Donald Trump’s conspiracy theories are making his supporters paranoid—and dangerous

[ABX]

.....This is not the first time Trump fans have threatened to take action if their candidate loses in November. Such threats date back to the primaries, when some Trump supporters began telling reporters that they would take up arms and form militias should their racist, sexist hero face defeat. The calls continued into the general election, when they were echoed by Trump advisors like Roger Stone, who proclaimed that there would be a “bloodbath” if Trump loses. On August 1, following a crash in the polls, Trump himself proclaimed that the election was rigged, a claim he has repeated constantly since......

http://qz.com/807615/donald-trumps-conspiracy-theories-are-making-his-supporters-paranoid-and-dangerous/

[geronl]

I see people all over Facebook calling for violence if he loses.

[Oceander]

Kristalnacht

[sinkspur]

I see people all over Facebook calling for violence if he loses.

What are they gonna do?  Burn down their trailer parks?

[HonestJohn]

They were paranoid conspiracy nutters before this.

I'd bet good money that the "Jade Falcon is the UN here to put Americans into secret Wal-Mart Death Camps" crowd is voting for Trump.

And the "Protocol of the Elders of Zion is REAL" crowd, too.

[Machiavelli]

Warnings of conspiracy stoke anger among Trump faithful

Matt Viser and Tracy Jan
The Boston Globe
October 15, 2016

... At a time when trust in government is at a low point, Trump is actively stoking fears that a core tenet of American democracy is also in peril: that you can trust what happens at the ballot box.

His supporters here said they plan to go to their local precincts to look for illegal immigrants who may attempt to vote. They are worried that Democrats will load up buses of minorities and take them to vote several times in different areas of the city. They’ve heard rumors that boxes of Clinton votes are already waiting somewhere.

And if Trump doesn’t win, some are even openly talking about violent rebellion and assassination, as fantastical and unhinged as that may seem.

“If she’s in office, I hope we can start a coup. She should be in prison or shot. That’s how I feel about it,” Dan Bowman, a 50-year-old contractor, said of Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee. “We’re going to have a revolution and take them out of office if that’s what it takes. There’s going to be a lot of bloodshed. But that’s what it’s going to take. . . . I would do whatever I can for my country.” ...

Full article

These people represent only a small fraction of the Trump supporters. The vast majority of Trump supporters I am familiar with are decent people and would strongly condemn such behavior.

[LMAO]

These people represent only a small fraction of the Trump supporters. The vast majority of Trump supporters I am familiar with are decent people and would strongly condemn such behavior.

I know a few also and, although we won't agree on voting for Trump, they are decent people that don't and never would say the things that the people interviewed in this article do. In fact, they will grudgingly admit they wish we had a different choice

This is the media's attempt to marginalized his supporters. Find one or two of the most outrageous and amplify it as if it's the majority and too many here buy it without skepticism. Although, I will admit most of the radical Trump supporters seem to be concentrated at FR

Folks should look beyond now the lost 2016 election. We are going to need these folks on our side during the Clinton administration. Not the ones that threaten violence or the racist. But the many good people who voted for Trump either simply out of keeping Hillary out or because they hoped that a President Trump would really bring some kind of positive change. Yes, I understand the "we told you so" argument. But that's done and over with now and hopefully, the lesson will be learned going forward

We cannot afford a divided GOP or a conservative movement during her reign. And make no mistake. We will see one of the most incompetent and corrupt administrations ever. The corruption she has engaged in all her adult life will be 100 fold as POTUS

[goatprairie]

What are they gonna do?  Burn down their trailer parks?

Hey, I lived in a trailer park for 24 years. I only burned it down once.

[Machiavelli]

Trump’s ‘Rigged Election’ Poll Watchdogs Could End Up in Jail

Rob Garver
The Fiscal Times
October 17, 2016

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has spent much of the last several days cementing in the minds of his supporters the idea that the presidential election on November 8 is on the verge of being stolen from him by a “rigged” system. He’s encouraged his supporters to turn out at polling sites where they suspect election fraud might take place in order to fight back against the shadowy cabal he insists stands between him and the White House.

In a widely read story published by the Boston Globe on Saturday, one Trump supporter said he planned to do just that.

“Trump said to watch your precincts. I’m going to go, for sure,” Steve Webb told reporters Matt Viser and Tracy Jan. “I’ll look for . . . well, it’s called racial profiling. Mexicans. Syrians. People who can’t speak American.... I’m going to go right up behind them. I’ll do everything legally. I want to see if they are accountable. I’m not going to do anything illegal. I’m going to make them a little bit nervous.”

The problem is that pretty much everything Webb describes there is completely illegal.

More

[HonestJohn]

Trump’s ‘Rigged Election’ Poll Watchdogs Could End Up in Jail

Rob Garver
The Fiscal Times
October 17, 2016
More

Yes.  There are laws governing poll watching.

Trump supporters and their professed antics violate them.

[geronl]

I know a few also and, although we won't agree on voting for Trump, they are decent people that don't and never would say the things that the people interviewed in this article do.

People like Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham and Katrina Pierson are calling on Trump voters to not vote Republican down-ballot. I wonder if these fringe figures will have an impact.

[Neverdul]

Yes.  There are laws governing poll watching.

Trump supporters and their professed antics violate them.

I think some of them are in for a big surprise when they find out that they can’t, at least in most places and unless they are a registered poll worker, just waltz into the polling place and start crap, especially if they are going to challenge voters based on race or ethnicity.

Poll observers where allowed are just that, observers. They can report irregularities but are not supposed to interfere with the voting.

They also need to be aware if they are going to be outside, every jurisdiction has rules for how far away from the door they must be.  And doing things like taking photographs of people going into or coming out of the polling places or asking people who they are voting for so as to keep their own tally, as I’ve seen suggested, could also get them in trouble.

I hate being hassled by anyone on my way in to vote, even if they are electioneering for a candidate I plan on voting for.  I park and will then walk in such a way as to not get anywhere near them.  I don’t want their pamphlets or hear their spiel.  I’ve already made up my mind and want to get in and out as quickly as possible.

I don’t even take one of those “I Voted” stickers.  I guess that makes me a curmudgeon.  ^-^ ^-^

[XenaLee]

I see people all over Facebook calling for violence if he loses.

Will any of us anti-Trump folks be surprised if/when these Trump fanatics give the leftists an excuse to declare Martial Law?  I certainly won't be.  It is probably one of the reasons behind 'why' Trump encourages violence among his supporters.

[geronl]

I think some of them are in for a big surprise when they find out that they can’t, at least in most places and unless they are a registered poll worker, just waltz into the polling place and start crap, especially if they are going to challenge voters based on race or ethnicity.

These idiots would cry foul if they can't wear a Trump shirt there

[Machiavelli]

People like Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham and Katrina Pierson are calling on Trump voters to not vote Republican down-ballot.

@geronl

Are they really advocating this? Really?

[dfwgator]

@geronl

Are they really advocating this? Really?

That's just mind-numbingly stupid.  You want to take it out on them in 2018, fine.  But not now.

[EasyAce]

I have never heard even the most recalcitrant supporters of Donaldus Minimus on this site speak
in language such as the original article conveys. Not even the least movable supporters of the
creature have ever threatened violence to anyone over their electoral choices, to the best of my
knowledge.

[Wingnut]

Hey, I lived in a trailer park for 24 years. I only burned it down once.

True, but it would have been higher if not for the tornadoes

[geronl]

@geronl

Are they really advocating this? Really?

Laura and Katrina have called on Trumpers to not vote for down ballot Republicans who refused to endorse the Orange Messiah

[txradioguy]

I have never heard even the most recalcitrant supporters of Donaldus Minimus on this site speak
in language such as the original article conveys. Not even the least movable supporters of the
creature have ever threatened violence to anyone over their electoral choices, to the best of my
knowledge.

The Trump supporters here are subtle with their threats against non believers. But the threats have been made all the same.

[r9etb]

True, but it would have been higher if not for the tornadoes

They kept blowing out the damned matches.