Trump’s risky call for protests

Former President Donald Trump knows his base better than anyone. He should understand that his words in the past have been followed by acts of violence by some supporters — ranging from incidents at his campaign rallies to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

That is why it’s deeply alarming that on Saturday, Trump called on his supporters to “Protest, take our nation back” if the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, charges him with crimes. In the post on his social media site, Truth Social, Trump said he expected to be arrested Tuesday, although his team said afterward it had not received any notification from prosecutors.

Later Saturday, in a follow-up on Truth Social, Trump repeated the message in all caps, writing, “THEY’RE KILLING OUR NATION AS WE SIT BACK & WATCH. WE MUST SAVE AMERICA! PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!!”

Trump’s latest call for protests instantly conjures up his infamous December 19, 2020, tweet alleging election fraud and announcing, “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th,” adding, “Be there, will be wild!” As federal prosecutors and the January 6 House committee that investigated the attack have laid out, some Trump supporters saw that tweet as a call to arms.