Over 12,000 tweets are calling for Trump's assassination

I mean, seriously, what is happening to America??

In the 12 days since Donald Trump took the oath of office, a steady stream of social media posts have called for the new president's assassination. The posts are pretty basic and many are jokes or sarcastic or hyperbolic — but there are a lot of them. In a Dataminr search of Twitter posts since Inauguration Day containing the phrase "assassinate Trump" more than 12,000 tweets came up.

Whether "just kidding", sarcastic or hyperbolic, this is just not cool...because with this kind of traffic, the frequency and commonality of it, some nut-bar out there is going to think he has lots of support for his wacko murderous fantasies, and he is going to give it a try.

Much like a person who gets radicalized by spending too much time on ISIS sites...and then begins to fancy himself a holy warrior, who is being called to murder innocent people. Or just like radical-right leaners (like the recent mass killer in Quebec) who bathe in that brand of hatred and eventually decide that they are "doing the right thing" by gunning down innocent people in their place of worship.

But there have been reports of agents knocking on the doors of social media users. A Kentucky woman who tweeted, "If someone was cruel enough to assassinate MLK, maybe someone will be kind enough to assassinate Trump," is currently being investigated by the Secret Service, according to the Associated Press.

An Ohio man tweeted several messages about killing Trump on election night, according to NBC News. The Secret Service questioned him the next day and he was charged with making threats to the then president-elect.

IMHO, not only should the Secret Service be going after people who go down this road on Twitter (or in front of mass audiences...Madonna), but Twitter users should be "policing" these people as well - letting posters know in no uncertain terms that it is not okay to call for the murder of anyone, including the POTUS.

On the platform side, Facebook and Twitter have policies in place to take down threatening posts. As Twitter said in an email statement, "The Twitter Rules prohibit threats of violence, and we will suspend accounts violating that policy." Facebook similarly said under their "credible threats policy" they remove posts showing intent to kill the president.

Yet thousands of posts that use the words "kill" and "assassinate" remain up — most of them targeting the president no less. The platforms can't seem to keep up with the influx of death threats and don't seem to be upholding their own policies as strictly as they would like.

And, yes, the platforms...Twitter or otherwise...need to be doing a better job of deleting such posts, and banning people calling for violence.

Political protests are protected speech...riots are not. Political discussion, discourse, debate and even argument are protected speech...calling for the physical harm of people who don't share one's political point of view is not.

America needs to get a grip, and back away from this inflammatory craziness before things get completely out of control.

Tweets Gone Wild

There's asshats on every side of the equation. There always is. Think Normal Distribution of a population (or Bell Curve, Gaussian Curve). It's regrettable but business-as-usual. Same thing happened with Obama and most likely Bush as well. Frankly the last thing we want to do is assassinate this tool. That would only martyr him in the eyes of his rabid sphincter-lickers. He needs to fall based on his own actions. Dramatically and in spectacular form. So no one can say it was anyone's doing but his own. It's coming. Be patient.

originally posted by: mobiusmale
I mean, seriously, what is happening to America??

Simple.
Leftists/liberals= violent ignorant sociopaths

a reply to: M5xaz
And conservatives = kind/compassionate/even-tempered/intelligent/rational

As evidenced by Trump's campaign, his supporters actions and everything that has come out of his and his minions' mouths since.

Maroon.

a reply to: mobiusmale

It's not Trump they want to kill as much as it's the form of government they want changed.

They want to assassinate the Constitution, but Trump is an easier and more convenient target.

Hope they enjoy their possible knock at the door if some threat looks potentially legit. Acknowledging the possibility of someone making an assassination attempt is one thing, but supporting/encouraging it is a preeetty big no-no.

The people posting these threats are experiencing something for the first time.

They are being told "no"

Let the temperature tantrums begin.

a reply to: mobiusmale

There's already a thread with this exact title posted not too long ago

I am left leaning and for all of those willing to lump millions of individuals together in one steaming pile..

I disavow..ok?

originally posted by: M5xaz

originally posted by: mobiusmale
I mean, seriously, what is happening to America??

Simple.
Leftists/liberals= violent ignorant sociopaths

Plonkerds!

originally posted by: zosimov
I am left leaning and for all of those willing to lump millions of individuals together in one steaming pile..

I disavow..ok?

Lol...exactly the right reaction.

I am sure that, of course, the vast majority of people on the left do not support this kind of lunacy. But those who do, need to be roundly chastised by those who don't.

The use of Twitter, in general, seems to have lowered the bar on civil discourse - with the Donald, unfortunately, one of the leading voices taking it in that direction. As Trump himself might say, "So sad".

originally posted by: Bluntone22
The people posting these threats are experiencing something for the first time.

They are being told "no"

Let the temperature tantrums begin.

Dummy out of the cot turds who can't cope with someone who is no nonsense and means business which = not a useless parasitic polly. TRUMP fodder!

a reply to: mobiusmale

Thank you for an excellent, balanced, unbiased post that uses a civil tone and reports actual facts, not just opinions or meaningless one-liners.

ATS has also greatly suffered from the lowering of the discourse bar, not just Twitter.

the seemingly rapid elevation in strong rhetoric on the left is pretty concerning.

a personal anecdote to illustrate:

just a couple days ago my cousin posted a meme about Queen Bey saying she could kill Trump with a sword were he to visit and no one would be able to touch her.

apparently that was funny.

i commented something like "so now its okay to freely speak of killing the POTUS?"

what followed was a little bit shocking. My cousins wife chimed in and said "if we are talking about killing FASCISTS then yes, 120%!"

I was a little floored. I mean....first to assume that she even KNOWS Trump is a fascist....and secondly to assume that the people who support Trump or those who voted for him are also fascists.....all 60 plus million....and that they are worthy of death????

She wasnt kidding by the way.

When apologists look at what happened at Berkely and other places saying its the work of some lefty outliers i would like to believe that......but my growing personal experience talking with liberals is quickly proving otherwise.


Something has happened on the left that has allowed it to morph into something different than what it has been mostly known for the last few decades. A sea change is occurring where it is now socially acceptable and even encouraged to make the most inflammatory, hyperbolic and even violent comments and threats towards not just Trump but anyone who even remotely sympathizes with law and order and honoring the elections that put him there.

Alex Jones may be onto something when he alleges Soros and others are doing their best to turn Liberals into potentially violent agitators if not revolutionaries.

The problem with the notion that liberals would start a revolution is that they'd have to find guns (they wanted to get rid of them all not too long ago), learn to use them, sleep outside in the rain and cold and summer heat with no wifi, and learn real tactics from real military people they don't like.

If today's millennial liberals tried to enter into an armed conflict, they'd be dispatched in days.

a reply to: TomLawless

One day if you were evil enough to use gluten on them.

a reply to: mobiusmale

Not a Trump supporter but I strongly condemn any and all calls for assassination. No matter how bad things could be, they can always be changed. Killing anyone in the furtherance of political ideology is wrong, unjust and horrible.

a reply to: mobiusmale

mate. The biggest attraction that ATS holds for me is the civil discourse, which is absent on Twitter and solely lacking just about everywhere.

People have nearly forgotten how to form original thoughts, express them articulately, and to sustain civil and enlightening discourse.

You and Donald are right-- So sad!

a reply to: tribal

You're right. The presumption of innocence has been replaced by trial by propaganda. People assume he is guilty of fascism because they have been told he is.

originally posted by: jtma508
a reply to: M5xaz
And conservatives = kind/compassionate/even-tempered/intelligent/rational

As evidenced by Trump's campaign, his supporters actions and everything that has come out of his and his minions' mouths since.

Correct.

As evidenced by leftists' actions:
- mainstream media openly calling for Trump's assassination
- mainstream leftist crowds rioting and beatings just to prevent Milo from speaking
etc

Get a clue.