Trump Search Yields Massive Groyper Fundraising
A wave of civil war rhetoric flooded pro-Trump internet sites following the FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property on Monday, urging other faithful followers to “lock and load,” in response to the action taken by the federal government. Users on pro-Trump forums like TheDonald, a Reddit-like website that was used to provide logistics for the Capitol riot, urged immediate violence and called upon Trump devotees to spring into action with prompts like: “When does the shooting start?”
Extremists also urged Trump supporters to flock to Mar-a-Lago and show their Trump support by participating in an impromptu “rally” outside of the resort. They began arriving in trucks before midnight. One vehicle featured a “Trump-Pence” flag along the length of the truck bed, with former Vice President Mike Pence’s name crossed out.
Other chats on Telegram, that included a dialogue between “Groypers,” or members of the white nationalist “America First” movement, shared a post from the Proud Boys’ Telegram account, adding that the FBI is “Biden’s [G]estapo” and that “Civil War is imminent.” For reference, a 43-year-old man from Missouri, with links to the Groyper army and America First movement was sentenced to five years in prison after throwing a Molotov cocktail firebomb into a Planned Parenthood clinic on February 10, 2019.
Republican politicians posted statements that further inflamed Trump’s self-created concept of a violent “raid” in an attempt to serve a dual purpose: the mandatory showing of loyalty to Trump and stirring up more support from the base in order to fundraise. Republican political candidates wasted no time in sending out fundraising texts and emails to further enrage their supporters and capitalize on the anger of Trump's base.
The search warrant, conducted in connection to possible violations of laws related to the Presidential Records Act and potential mishandling of classified material, yielded a dozen boxes that were seized by the FBI. To call this operation, which has no doubt taken many steady and cautious months to investigate, the most drastic law enforcement operation to ever take place against a former president of the United States, is an intentional inflation of proportion that is perfectly reasonable when likened to Donald Trump.
Trump's Save America PAC sent out calls for donations on Tuesday morning, calling the raid a "witch hunt" and continuing to tease a 2024 Trump presidential run. "He restored power to the people and truly delivered for our Country like we have never seen before," a Save America email read. "It's time for EVERY PATRIOT to step up and stand against the Left's reckless WITCH HUNTS and political persecution of President Trump."
Republican JD Vance, an Ohio candidate for Senate who was endorsed by Trump during the Ohio Primary, was one of the first to pander — his campaign sent out a Trump-themed text on the actual night of the raid. "This is NOT a drill," reads the fundraising text. "Joe Biden is ATTACKING President Trump for STANDING UP for US, it's time to show we have President Trump's back!" The message was followed by a link to donate.
Vance also sent out a tweet on the events of Monday. "Little to add on the details of the raid on Trump's home: it is disgraceful and unprecedented," Vance said. "The question is what comes next. We either have Republic or we don’t. If we do, the people who’ve politicized the FBI in recent years will face investigation and prosecution." Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) also sent out fundraising emails inspired by the raid.
The Trump-endorsed Republican Nominee for Pennsylvania Senate pick, Mehmet Oz, also attempted to capitalize. "America is bitterly divided, & what Pres. Biden’s FBI and DOJ did last night will only make things worse," Memet Oz tweeted. "Americans have every right to be upset & demand answers on why this raid happened in the most aggressive action taken against a former president ever in our nation’s history."
What is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the massive efforts to fundraise from the fairly basic FBI search at Mar-a-Lago, is the way in which these money requests are being presented to Republican supporters. Below is an example of a request from Memet Oz.
There is actually very little indication within the entire body of the fundraising email that this is actually a donation for the Oz Campaign. The bulk of the wording focuses on fighting governmental “overreach” and fighting “nefarious corruption” with Donald Trump. At the very bottom of the email is the minute disclaimer: “Paid for by Dr. Oz for Senate.”
While the January 6 Hearings in the Senate have been effective at explaining the reality of Trump’s lies and actions, the fundraising numbers will paint a clearer picture of what the Republican base is still willing to believe. The Committee may have used direct testimony from Republicans who expressed their regret for participating in the attack on the Capitol, but these latest calls for a civil war and massive money drives that paint Trump as the ongoing victim, reveal the truth.
The bulk of the Republican Party either fully believes in any Trump lie, or they are willing to shill to the ones who do believe that Trump is still the victim and under attack. The dangerous rhetoric of Trump is ever-present and the calls for violence seem undeterred by the ongoing prosecutions of the Capitol insurrectionists. Perhaps the best way to determine the real threat level for future violence is not to merely look at the direct threats made on social media but to review them in conjunction with recent fundraising tallies.
Amee Vanderpool writes the SHERO Newsletter and is an attorney, published author, contributor to newspapers and magazines, and analyst for BBC radio. She can be reached at avanderpool@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @girlsreallyrule.
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Only in America can a white, rich man who spent his entire life in Manhattan be the “victim” and people with barely a high school diploma who would never be allowed in his home be in agreement. It boggles the mind.
I fear that no matter what, DJT wins here. Either they find/found nothing of consequence, in which case there will be no prosecution and he will be able to cry "I'm being persecuted", which will help him with both fundraising and electoral votes, or they found something, in which case he'll scream that it was planted, his base will believe him (see "anonymous" poster below) and it will still help him with both fundraising and electoral votes.
That's the state of our country now.