Social media posts encouraging a violent response to former President Donald Trump’s federal indictment have surged since the news broke Thursday night – and law enforcement agencies are on alert and increasing security.

The messages, from anonymous supporters and even some members of Congress, include both explicit and coded language: 

  • “This is a perimeter probe from the oppressors. Hold. rPOTUS has this. Buckle up,” Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.) wrote on Twitter, using apparent militia jargon related to military maps and strategically taking control of bridges during battles. “1/50K know your bridges. Rock steady calm. That is all.” (Higgins’ office has not yet responded to The Messenger’s request for comment.)
  • Other posts referenced stocking up on guns and other weapons. “I used to laugh when my mom said that she was afraid if she registered Republican she may be arrested one day,” wrote user 1776take2 on the right leaning forum Patriots Win, whose username is a reference to a second American Revolution. “I’m not laughing any more. Just buying more ammo.”
  • A user on Truth Social described Trump’s indictment as a “declaration of war against the American people.” The user added: “It is time We The People exercise our 2nd Amendment rights and burn the corruption out of DC.”

Local and state law enforcement in South Florida are on high alert for protests and violence surrounding Trump’s arraignment in Miami on Tuesday, according to an internal communication seen by The Messenger and circulating from a high-ranking official at the Miami-Dade Police Department.

The internal email cited the Twitter account @dioncini, which has about 8,000 followers – specifically a posted from Brooklyn around 11:15 pm Thursday that called for an “ALL HANDS ON DECK! Trump Document Hoax Rally” outside the federal courthouse from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

“The promoter is claiming to have been banned from several theme parks located throughout the nation. He is currently trying to gain nationwide support,” read the email from the Miami PD. It added that regional police and homeland security officials “will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they become available.”

The same Twitter account posted a separate item on Friday morning promoting a “Trump Document Hoax and Trump for President 2024 Rally outside Trump Tower in New York from noon to 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

Big talk doesn’t always translate to big action

Katie McCarthy, an associate investigative researcher at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center On Extremism, said that the scene unfolding online around the latest chapter in Trump’s legal woes is familiar. 

“We’ve seen an uptick in generalized calls for civil war and violence and retribution, in particular against the Democratic Party in response to this latest indictment, which is similar to what we saw following the Manhattan indictment [in April] and the August search of Mar-a-Lago,” said McCarthy. 

And a new survey by researchers at the University of Chicago, first reported by the Guardian, found that more than 4 percent of American adults believe that violence is justified to return Trump to the White House.

But messages implying or encouraging violence don’t always translate into real-world action., McCarthy said – noting that the calls for protest that emerged in the wake of the Manhattan indictment didn’t develop into a dangerous situation. While there is a lot of conversation online, conservatives were hesitant to take to the streets in droves, she said, in part because of concerns about the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. 

“There’s a belief that Trump supporters were set up that day and that if they go out and try and have large protests that’s going to be an excuse for the DOJ and for the feds to go in and try and round them up and persecute them,” said McCarthy. 

Similarly, the non-profit, non-partisan group Advance Democracy, which is monitoring the online response to Trump’s indictment, has identified social media posts from various channels that contain threatening  language. Responding to a post about Trump’s indictment, a user wrote: “War.” And in response to that another user wrote: “I don’t see it any other way. All we wanted was to be left alone but looks like that’s not happening.”

But the group said in a report that there are no known “credible and definitive plans to engage in violence or large-scale disruptive activity.” 

Conservative media calls for protests

Still, with several days to go until Trump’s arraignment, right-wing media and individual social media users are perpetuating the narrative of a weaponized Justice Department targeting the former president. – potentially raising the temperature among his supporters.

In a widely-circulated Truth Social post following the indictment announcement, conservative commentator Dan Bongino wrote that “we live in a police state run by liberal filth.” Although he didn’t explicitly call for violence he added that “every Republican candidate MUST [sic] commit to a thorough house cleaning.”

And in another viral Truth Social post, Charlie Kirk, a conservative talk-show host and founder of right-wing group Turning Point USA, encouraged “every ‘Republican’ running for president” to “suspend their campaign and go to Miami as a show of support.”

“GO [sic] to Miami Tuesday, and show solidarty [sic] or we will mark you as part of the oppsition [sic],” Kirk added.