Ex-President Donald Trump threatened it would be “very dangerous” if he were jailed over the new charges he’s likely facing, citing the “passion” of his fan base.
Trump completely hijacked the news cycle when he announced Tuesday that he’s about to be indicted in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s conduct surrounding the 2020 election leading up to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
Since that all-caps-festooned announcement, Trump has ranted about the charges in various public forums, and it did not take long for him to raise the specter of violence that his supporters resorted to after he incited them on January 6.
Trump gave an interview with Iowa’s The Simon Conway Show on Tuesday following the news, and spoke to host Doug Wagner filling in for Simon Conway. Wagner brought up the prospect of Trump being jailed prior to his trial, and asked Trump what his message to fans would be:
DOUG WAGNER: Is it something that concerns you of the people making sure that they don’t go out of their right mind if something like that happens, if that, for example, they do say — Jack Smith says, OK, I’m going to put Donald Trump in jail?
DONALD TRUMP: I think it’s a very dangerous thing to even talk about, because we do have a tremendously passionate group of voters, much more passion than they had in 2020 and much more passion than they had in 2016.
I think it would be very dangerous.
Trump has made similar and at times more direct comments in the past under nearly identical circumstances.
Trump whipped up a frenzy on the eve of his indictment and arrest in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation around hush money payments to Stormy Daniels — the stage name of Stephanie Clifford — by telling supporters he expected to be arrested and urging them to “PROTEST” and “TAKE OUR NATION BACK!”
After several escalations, Trump upped the ante yet again in a late-night social media post by warning of “death & destruction” if he were charged. Violence did not ensue in that case.
Watch above via The Simon Conway Show and listen to the full interview here.
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