'Dangerous lies': Ex-prosecutor shows how GOP rhetoric causes threats and violence

Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner believes that the rise in Republican rhetoric against police and prosecutors in the midst of former President Donald Trump's legal battles are driving violent threats to a scale not seen before.

This comes as the FBI launches an investigation into threats against officials in Fulton County, Georgia, where one of the largest of the former president's criminal cases is unfolding.

"Talk about these threats," said MSNBC anchor Joy Reid. "I suppose at some level that is not atypical for people in the law enforcement world, but — or is it? Because it seems like it's really extreme when it comes to Trump."

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"You know, Joy, I think it is somewhat atypical," said Kirschner. "Yes, prosecutors, police officers, FBI agents are the subject of threats from time to time. But given the reporting about the increase, the acceleration of these threats, it seems pretty clear that there is a cause and effect."

"If you don't like the fact that Donald Trump is being investigated for his crimes, you investigate the investigators," Kirschner continued. "You threaten the investigators. You go after the prosecutors, the judges, the witnesses, or the jurors, or grand jurors. And you know, when the Republicans, you know, are engaged in these ridiculous cries to defund the FBI, their claims that the Department of Justice is being weaponized — I don't know if Joe Biden has weaponized the Department of Justice against his own son, feels a little odd — but you know, they know, they know, Joy, that their supporters will respond in almost Pavlovian fashion, they will salivate, they will lash out. They will threaten the FBI and the prosecutors and others."

"I think, at its core, the reason we see this, and the reason it's on the rise, is because nobody has tried to hold the Republicans accountable for these dangerous lies, these lies that are clearly likely to incite violence," added Kirschner. "And unless and until law enforcement begins to hold them accountable, then you're not going to be able to tamp down what their supporters are doing."

Watch the video below or at the link here.

Glenn Kirschner on the GOP's "dangerous lies"www.youtube.com