Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner is urging Special Counsel Jack Smith and the Justice Department to take threats made on social media this week by former president Donald Trump very seriously and give careful consideration to detaining him in jail until his trial in May of next year.
Kirschner made his remarks on the SiriusXM show of Dean Obeidallah, and was clearly referencing a video Trump promoted this week on his poorly-performing Truth Social site in which he suggested that he would get revenge on anyone that dared to cross him or his supporters.
The video featured a photo of the disgraced ex-president along with audio of him saying, “If you f— around with us, if you do something bad to us, we are going to do things to you that have never been done before.”
“Donald Trump should be detained pending trial,” according to Kirschner. “And I say that not from my own personal preference or animosity I have for the man.”
“I say it because the law provides that when there is clear and convincing evidence that a defendant pending trial presents a danger to the community he is supposed to be detained, or she is supposed to be detained pending trial, that’s the law” he added. “Everyone has ignored that when it comes to Donald Trump.”
“And we do it at our peril. We as the system, as the institutions of the government,” Kirschner warned. “What did we see Donald Trump do recently? He posted President Obama’s address and one of his followers, a guy named Taylor Taranto read it, reposted it on his social media platform and then armed himself with two guns, 400 rounds of ammunition, a machete and then headed toward President Obama’s home.”
Though it’s unlikely Smith and the DOJ will detain Trump before his trial, it’s a suggestion they shouldn’t completely dismiss, especially if his treats get more explicit and violent the closer we get to May 2024.
Here’s the video of Kirschner’s discussion with Obeidallah:
