Trump warns of 'death and destruction' if he's charged with crimes

Former President Donald Trump on Friday warned that charging him with crimes could lead to "death and destruction."

In a post on his Truth Social network, the former president once again attacked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for potentially charging him with crimes due to his hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

While much of Trump's complaint about Bragg was a rehash of past complaints, he added the prospect of violence at the end of his post in an apparent effort to dissuade the Manhattan DA from filing charges.

"What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?" Trump wrote. "Why and who would do such a thing? Only a degenerate psychopath that truely (sic) hates the USA!"

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This rhetoric marks an escalation from Thursday, when Trump complained about people telling his supporters to be peaceful when they protest against him potentially being arrested.

Trump has a long history of inspiring supporters to commit acts of violence, starting in 2016 when he would tell rally goers to "knock the crap" out of protesters.

Most famously, Trump incited hundreds of his supporters to launch a violent attack on the United States Capitol building on January 6th, 2021.