With the presidential election coming up, it's getting scary out there. Donald Trump is repeatedly saying that the election is "rigged," and the Republican Governor of Kentucky warned last month that there could be bloodshed if Hillary Clinton is elected. Trump is ramping up his rhetoric, and Trump supporters—who have a record of hatred and violence—are listening.
Trump supporters are openly calling for violence. In a video shared by DeRay Mckesson on Twitter, a Trump supporter tells CNN, "Hillary needs to be taken out. If she gets into power, I'll do everything in my power to take her out of power, which, if I have to be a patriot, I will." When asked what he meant by that, the man says with a grin, "Take it any way you wanna take it." Asked again if that was a physical threat, the man replies, "I don't know, is it?"
Sharing the video, Deray noted that the FBI "visited my house when I said there would be protests at the convention. If I said this, I'd be in jail."
But it's not just one Trump supporter threatening to assassinate Hillary Clinton. At a recent rally, 50-year-old Trump supporter Dan Bowman told the Boston Globe, "If she's in office, I hope we can start a coup. She should be in prison or shot. That's how I feel about it." He continued, "We’re going to have a revolution and take them out of office if that’s what it takes. There’s going to be a lot of bloodshed. But that’s what it’s going to take."
Even Trump himself has hinted at a possible Clinton assassination—on multiple occasions.
Gun groups are also using the possibility of a Hillary Clinton victory for their own causes. Last month, a North Carolina organization raffled an AR-15 along with a picture of Hillary Clinton to use as target practice. Now, a Las Vegas gun store is offering a "Pre-Hillary Sale" urging people to buy guns before the election. "Don't wait! Prices will skyrocket after Crooked Hillary gets in," the ad warns, according to the New York Daily News. The ad, published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal's sports section, featured a Smith & Wesson M&P Sport II semi-automatic rifle for the price of $699.99.
