FBI’s Raid on Mar-a-Lago Incites Calls for Violence Across the Fringe
Pyrra Technologies Inc.
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On August 8th, the FBI conducted a search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and the right-wing internet exploded in outrage. Pyrra is tracking reactions to the raid on fringe platforms – alarmingly, the narratives that anonymous users are repeating on Gab are just as extreme as the ones headlining Fox News and other mainstream Republican sources.
The FBI’s search came as part of an ongoing DOJ investigation into Trump’s mishandling of Presidential and confidential documents, and marks the first time the FBI has executed a search warrant for the residence of a former President. Despite the legitimacy of the FBI’s concerns about Trump’s handling of highly sensitive federal materials, Republicans are framing the raid as an abuse of federal power by Democrats and a politically motivated attack against Trump.?
Below is a Tweet from the official Twitter account of House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, contrasted with a fringe post detected by Pyrra. The comments are strikingly similar – by framing the FBI’s raid on Trump’s house as a slippery slope, they ignore the reality that obtaining and executing search warrants in criminal investigations is usual business for the FBI.?
Some users are spreading extreme conspiracy theories to defend Trump, including claims that the FBI is planting evidence in Trump’s home; that Democrats stole the 2020 election; and that Biden is running a criminal empire from the White House.?
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More worryingly, other fringe posters are spreading the idea that the FBI raid is a precursor to assassinating Trump to ensure he doesn’t win back the presidency.
In response to the raid, we are seeing an increasing number of calls to mass violence from the fringe. These posts are highly concerning, given the country’s extreme polarization and the upcoming midterms which could inflame political tensions further.?
Pyrra enables users to identify and track narratives in the unregulated corners of the internet where hate and extremism fester unchecked. American politics is increasingly shaped by extremist responses to the accelerated news cycle. When political earthquakes happen, keep pace with the rapidly evolving extremist narratives with Pyrra’s high-level dashboard and advanced analytic tools. Visit our website to learn more.