December 15, 2020

Trump Retweets a Threat to Jail Georgia’s Governor and Secretary of State

The president is furious that Republican officials didn’t steal the election for him.

Curtis Compton/ZUMA

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It’s a strange day for democracy when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s very belated recognition of Joe Biden’s victory qualifies as breaking news. But that’s because the current president—six weeks after losing his reelection campaign—is still retweeting things like this: 

The unhinged claim that Georgia’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, and its Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, will soon “be going to jail” comes from Lin Wood, a conspiracy-theory-loving, pro-Trump attorney. Wood and Trump are furious that Kemp and Raffensperger haven’t tried to overturn Biden’s victory in the state—a victory that has now been confirmed by two recounts. It comes nearly two weeks after a Georgia rally featuring Wood and former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, during which Trump supporters chanted, “Lock him up” in reference to Kemp.

Now, as the entire world, including Vladimir Putin, accepts the Electoral College’s formal recognition of Biden as the next president, it appears as though Trump is standing alone, flirting with the idea of literally locking up two Republicans.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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