When it comes to Americans engaging in lawful protests, Donald Trump and his team haven’t exactly positioned themselves as champions of the First Amendment. Indeed, the president has spent years trying to delegitimize dissenters, urging the public to see his detractors as “paid protesters,” as if his opponents are inherently inauthentic.
Alas, this isn’t the only example of the Republican’s unhealthy attitude on the subject. In June, Trump announced that anyone who dared to protest a military parade he was excited about would be met with “very heavy force.” Earlier this week, responding to a conservative reporter who said that anti-war protesters near the White House “still have their First Amendment right,” Trump replied, “Yeah, well, I’m not so sure.”
It’s against this backdrop that Politico reported:
The Justice Department’s No. 2 official said Tuesday that people noisily protesting President Donald Trump could face investigation if they’re part of broader networks organizing such activities.
“Is it … sheer happenstance that individuals show up at a restaurant where the president is trying to enjoy dinner in Washington, D.C., and accost him with vile words and vile anger?” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said during a CNN interview. “Does it mean it’s just completely random that they showed up? Maybe, maybe, but to the extent that it’s part of an organized effort to inflict harm and terror and damage to the United States, there’s potential, potential investigations there.”
Blanche was referring to an incident last week when the president went to dinner at a restaurant near the White House, and during the outing, Trump was confronted with protesters who were quickly removed from the premises.
On Monday, the president told reporters, in reference to what transpired, “I’ve asked [Attorney General Pam Bondi] to look into that in terms of bringing RICO cases against them, criminal RICO.”
So because Trump was met by protesters who shouted at him, the Republican directed the nation’s chief law enforcement officer to explore federal racketeering charges against those who dared to bother him.
One day later, Bondi’s chief deputy at the Justice Department told a national television audience that the hecklers might’ve been part of “an organized effort to inflict harm and terror and damage to the United States.” At this point, we could talk about the fact that Blanche probably shouldn’t be the deputy AG, given that his only relevant experience is having served as one of the president’s criminal defense attorneys. We could also talk about how Blanche hasn’t exactly covered himself in glory since arriving at Main Justice, as his handling of the Eric Adams and Ghislaine Maxwell cases help demonstrate. But let’s not miss the forest for the trees. As The New York Times summarized, “President Trump has begun a major escalation in his long-running efforts to stifle political opposition in the United States. … In the six days since [conservative activist Charlie Kirk] was gunned down in Utah, Mr. Trump and his top officials have promised a broadside against the political left.” Blanche’s on-air comments weren’t the only element of this broadside, but they were among the most outlandish.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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