‘The Looting Starts, The Shooting Starts’: Trump Calls for Extrajudicial Execution of Rioters

Free Thought Project – by Matt Agorist

In a Tweet around midnight CST, President Donald Trump took to his Twitter account and threatened to begin extrajudicially executing protesters suspected of looting in Minneapolis. This is an unprecedented move by a president and speaks to the nature of the current situation in the United States. Stealing a TV from Target does not warrant a death sentence — especially without due process.

After Trump made the threat, Twitter hid the Tweet behind a warning Friday, accusing him of breaking its rules by “glorifying violence.” However, this was so much more than glorifying violence. This is advocating for the extrajudicial slaughter of hundreds of people over property damage.

Below is that tweet (emphasis added):

“…These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!”

Trump’s disgraceful tweet can now be seen only after clicking on a notice which says: “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about glorifying violence. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”

Clearly tone deaf to his historically unprecedented act of unconstitutional and outright dictatorial call for mass execution of Americans without due process, Trump claimed Twitter censored his tweet because they are “targeting Republicans.”

This morning, instead of apologizing for calling for the slaughter of Americans over property damage, the White House retweeted Trump’s call for execution. Below is a screen shot and the original tweet.

“These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!” https://t.co/GDwAydcAOw

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 29, 2020

Trump will now undoubtedly use the fact that Twitter flagged his Tweet as fuel for his fire that is the massive regulation of social media. Coincidentally, Trump’s call to revoke ‘section 230’ is a direct play out of the masters of censorship playbook.

https://twitter.com/Partisangirl/status/1266350171606011905

Many of Trump’s supporters are doing some utterly insane mental gymnastics to justify their overlord violating his oath to the constitution by calling for the execution of looters without due process. They are claiming that Trump called on property owners to defend their property by shooting at the looters. Defending your own property with guns is entirely justified and encouraged. However, anyone with half a brain realizes that is not what Trump was saying.

He literally invoked the “military” just before claiming the shooting would start. It is utterly amazing that anyone could see this as acceptable.

In fact, “when the looting starts, the shooting starts,” is a historically significant phrase that has been said before. George Corley Wallace Jr., an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Alabama for four terms and staunch segregationist said the same thing in 1968 — while running for president.

As the Post-Gazette pointed out in 2005:

So, of course, did another 1968 presidential candidate, George Wallace. If Gene McCarthy’s appearance in Pittsburgh was the inspirational highlight of my rally-crawling that year, George Wallace’s gig at the Civic Arena was the creepy-crawly low point. “When the looting starts, the shooting starts,” Mr. Wallace told his frenzied devotees. No one could accuse him of lacking fire.

Unfortunately, many people are missing the point that Martin Luther King Jr. famously brought up before he, himself, was executed: A riot is the language of the unheard.

It is important to point out that the anger these rioters feel is real. While many Americans are able to sit behind their computer screens and TVs and watch this unfold, the folks in Minneapolis have been pushed to a breaking point. People are tired of watching cops kill unarmed and often innocent people only to keep their jobs and pensions while the taxpayers of these cities take the brunt of the responsibility.

For decades there has been a perfect storm brewing in this country as minorities and poor people have their doors kicked in and are terrorized by cops during botched raids for substances deemed illegal by the state and watch helplessly as their family members die in video after video at the hands of cops. Now, we have record unemployment, lockdowns, cops murdering people on video and facing no immediate charges, and those in charge sit at the top and point fingers.

So, why we would never condone the destruction of private property to make one’s point, we understand the anger and helplessness felt by those who would. And, it is hard to not get angry when cops are arresting reporters and conducting drive-by pepper sprays.

Also talk like this from the president will not stop the rioting. It will only push those who feel they are already oppressed into a corner — guaranteeing future conflict.

What’s more, though much of the rioting and looting is likely organic, we cannot rule out the possibility of agent provocateurs using the peaceful protests as a means to stoke a civil war. As TFTP reported this week, the famous Autozone incident was started by a shadowy agent provocateur who was confronted by peaceful protesters, telling him to stop.

TFTP has the video of the first person to instigate the destruction — and he was definitely not part of the George Floyd protests.

Also, those who watched the violence unfold on multiple live streams noted that the rioting — while done by many locals — was also instigated not by peaceful protesters, but by outsiders.

Groups like Antifa and white nationalists have been on social media talking about using the situation in Minneapolis as a spark to get the civil war they want and the President of the United States is playing right into it.

Today will mark the day in American history that we have never seen before — the Commander in Chief called for executing American citizens without due process and many of his supporters are standing by it. Shameful indeed.

Nearly 24 years ago, I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution from all enemies, both foreign and domestic. And, I can say with certainty that calls for executing Americans without due process is one of the worst domestic attacks on America that I have ever seen. We cannot let this go unpunished.

Free Thought Project