'Shoot a couple!' Extremist groups eye violence at anti-Trump protests

The "No Kings" anti-Trump protests are set to erupt all over the country this weekend, with demonstrations planned in over 2,000 cities — and far-right groups are already talking amongst themselves how much they want violence to disrupt them, The Independent reported on Friday.

"Accounts associated with extremist groups are also sharing detailed information about protest organizers, including names and where they work, The Wall Street Journal reports," wrote Rhian Lubin.

On one Telegram channel associated with the Proud Boys, the street-brawling "Western Chauvinist" organization whose leaders were convicted of seditious conspiracy for their role in the Jan. 6 attacks, a meme is circulating that reads, "Shoot a couple, the rest will go home." The channel also features a meme of four armed men that reads, “HANG THE TRAITORS, EXPEL THE INVADERS.”

George Washington University Program on Extremism fellow Jon Lewis fears this online activity could convince someone to “get off the couch, pick up a gun and go out to one of these cities.”

Meanwhile, University of Pittsburgh sociologist Katherine Blee warned white nationalists are penetrating the mainstream more than they have in generations with incitement of hatred against nonwhite immigrants: “It’s by far the worst. It’s scarily the worst. It’s flashing red. It’s a very precarious time right now.”

As the "No Kings" demonstrations draw nearer, Trump supporters have been on the lookout to target any public figure supporting them; this week, after Walmart heiress Christy Walton took out a full-page New York Times ad in support of the protests, the MAGA community responded with uproar against Walmart, even though she isn't actually part of Walmart leadership.

All of this comes as a separate wave of protests hits cities to push back against mass deportation raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement — protests that have grown in volume and scope in response to Trump ordering the National Guard into Los Angeles.