Truth Social is full of far-right fury over Trump’s guilty verdict

Posts in support of Donald Trump flooded Truth Social after the former President was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal, with some far-right activists posting veiled threats about retribution and continued calls to “take the country back.”

“GET READY FOR THIS COUNTRY TO EXPLODE,” the Truth Social user Freedom Fighter posted after the verdict was delivered, along with several hashtags including #CivilWar. The user attached a meme with the text: “Storm clouds are forming. Get ready, because we’re gonna play us a mean and nasty game of defend America!”

In addition to the posts calling for civil war, some commentators appeared to call for retaliation against the case’s judge, Juan Merchan and his family, and the jurors. “Can someone just DOX the judge … and all the Marxist jurors and let’s get this revenge resolution started!” reads a post from user Sbridgers. After a man was stabbed with a machete in Times Square, a user called TheVikingGirl suggested they let the alleged perpetrator “know the judge (sic) name! That would be Justice!”

Online anger and outright calls for violence have become a common theme after Trump lost the 2020 election and falsely claimed it was stolen, leading to the January 6 insurrection on the Capitol. In 2021, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen showed that Facebook failed to act on weeks of warnings ahead of the riots.

Trump has repeatedly called the judge and prosecutors corrupt throughout the trial, and continued to do so after the verdict was read. “IF THIS CAN HAPPEN TO ME, IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE!” he posted on Truth Social.

Jack Posobiec, a right-wing commentator with more than one million followers on Truth Social, echoed that sentiment: “If they are willing to use state force to put Trump behind bars, imagine what they’re willing to do to your family,” he wrote.

The far-right fury wasn’t exclusive to Truth Social, as hashtags like #CivilWar were trending on X (formerly Twitter) Friday morning. Alt-right commentator Joey Mannarino, who has nearly half a million followers on X, posted “WE WILL TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK!”

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