Members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol have warned America for three years to take former President Donald Trump at his word.

Now, as Trump is poised to win the Republican presidential nomination, his criminal trials face delays that could stall them past Election Day, and his rhetoric grows increasingly authoritarian, some of those lawmakers find themselves following their own advice.

In mid-March, Trump said on social media that the committee members should be jailed. In December he vowed to be a dictator on “day one.” In August, he said he would “have no choice” but to lock up his political opponents.

“If he intends to eliminate our constitutional system and start arresting his political enemies, I guess I would be on that list,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose). “One thing I did learn on the committee is to pay attention and listen to what Trump says, because he means it.”

Lofgren added that she doesn’t yet have a plan in place to thwart potential retribution by Trump. But Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), who has long been a burr in Trump’s side, said he’s having “real-time conversations” with his staff about how to make sure he stays safe if Trump follows through on his threats.

“We’re taking this seriously, because we have to,” Schiff said. “We’ve seen this movie before … and how perilous it is to ignore what someone is saying when they say they want to be a dictator.”

  • Sasuke [comrade/them]
    hexbear
    66
    1 month ago

    wow, this trump guy seems scary 😳 i wonder what the democrats are doing to stop him

      • Jake [he/him]@lemmy.ml
        hexbear
        2
        1 month ago

        The diaspora of the crusaders are their primary funding source without which they will lose for sure against the unlimited funding from Russia and the criminal billionaire oligarchy. It pays to privateer.

        Not justifying it.

        • Sasuke [comrade/them]
          hexbear
          12
          1 month ago

          the funding from russia is NOT unlimited. i work day and night to ensure hillary will lose to biden, and putin is barely paying me a living wage