He pointed to an August attack on an FBI office in Ohio following a federal raid at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property as the type of violence that could recur. In that instance, an armed man tried to breach an FBI building in Cincinnati and was later shot dead by police following a gun battle.
“Following Trump’s call for protest, we’ve documented three fairly distinct waves of responses on far-right social media,” said Devin Burghart, executive director of the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights, which researches anti-democratic and discriminatory groups.
“Wave one was a call to attention for Trump loyalty rallies. Almost immediately thereafter there was a second wave of, ‘Don’t protest, it’s a trap just like January 6th,’ that really overtook the first,” Burghart said.
Some right-wing activists have claimed falsely that the Jan. 6 attack was instigated by undercover FBI agents and by antifa, an extreme left-wing movement.
“Most have moved to a third position where they have moved to supporting the Trump rally in Waco next weekend as a sort of compromise,” Burghart added.
Trump is holding his first 2024 campaign rally on Saturday in Waco, Texas.