Jared Holt: “Apocalyptic”, violent rhetoric following Mar-a-Lago search is comparable to Jan. 6

Following the search at Mar-a-Lago, former president Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce that he had been a victim of “prosecutorial misconduct, the weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by the Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t want me to run for President in 2024”. Echoes of his accusations were heard among far-right online circles who were quick to call for civil war and violence. Three days, one individual took matter into his own hands and died after trying to fire into an FBI office. ISD senior research manager Jared Holt spoke to Yahoo News about the “high levels of apocalyptic, violent and conspiratorial rhetoric” that ISD analysts have observed since the search.

“The online trail left by the individual who engaged in that attack illustrates vividly how this type [of] rhetoric can motivate individuals toward real-world violence”, he said.

Jared compared the intensity to the time period leading up to the Jan. 6 attack. “Similarly to that period, these expressions of anger are happening in plain sight online and being regurgitated by powerful Trump supporters in government and media”.