Trump intensifies calls to lock up top officials, calls for military tribunals
Former President Donald J. Trump stepped up his promises to prosecute his political opponents over the weekend, posting messages on his social media website that referred to “televised military tribunals” and called for the jailing of President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senators Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer, and former Vice President Mike Pence, among other leading politicians.
Mr. Trump on Sunday promoted two posts from other users of the site via his Truth Social account calling for the jailing of his perceived political enemies.
In a message he released on Sunday, he singled out Liz Cheney, a former Wyoming congresswoman and Republican critic of Trump, calling for her to be tried in a kind of military court reserved for enemy combatants and war criminals.
“Elizabeth Lynne Cheney is guilty of treason,” the post read. “The truth if you want televised military tribunals.”
A separate post included photos of 15 former and current elected officials with capital letters saying, “They should be in jail on Monday, not Steve Bannon!” Those officials included Mr. Biden, Ms. Harris, Mr. Pence, Mr. Schumer and Mr. McConnell — the top leaders in the Senate — and Representative Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the House.
The list in the second message also included members of the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, including Ms. Cheney and former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger, another Republican, and Democratic representatives Adam Schiff, Jamie Raskin, Pete Aguilar, Zoe Lofgren and Bennie Thompson, who chaired the committee.
In a statement, the Trump campaign did not respond to Trump’s messages, but instead reiterated allegations of misconduct by committee members, saying that “Liz Cheney and the sham January 6 committee excluded key witnesses, shielded important evidence, and destroyed documents” related to their investigation.
The posts, which were amplified by Trump’s Truth Social account on Sunday afternoon, were still on his profile on Monday afternoon.
Biden’s campaign condemned the reports in a statement, saying Trump was “doubling down on the threats to our democracy,” adding that “the Supreme Court has now cleared the way for him to do exactly what he says he will do if he wins.”
Mrs. Cheney responded with her own social media post on Sunday evening, saying: “Donald — This is the kind of thing that once again shows you are not a stable adult — and not fit for office.”
Mr. Trump has repeatedly called for the jailing of his political opponents, often singling out members of the Jan. 6 Committee. But two messages that Mr. Trump highlighted on Sunday stand out in particular.
One proposed locking up a wide list of high-ranking officials, including Mr. Trump’s former vice president, the top Republican in the Senate and the current president and vice president. The other invoked the dictatorial imagery of a televised military tribunal that would deprive Mrs. Cheney of her right to a fair trial, similar to the military courts used to prosecute terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay.
