Seven months ago, extremist demonstrators were only too happy to display their undying loyalty to Donald Trump by marching on the U.S. Capitol and storming the building, which led to the deaths of five people, including a police officer.
Now, however, some of those same once-loyal Trump worshipers are calling the president a “coward” and insisting that he either needs to be arrested or executed, according to a report from Jesselyn Cook of HuffPost:
“In online havens for MAGA extremists, including Gab, CloutHub, MeWe, Telegram and far-right message boards such as 8kun, the tone toward Trump is shifting. HuffPost reviewed thousands of messages across these platforms and found that a growing minority of the president’s once-devout backers are now denouncing him and rejecting his recent pleas for peace. Some have called for his arrest or execution, labelling him a ‘traitor’ and a ‘coward.’ Alarmingly, many of those who are irate about Biden’s supposed electoral theft are still plotting to forcibly prevent him from taking office – with or without Trump’s help.”
What led to the shift in opinion among the extremists who have supported Trump since he first labeled Mexican immigrants as “rapists”? Apparently it was the video the president made in which he called for a peaceful transfer of power and an end to the violence that had taken place at the Capitol.
“’So he basically just sold out the patriots who got rounded up for him,’ one person wrote in a 15,000-member pro-Trump Telegram group. ‘Just wow.’
“’We don’t follow you,’ another Telegram user wrote, addressing Trump, after the president put out his video urging calm and order. ‘Be quiet and get out of our way.'”
There have also been messages such as this one:
On other forums, there are calls to “burn down” the Capitol and “pop some libtards”:
“WHATEVER IT TAKES!!” Some posts are more specific:“Civil War is here. Group up locally. Take out the News stations,” one person declared. “LET’S HANG THEM ALL,” another implored. “LET’S FINISH THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY.”
The Boogaloo Boys, a far-right extremist group that openly advocates for civil war, have also issued a call to arms:
“Theres a war coming, and cowering in your home [while] real patriots march with rifles … will make you a traitor,” commented a member of an encrypted Boogaloo chat.
Other postings are aimed directly at Trump, and suggest that he too may be a part of the problem that the extremists call for neutralizing:
Among the recent messages excoriating Trump in dedicated pro-Trump networks: “tbh I hope they hang Trump at this point”; “He deserves what’s coming to him”; “he is literally done he will die in jail”; “Seriously hoping they’ll lock him up or lynch [him]”; “Guy is the biggest cuck ever at this point” “Can’t wait til the left locks up his bitch ass. Rot in prison.” Several people have proclaimed that at this point, Trump can only redeem himself by declaring martial law to maintain power by force.
Clearly, and that could well wind up being a direct threat to him and anyone associated with his administration. But the only person to blame for what’s become of some of his former acolytes is the man-child Trump sees whenever he looks in the mirror.