Former US President Donald Trump's continued promotion of the "big lie" about the 2020 election could still incite his followers to violence, the Department of Justice and judges noted this week, as courts weigh the future dangerousness of Capitol riot defendants.
CNN reported that two federal judges this week brought up the disinformation about 2020 from right-wing figures, and even Trump himself, as they considered keeping alleged Capitol rioters in jail before trial.
And prosecutors from the US Justice Department are arguing more explicitly that violent threats stemming from Trump-backed conspiracy theories are still alive, and that Trump supporters could be called to act again.
"It is never too late" for pro-Trump extremist groups like the Proud Boys to mobilise, because the right-wing political climate has not shifted much since Trump left office, federal prosecutor Jason McCullough argued at a hearing for one of the accused Proud Boys leaders earlier this week, as reported by CNN.
The comments from prosecutors and judges demonstrate how Trump's post-presidency lying about 2020 is complicating matters for some of his most ardent supporters -- including people who heeded his call to come to Washington on January 6 and are now in jail cells awaiting trial.
According to recent polling, including a Quinnipiac University survey from February that found 76 per cent of Republicans think there was "widespread fraud" in the election.
However, there is no proof of massive vote-rigging, audits in key states confirmed the accuracy of the results, and election officials from both parties said the vote was free and fair.
Federal Judge Emmet Sullivan raised some of Trump's other recent comments in a written opinion Tuesday that kept in jail one of the men accused of dragging and beating police on the Capitol's terrace.
"The Court is not convinced that dissatisfaction and concern about the legitimacy of the election results has dissipated for all Americans. Former President Donald J Trump continues to make forceful public comments about the 'stolen election,' chastising individuals who did not reject the supposedly illegitimate results that put the current administration in place," Sullivan wrote.
According to Sputnik, threats against members of the US Congress during the first four months of 2021 the period following the January 6 storming of the Capitol by violent protesters - increased 65 percent compared with the same period a year earlier," acting Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman told Congress last week.
On January 6, a group of supporters of Trump entered the Capitol to protest lawmakers accepting electoral votes from various states of the country. Trump sans evidence claimed the votes were illegal and robbed him of election victory.
( With inputs from ANI )
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