On Friday House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) warned that a potential escalation in former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric could result in someone getting potentially “killed.”
Trump is currently being investigated by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) in connection to his role in the hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump had earlier written that if charges were brought against him in connection to this case then that could lead to “potential death & destruction.”
Jeffries said that this type of messaging resembles Trump’s messaging before the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, and warned the former President that the continuation of such language could result in another big episode of violence. During a press briefing in the Capitol, Jeffries noted that the rhetoric being used by Trump is “reckless, reprehensible, and irresponsible.” He added that this type of rhetoric was dangerous and that if he continued it was likely that someone would get “killed.”
He added that they had “already seen the consequences of incitement from the former president,” and that he was the main person responsible for “inciting the violent insurrection” on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump is facing a number of probes that are focused on his role in the Jan. 6, Capitol attack and his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. He is also facing a federal investigation into the classified documents that were found in his Mar-a-Lago estate in South Florida.
However, the Manhattan case which relates to the $130,000 made to the actress Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence before the 2016 presidential election, is the longest-running case against Trump and the one that he might soon be indicted.
Trump is currently a leading candidate for the 2024 GOP nomination for the White House. He has repeatedly denied the allegations associated with this case and has claimed that this is a political witch hunt against him led by Bragg.
