding the view past what she wrote, I see this as an orchestrated plan by those who fully intend to seize and retain power this year. The intimidation is an aspect, as is using/sapping police resources. But they may be probing for patterns, weaknesses they can take advantage of this Fall, before then after the election. This possibility requires massive attention and planning by the Department of Homeland Defense, the National Guard and FBI. I am gifting this article, so you can read it without the paywall. I will copy key portions below. www.nytimes.com/... “In a year with so much political and legal tension, law enforcement is seeing a disturbing trend: targeting public officials with swatting, or false emergency calls intended to draw a heavily armed police response. This conduct isn’t a harmless prank; it’s a symptom of a deeper disorder in American politics. Recent incidents involving officials who have taken stands seen as hostile to Donald Trump and bomb threats in multiple state capitols are signs of a troubling escalation in political violence. … ”The frequency and visibility of these incidents suggest that swatting and political violence require prosecutors to prioritize their efforts to stop it. Recent targets of swatting include Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who is presiding over the federal election interference case and whom Mr. Trump has accused of election interference; the special counsel Jack Smith, whom Mr. Trump has called “deranged” and a “thug”; and Gabriel Sterling, a Republican election official in Georgia who rejected Mr. Trump’s claims of fraud in the 2020 election. Justice Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over Mr. Trump’s New York civil fraud trial, received a bomb threat at his home on the day of closing arguments. Maine’s secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, became a victim of swatting shortly after she removed Mr. Trump from the presidential ballot in her state under the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment. She rightly sees these acts as attempts to chill efforts to enforce the law, calling the incident at her home “designed to scare not only me but also others into silence, to send a message.” … ”… the recent uptick in swatting can be attributed, at least in part, to the dangerous drumbeat of disinformation and dehumanization, a tactic long employed by authoritarians. Political extremists engage in what is known as the either-or fallacy. By framing issues as binary conflicts and demonizing opponents, they create a climate in which violence becomes normalized. Recent statements by Mr. Trump exemplify this strategy. He uses Truth Social posts to make unfounded accusations and express disdain for rivals. These posts do more than spread disinformation. They foster an environment in which violence against perceived enemies becomes not just conceivable but justified. The consequences of such talk are tangible and terrifying. Mr. Trump’s words have already preceded acts of violence: An attack on the F.B.I. field office in Cincinnati after he baselessly accused agents of planting evidence during their search of his Mar-a-Lago home in 2022. The plot of the MAGA bomber, who sent pipe bombs to Mr. Trump’s perceived enemies in the media and the Democratic Party in 2018. The Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol came after Mr. Trump urged his supporters to “fight like hell” or “you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Recent threats against Colorado Supreme Court justices who ruled that Mr. Trump was ineligible for the ballot in their state and harassment of the grand jury members who returned an indictment against him in Georgia underscore the real-world impact of stirring up political passions. Regardless of whether he intends to provoke attacks, his rants are heard by some as calls to action. And his success is likely to spawn imitators. … “ There is no easy answer to reversing this trend, but one way to start is for law enforcement officials to take a strong stand against political violence. When I served as a U.S. attorney in Michigan, I found that enforcement action worked best when coupled with messaging — before and after prosecution. In 2013, after carjacking became a significant problem in Detroit, law enforcement agencies used billboards and television ads to inform the public of the long prison sentences for carjacking. Carjackers were prosecuted, and their sentences were publicized. The following year saw a 32 percent reduction in that offense. While it is never possible to pinpoint the cause of a reduction in crime, educating would-be offenders about the serious consequences probably had some deterrent effect. ~~~ end ~~~ [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/1/23/2219191/-Swatting-and-the-Dangerous-Rise-of-Political-Violence?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/