'Shoot a couple': MAGA activists call for violence against 'No Kings' protesters

13 June

Members of the Proud Boys in Raleigh, North Carolina in November 2020 (Creative Commons)

Members of several far-right MAGA-affiliated groups are now urging members to carry out acts of violence against protesters during Saturday's "No Kings" protests against President Donald Trump's administration.

The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that members of the Proud Boys (one of the groups active during the January 6, 2021 siege of the U.S. Capitol) are making violent threats against protesters on the messaging app Telegram. One Proud Boys organizer reportedly said "you just have to impale a few of them" while another declared it was "riot season again!"

"Shoot a couple, the rest will go home," read a meme shared on a Proud Boys channel.

Other right-wing and white nationalist social media accounts are also sharing a meme with the tip line for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), encouraging Trump supporters to call and report anyone they believe are in the United States illegally. The same meme was later shared by the official White House's X account, and was reposted to the official Department of Homeland Security account. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller also shared it, according the the Journal.

University of Pittsburgh sociologist Kathleen Blee told the paper that white nationalists are now feeling an increased sense of unity around hatred for non-white immigrants. She added that she had never seen violent far-right ideology more amplified in mainstream society than it is today in her four decades of studying the topic.

"It’s by far the worst. It’s scarily the worst. It’s flashing red,” Blee said. “It’s a very precarious time right now."

"No Kings" protests are expected in 2,000 cities in all 50 states on Saturday — the same day as Trump's military parade in Washington D.C. Other countries are also holding "No Kings" protests in solidarity with Americans opposing the Trump administration (though the United Kingdom's protest is called "No Tyrants") including Australia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Guatemala, Greece, Ireland, Malawi and Portugal, among others. Trump recently complained about the upcoming protests, and took umbrage with the "king" label.

Click here to read the Journal's full report (subscription required).

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