Republicans, in wake of Trump shooting, seek to pin political violence trend on Democrats

Republicans are saying that President Joe Biden and other Democratic leaders laid the groundwork for Saturday’s shooting by casting Trump as an autocrat who poses a grave threat to democracy. (Getty Images/AFP )
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Updated 15 July 2024
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Republicans, in wake of Trump shooting, seek to pin political violence trend on Democrats

  • “For weeks Democrat leaders have been fueling ludicrous hysteria that Donald Trump winning re-election would be the end of democracy in America,” Republican Rep. Steve Scalize wrote on X
  • A researcher on political violence said it's Trump's right-wing supporters who had been deploying violent language, including threats aimed at election workers, judges and other officials
  • Trump previously had not ruled out the possibility of political violence if he loses November’s election. “If we don’t win, you know, it depends,” he told TIME magazine in April

WASHINGTON: Within hours of the assassination attempt on former US President Donald Trump, many of his supporters began laying blame on Democrats, seeking to flip the script on who has stoked America’s heated political rhetoric as cases of political violence reach historic heights.
From establishment Republicans to far-right conspiracy theorists, a consistent message emerged that President Joe Biden and other Democratic leaders laid the groundwork for Saturday’s shooting by casting Trump as an autocrat who poses a grave threat to democracy.
A Reuters analysis of more than 200 incidents of politically motivated violence between 2021 and 2023, however, presented a different picture: In those years, fatal political violence more often emanated from the American right than from the left.
The US is embroiled in the most sustained spate of political violence since a decade of upheaval that began in the late 1960s, Reuters found in that report published last year. That violence has come from across the ideological spectrum, and includes extensive attacks on property during left-wing political demonstrations. But attacks on people — from beatings to killings — were perpetrated mostly by suspects acting in service of right-wing political beliefs and ideology.
Almost immediately after Saturday’s attack, right-wing websites were brimming with assertions that left-wing rhetoric motivated Trump’s assailant. Many commentators blamed the shooting on the Biden White House or pushed unsubstantiated conspiracy theories, including a claim that a shadowy “deep state” cabal within the government orchestrated it.
“Do not think this is going to be the last attempt to kill Trump. The Deep State really has no other choice now,” said a user on the pro-Trump website Patriots.Win. “It’s going to take borderline martial law to set the country right,” wrote another. One user called for a federal government purge. “It’s us or them.”
Trump’s Republican backers pointed specifically to a comment Biden made on July 8 as the president discussed his dismal debate performance in a meeting with donors.
“I have one job and that’s to beat Donald Trump,” Biden said, according to a transcript of the call that Biden’s campaign forwarded to reporters. “We’re done talking about the debate. It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye. He’s gotten away with doing nothing for the last 10 days except ride around in his golf cart.”
Some Republican officeholders seized on the “bullseye” comment as an example of Biden invoking violent imagery in describing November’s presidential election and criticized Biden and other Democrats for casting the former president as a threat to Democracy and to the nation.
“For weeks Democrat leaders have been fueling ludicrous hysteria that Donald Trump winning re-election would be the end of democracy in America,” US Representative Steve Scalize, a Louisiana Republican, wrote on X. “Clearly we’ve seen far left lunatics act on violent rhetoric in the past. This incendiary rhetoric must stop.”
Scalize himself was the victim of violence seven years ago, wounded by a left-wing gunman who opened fire during a practice of the congressional Republican baseball team.
Other Republican politicians added to the drumbeat.
“Joe Biden sent the orders,” US Representative Mike Collins, a Republican from Georgia, posted on X on Saturday. There is no evidence for that claim. “The Republican District Attorney in Butler County, PA, should immediately file charges against Joseph R. Biden for inciting an assassination.”

“False equivalence”
Kurt Braddock, an assistant professor of public communication at American University who researches political violence, said Biden’s criticisms of Trump as a threat to the nation aren’t the same as the violent language deployed by right-wing supporters of Trump. “It’s a little bit of a false equivalence,” Braddock said.
Trump supporters have led an increase in threats and harassing communications aimed at election workers, judges and other officials.
After Trump lost the 2020 election, Reuters documented hundreds of threats to local election officials by Trump supporters enraged by his false claims that the election was rigged. A Reuters investigation published in May found thatviolent threats against judgeshandling Trump’s various criminal and civil trials spiked after the former president criticized those judges in speeches or social-media posts.
Before the shooting, Trump had not ruled out the possibility of political violence if he loses November’s election. “If we don’t win, you know, it depends,” he said when asked by TIME magazine in April if he expected violence after the 2024 election. He’s also refused to unconditionally accept the results of the upcoming election and warned of a “bloodbath” if he loses.
A Reuters review of dozens of Trump’s campaign speeches – particularly those from 2020 and 2024 – found that violence was a recurring theme. He has exhorted rallygoers “to take back our country,” repeatedly praised the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters and compared himself to famed mobster Al Capone. While president, he encouraged police to be rough with people they were arresting and threatened to use the US military to quell protests.
Biden, who has repeatedly condemned political violence, offered another denunciation immediately after the attack on Trump.
“There is no place in America for this kind of violence or any violence for that matter. An assassination attempt is contrary to everything we stand for ... as a nation — everything,” Biden said in a televised address. “We’ll debate and we’ll disagree. That’s not going to change. But we’re not going to lose sight of who we are as Americans.”
Trump struck a defiant tone initially. In the moments after the shooting at his rally in Pennsylvania, he pumped his fist at the crowd and shouted, “Fight! Fight!” On Sunday, however, he called for national unity.
“In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social network.
That message was reinforced by his campaign in memo to staff urging calm. “It is our fervent hope that this horrendous act will bring our team, and indeed the nation, together in unity and we must renew our commitment to safety and peace for our country,” said the internal campaign memo, seen by Reuters.
Some pro-Trump commentators predicted more violence ahead. “They will stop at nothing unless America stands up to them,” said a commentator on Rumble, a video-sharing site that attracts right-wing users, referring to Democrats. “Violence is going to happen. Here is the civil war.”
A senior member of the Proud Boys, the violent all-male extremist group that led the pro-Trump storming of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021, said the group would show up at the Republican National Convention, which kicks off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Monday. After the shooting of Trump, “you’ll see us at more events,” the Proud Boy told Reuters. “It’s going to be more active. It’s that simple.”
Megan McBride, an expert in domestic violent extremism, said US leaders have a brief window to cool partisan hatred before a retaliatory cycle emerges. Research shows that support for political violence increases when people believe the other side supports it, said McBride, a senior research scientist with the Institute for Public Research at CNA, a nonprofit that studies security issues.
“There’s nothing inevitable about a progression from the threat of violence to violence itself,” she said. “That’s a really fantastic opportunity for the country to kind of bring the temperature down a little bit.”
The shooter’s politics and motive remain unclear. The suspect, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed at the scene by Secret Service agents. Crooks was a registered Republican who would have been eligible to cast his first presidential vote in the Nov. 5 election. His father, Matthew Crooks, 53, told CNN he was trying to learn what happened and would wait until he had talked to law enforcement before speaking about his son.

Republican Rep. Mike Kelly, who represents the area where the shooting occurred, attended with his wife and grandchildren and was just behind Trump when he was wounded. Kelly said he was “in a state of bewilderment of how and what has happened to the United States of America.”
“I just wish people — tone it down,” he said. “Quit trying to find, to blame somebody. The blame lies somewhere in the psyche of America.”

(With AP)

 


Father accused of murder of British-Pakistani girl blames stepmother

Sara Sharif was found dead in her bed in Woking, southwest of London, on August 10, 2023 with injuries including broken bones.
Updated 4 sec ago
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Father accused of murder of British-Pakistani girl blames stepmother

  • Giving evidence for a third day, Sharif admitted slapping Sara “multiple times” but denied beating, burning, or biting her

LONDON: The father of a 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl on Thursday denied her murder and instead blamed the girl’s stepmother, calling her “evil” and “psycho.”
Sara Sharif was found dead in her bed in Woking, southwest of London, on August 10, 2023 with injuries including broken bones, burns and bite marks.
Her father, Urfan Sharif, 42, had fled to Pakistan a day before the body was found, along with his wife Beinash Batool, 30, and the girl’s uncle, Faisal Malik, 29.
Sharif then called police in the UK shortly after arriving in Islamabad and said he had “beat her up too much.” During the trial, Sharif said he made up this and another confession to “protect my family.”
All three adults were arrested upon their return to the UK a month later. They deny charges of murder and allowing the death of a child.
Details of the extent of Sara’s injuries have been detailed at London’s Old Bailey court, including claims from Batool that Sharif would beat his daughter badly.
Giving evidence for a third day, Sharif admitted slapping Sara “multiple times” but denied beating, burning, or biting her, insisting that he was “never at home” when she was injured.
Sharif broke down when his lawyer, Naeem Mian, questioned him about beating Sara, who was home schooled, with a cricket bat.
The taxi driver denied burning his daughter with an iron and instead said he was “made to” slap Sara by Batool, who constantly accused the girl of behaving badly.
Pointing to Batool sitting in the dock, Sharif shouted: “I should not have believed her... I didn’t realize I’m living with evil and a psycho.”
He also suggested that Batool was the one who bit her “like an animal.”
The jury was previously told that Sharif and Malik had provided their dental impressions but Batool had refused.
“I didn’t do it. Faisal didn’t do it. Who else was at home?” Sharif said.
He denied ever being aware of Sara being in pain. “She never told me that,” he said and indicated that he did not see injuries because Sara wore full-sleeve tops and long bottoms as well as a hijab head covering.
In the month leading up to Sara’s death, Mian said Sharif was out of the house at work from early in the morning to late at night while holing frequent telephone conversations with Batool, who would largely be at home.
Sharif wept as he recalled a time he came home and saw that Sara’s hands had been tied behind her back with brown packaging tape, accusing Batool of the act.
Asked why he did not call the police or ask Batool to leave, Sharif said that his wife was “manipulative” and that he believed her apology.
“I have been an idiot,” he added.
Forensic evidence shown to court included bundles of packaging tape and a white plastic carrier bag fashioned into a hood that could have been used on Sara’s head.
The bag had packaging tape stuck to it as well as long, brown hairs that matched Sara’s DNA, the court was told.
Both the bag and the non-sticky side of the tape had fingerprints that matched Sharif’s, who denied fashioning a hood out of the plastic bag or using it on Sara.
He said the fingerprints could be a result of him handling the items while sorting the garbage.
Sharif had previously accused Batool of being abusive toward him and preventing him from asking Sara about how she obtained her injuries.
In 2022, Batool texted her sister that Sharif had suggested using make-up to cover up bruises after beating Sara, to which the sister replied: “LOL it was going to happen you can tell.”
In the days before her death, Sharif said Sara, who did chores around the house, had asked him to “not go to work.”


German parliament passes controversial antisemitism text

The resolution was proposed and supported by MPs from the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the conservative CDU-CSU, the Gree
Updated 19 min 55 sec ago
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German parliament passes controversial antisemitism text

  • Critics of the resolution — including voices from the Jewish community — say it could restrict artistic and academic freedom

BERLIN: The German parliament on Thursday overwhelmingly backed a resolution aimed at tackling a spike in anti-Semitism linked to the war in Gaza.
However, critics of the resolution — including voices from the Jewish community — say it could restrict artistic and academic freedom.
The text calls for a ban on public funding for any group “that spreads anti-Semitism, calls into question Israel’s right to exist or calls for a boycott of Israel.”
In cases of anti-Semitic acts in schools and universities, it calls for those responsible to be excluded from classes or even expelled.
The resolution was proposed and supported by MPs from the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the conservative CDU-CSU, the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP).
About 100 Jewish artists and intellectuals living in Germany said in a statement that the resolution would “weaken, rather than strengthen, the diversity of Jewish life in Germany by associating all Jews with the actions of the Israeli government.”
The general secretary of Amnesty International’s Germany chapter, Julia Duchrow, said that while Amnesty “explicitly welcomes the goal of adopting measures to fight anti-Semitism... the resolution adopted today not only fails to achieve this, it could lead to serious violations of basic human rights and legal uncertainty.”
“This resolution leaves space for abuse, criminalizes legitimate criticism of Israeli government policy and serves the racist narrative of ‘imported anti-Semitism’,” she said.
In an open letter in October 2023, Amnesty and 103 other civil society organizations had warned against conflating anti-Semitism and criticism of the policies of the Israeli government.
“Branding legitimate criticism of Israel’s human right record as anti-Semitic also undermines the fight against genuine anti-Semitism,” they pointed out.
While also mentioning anti-Semitism from the far right and far left, the German parliament’s resolution says that “in recent months the alarming extent of anti-Semitism based on immigration from North Africa and the Middle East has become clear.”
This accusation against immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East — who could be Christian, Jewish or Muslim and might either support or oppose the policies of the Israeli government — was criticized by some in the Greens.
But it was backed by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), whose MPs also voted for the text.
AfD lawmaker Juergen Braun called “mass immigration... the central problem endangering Jewish life in Germany.”
The far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) was the only party to vote against the resolution, with the other far-left Die Linke party abstaining.


Arab American US election successes marred by claims of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias

Updated 52 min 32 sec ago
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Arab American US election successes marred by claims of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias

  • Several Arab Americans candidates were reelected despite growing concerns about anti-Arab sentiment amid ongoing wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran
  • Syrian American candidate for Illinois House of Representatives says she was targeted by anonymous Islamophobic and anti-Arab attacks during campaign

CHICAGO: Alongside Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris in the US presidential election on Tuesday, and amid ongoing tensions in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, several Arab American incumbents won reelection to their offices at state and congressional levels, some of them unchallenged.

Four Arab American members of Congress will return to the Capitol to represent their districts in California, Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan, while five were reelected to State House seats in Illinois, Michigan, Colorado and Iowa.

In some places, however, there were allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab sentiment as opponents sought to capitalize on voter concerns about terrorism and foreign conflicts.

Suzanne Akhras, a Syrian American Democrat who lost to Republican incumbent Nicole La Ha in the race to represent the 82nd District in the Illinois House of Representatives, said she was targeted by anonymous text messages and phone calls falsely linking her to Islamic terrorism, including claims of ties to Hamas.

“These calls and texts tried to portray me as a danger to the community I love,” she said in a campaign video message to voters in September. “I have lived in Burr Ridge for nearly 20 years. I have been a PTA parent. I have spent my life advocating for vulnerable people and being of service. I founded a very successful non-profit organization.

"I am a proud American. I cherish our shared values of freedom; freedom to express our diverse faiths and freedom to celebrate the diversity of our backgrounds and cultures. Those freedoms I hold dear are under attack in our district. These attacks against me are based on racism, Islamophobia and are xenophobic.”

Akhras, who said she has been recognized as an “upstander” by the Illinois Holocaust Museum for confronting hate speech and crime, said the “disturbing calls and text messages” began shortly after she began campaigning door-to-door. She criticized the Republican Party in the state for failing to denounce the attacks, and accused La Ha of running an “abhorrent and dangerous, xenophobic” smear campaign.

Akhras, who wears a hijab and whose husband, Dr. Zaher Sahloul, helps provide humanitarian medical services to refugees and displaced people in conflict zones, including Gaza, also said that despite winning the Democratic primary in March, she received no support from the Illinois Democratic Party.

Elsewhere, Darrell Issa, who is of Syrian-Lebanese heritage, was reelected to Congress as the representative for California’s 48th district, defeating Democrat Stephen Houlahan with 60.2 percent of the vote.

In Minnesota, Democrat Ilhan Omar, who is of Somali descent, was reelected as the member of the House of Representatives for the 5th District with 75 percent of the vote, easily defeating her Republican rival, Arab American Dalia Al-Aqidi.

Democrat Rashida Tlaib, who is Palestinian American , defeated Republican James Hopper with 69.7 percent of the vote in Michigan’s 12th Congressional District. Republican Darin LaHood, who is of Lebanese heritage, ran unopposed in Illinois’ 16th District.

Two Arab American members of Congress, Democrat Anna Eshoo from California and Republican Garret Graves from Louisiana, did not seek reelection.

At the state level, Democrat Nabeela Syed, who is of Indian heritage, secured a second term in the State House as the representative for the 51st District with 55 percent of the vote, ahead of Republican rival Tosi Ufodike.

In Michigan’s 3rd District, Democrat Alabas Farhat defeated Republican Richard Zeile with 67.9 percent of the vote. Democrat Iman Jodeh was reelected in Colorado’s 41st District, gaining 61 percent of the vote against Republican Robert McKenna.

Palestinian American Abdelnasser Rashid and Syrian American Sami Scheetz, both Democrats, retained their seats without a challenge in Illinois’ 21st District and Iowa’s 78th District respectively.


US military judge reinstates 9/11 mastermind plea deal — official

Updated 07 November 2024
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US military judge reinstates 9/11 mastermind plea deal — official

  • Prosecution can appeal decision but it was not immediately clear if they would do so
  • Agreements triggered anger among some relatives of victims of the 2001 attacks

WASHINGTON: A US military judge has reinstated plea agreements for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants, an official said Thursday, three months after the deals were scrapped by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
The agreements — which are understood to take the death penalty off the table — had triggered anger among some relatives of victims of the 2001 attacks, and Austin said that both they and the American public deserved to see the defendants stand trial.
“I can confirm that the military judge has ruled that the pretrial agreements for the three accused are valid and enforceable,” the US official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The prosecution has the opportunity to appeal the decision, but it was not immediately clear if they would do so.
The plea deals with Mohammed and two alleged accomplices were announced in late July in a step that appeared to have moved their long-running cases toward resolution after years of being bogged down in pre-trial maneuverings while the defendants remained held at the Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba.
But Austin withdrew the agreements two days after they were announced, saying the decision should rest with him given its significance.
He subsequently told journalists that “the families of the victims, our service members and the American public deserve the opportunity to see military commission trials carried out in this case.”
Much of the legal jousting surrounding the men’s cases has focused on whether they could be tried fairly after having undergone methodical torture at the hands of the CIA in the years after 9/11 — a thorny issue that the plea agreements would have avoided.


US military ready to carry out lawful orders of next administration, Pentagon chief says

Updated 07 November 2024
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US military ready to carry out lawful orders of next administration, Pentagon chief says

  • “The US military will also continue to stand apart from the political arena;,” Austin wrote

WASHINGTON: US Défense Secretary Lloyd Austin told troops that the Pentagon was committed to an orderly transition to the incoming administration of Donald Trump, adding that the military would not get involved in politics and was ready to carry out “all lawful orders.”
“The US military will also continue to stand apart from the political arena; to stand guard over our republic with principle and professionalism; and to stand together with the valued allies and partners who deepen our security,” Austin wrote in a memo to troops that was sent out on Wednesday night.