Far-right communities Social media was lit up Saturday night with calls for violence, retaliation and civil war following the Assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
“I guess they really want war,” wrote a member of the pro-Trump forum known as The Donald on Saturday night, in a post that has since been deleted.
Many other forum members, who played significant roles in coordinating activities leading up to the January 6 Capitol riot, echoed this statement in their responses to the post.
“Let’s give them victory,” one person wrote. Another added, “I’m ready. This is the last straw.” Another user wrote, “FUCK CIVIL WAR. I’m ready to end this fucking Democrat shit.”
Details of these publications were shared with WIRED by researchers at Advance Democracy, a nonprofit organization that conducts public interest research.
Mainstream online platforms like X and Facebook have also been flooded with conspiracies and misinformation following the shootingBut in far-right communities, most of the discussion has focused on what happens next.
“They’ve been trying to get rid of this guy since he took office,” wrote a member of Uncle Sam’s Proud Boys Upstate NY Telegram channel in response to a photo of Trump being shot with his fist raised and blood on his face. “Too bad for them, they probably missed their only chance in this failed attempt, because they’re about to see what happens when you poke the bear too long, aka true American Patriots. Fuck the DNC, fuck the RINOs, fuck the FEDs, and fuck the MSM. They should all be hanging in the streets.”
In a Telegram channel for the Infamous Legend Valley Proud Boys, an Ohio branch of the far-right militia, one member wrote: “Laugh and smile now, you leftist assholes, but never forget that you will always reap what you sow.”
On The Donald, users also called for all Democrats to be arrested.
“War now,” the user wrote. “They don’t want to live and let live. We need to finish what should have been done after the Civil War: eradicate and eliminate all Democrats and anyone who even thinks they are a Democrat.”
Calls for violence and civil war from far-right communities are nothing new. Following the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago in 2022, Trump supporters immediately called for an armed uprising. Earlier this year, similar calls were made when Trump was convicted on 34 countsAlthough these calls for violence do not always translate into concrete actions, there are many examples where online rhetoric has led to offline violence, including the Capitol riot.
“Contrary to the messaging that’s been coming out of the attacks on the Cincinnati FBI office and Paul Pelosi, there’s a concerted effort to frame this as a result of left-wing rhetoric around Trump and fascism,” Jon Lewis, a research fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, told WIRED. “There’s a clear, single message that’s coming out from the top down and the bottom up, from members of Congress to right-wing influencers to neo-Nazi Telegram channels: We have to fight back.”
Advance Democracy researchers say it is difficult to assess the scale of online attacks because the situation is still evolving and could get worse.
One of the main topics of conversation on The Donald on Sunday was what would have happened if Trump had been killed, with most people saying the response would have been much deadlier and much quicker.
“I told my neighbor that if Trump had been killed, I would have pulled out my kit, quit my job, and started working on my bucket list,” one user wrote.
These calls for violence aren’t limited to virtual spaces. Minutes after Trump was shot in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, the former president’s supporters quickly turned on the media covering the rally.
“Fake news! It’s your fault!” they shouted, according to Axios reporter Sophia Caiwho was present. “It’s your turn! Your time is coming,” shouted another. Several participants tried to enter the media area, but were stopped by security officers.
