It seems like Donald Trump, his son Donnie Jr., his recently pardoned friend Roger Stone, as well as his buffoon of a lawyer Rudy Guliani, may have stepped into some real legal trouble this time with their antics that took place at their rally prior to the riot in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and here’s why:
According to U.S. Federal Criminal Code statutes, specifically Section “18 USC 373” which has been codified for decades, it’s a crime to solicit, command, induce, or “endeavor to persuade” another person to commit a felony that includes the threat or use of physical force. Which when interpreted, makes it a crime to persuade others, specifically another person, or a mob of thousands, to commit violent felonies.
So when you throw another criminal statute in the mix, 18 USC 2384, which makes it a crime for “two or more persons … to oppose by force the authority of the United States or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, Trump along with the others may be in some deep felonious criminal shit!
Violations of both these laws which included the use of force were clearly committed by the Pro-Trump mob after being encouraged by none other than the El Presidente himself.
While it’s true that Trump’s and Rudy’s actions are protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which grants the right of “Freedom of Speech” in this case the 1st Amendment may not offer any real help at all and here’s why.
The U.S. Supreme Court in Brandenburg v. Ohio, 395 U.S. 444 (1969), interpreting the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution held that the government cannot punish inflammatory speech unless that speech is “directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.
The riot in DC in the U.S. Capitol clearly passes the Brandenburg test. As Trump’s own statements make clear, he brought the members of the mob to Washington from all over the country. He gathered them all at his rally where he and others like Rudy Guliani, Roger Stone, and his son Donald Jr. inflamed the audience with numerous lies about a stolen election and their duty to save the country from the certification that was underway at that very moment.
Trump then pointed the crowd towards the U.S. Capitol and persuaded them to “do something about it,” and offered to go with them with every reason to believe his rhetoric would lead to violence in the same way it did at his rally back on December 12.
Trump along with his son and pal Rudy could also have a much bigger problem. With dozens of Capitol Police injured, and a federal murder probe into Capitol Police Officer Sicknick’s death whose was smashed in the head with a fire extinguisher by rioters determines that those responsible were incited to violence at the Save America rally just hours before, Trump could find himself charged with inciting murder.
