Trump's Miami protesters subdued after being burned by Jan. 6 arrests: report
June 13, 2023
Though protesters are already lining the street outside the Miami courthouse where former President Donald Trump is expected to be arraigned Tuesday, their passion is subdued compared to Jan. 6, according to a report by The Daily Beast.
And that’s because the crackdown that followed the riot and invasion of the U.S. Capitol was so intense it's left them scared to be associated with anything like a repeat, The Beast reported.
“While fans are pledging a bigger demonstration than the dud that accompanied Trump’s New York arraignment in April, much of the movement remains wary of advertising rowdy rallies in the wake of the Capitol riot and its subsequent arrests,” wrote Kelly Weill.
That’s despite Trump’s rallying calls on Truth Social. “SEE YOU IN MIAMI ON TUESDAY!!!,” he wrote after learning he was indicted on 37 federal counts.
There has been a lot of heated rhetoric online. Kari Lake threatened that anybody coming for Trump would have to come through her and thousands of other NRA card-carrying supporters. Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs talked about entering "war phase" and demanding an "eye for an eye."
But the plans for in-person protest have been ad-hoc and not enough to seriously worry security experts.
“We've observed a few halfway coherent attempts to stage rallies and the same kinds of violent rhetoric we have come to expect after most major news events that affect the far-right,” Jared Holt, senior research manager at the Institute for Strategic DialogueHolt, told The Beast.
“Remarkably little of that violent chatter, however, was directly related to plans to protest and we don't have reason to believe that mass violence is inevitable at the courthouse tomorrow.”
Trump himself has sent several passionate messages. “We must all be STRONG and DEFEAT the Communists, Marxists, and Radical Left Lunatics that are systematically destroying our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” was among his many posts.
Among planned protests is one organized by right-wing activist Laura Loomer, at which failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Lake is expected to attend.
Others have been arranged by pro-Trump rapper “Forgiato Blow,” and rapper Jimmy Levy. The Miami chapter of the Proud Boys shared a flier for a courthouse rally.
But Holt said, “Our findings suggest that we’re likely to see larger crowds in Miami than we did in New York after Trump’s prior indictment, but that it’s highly unlikely we'll see a groundswell like we saw on the day of the Capitol riot.
“A Miami Proud Boys chapter has shared details for protests, which might suggest some members will attend, and a few individuals online have said they are going to attend while armed, which is legal in Florida, but neither has shown clear intentions of producing violence.”
Loomer told the Beast her rally would be peaceful. “I haven’t committed a crime,” she said. “I simply called for a peaceful rally. That’s legal.”