The crime Trump committed in stirring up his mob [View all]
For years, Donald Trump has been going right up to the line of inciting violence by targeting certain minority groups and individuals with his vitriol. I have argued previously that his speech did not constitute incitement.
On Wednesday, Trump crossed the Rubicon and incited a mob to attack the U.S. Capitol as Congress was in the process of tallying the electoral college vote results. He should be criminally indicted for inciting insurrection against our democracy.
The 1st Amendment protects legitimate political debate, including speech we may find repugnant, but it does not protect speech that incites a crowd to imminent lawless action.
Incitement law requires the presence of three elements. First, the speaker must directly advocate a crime. Trump summoned the crowd to the “Save America” rally in Washington with the words “Be there. Will be wild!” In his speech Wednesday, Trump encouraged them to march to the Capitol and “fight,” which constituted an explicit call to a lawless act.
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-01-11/donald-trump-incitement-insurrection-capitol-attack
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