With images of a young African American girl being repetitively and forcefully shoved at a Donald Trump rally on the campaign trail on March 1, in Louisville, Kentucky, still fresh in the nation’s mind thanks to the Internet, three people claiming being the focus of assault and/or racial slurs that day are now suing Trump and his campaign–their argument: Trump nurtures “an atmosphere of violence.” Judge for yourself:
Filed Thursday, the suit is being brought forth on behalf of 21-year-old college student Kashiya Nwanguma, 36-year-old activist Molly Shah and 17-year-old high school student Henry Brousseau.
The suit reads in part:
“Each time he said ‘get them out,’ Trump intended for his supporters to use unwanted, harmful physical violence to remove protesters.”
JUST ANOTHER DAY ON THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Of course, violence at Trump rallies is nothing new. Peaceful protesters have been sucker-punched more than once at Trump’s campaign stops, even as they are being led out of the rally maintaining peaceful behavior and throwing smiles like Trump supporters throw punches and Nazi salutes—brazenly.
As a result, the Donald’s rhetoric has drawn a fair amount of criticism, amplified further after he essentially condoned the violence breaking out at his rallies against protesters by offering to pay the legal fees of one 78-year-old white man who sucker-punched a peaceful African American protester in Fayetteville, North Carolina. However, after considering the matter, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office decided in the end that the blatant evidence caught on film in the video below “did not support a charge” anyway. There were no legal fees to pay after all.
Meanwhile, Trump denies all around that he has anything to do with condoning violence, much less inciting it.
As shown in the first video above, Nwanguma was pushed by numerous members of Trump’s crowd in Louisville on March 1, many of whom not only forcefully shoved Nwanguma, but also shouted racial slurs at her. Two men, in particular, who were especially violent, were named in the suit.
The suit also goes on to state that one of the men named within is a member of a group considered to be white nationalist in nature. Brosseau says a member of that same group punched him at the rally (keep in mind Brosseau is still a minor), and Shah claims she was shoved like Nwanguma. According to the suit, police reports were written up, but no formal charges were brought forth.
But now there’s a lawsuit hitting Trump and his campaign, rather than legal charges, and that suit states Trump incites violence at his campaign rallies—a reality hard to deny judging by the videos above. Trump riles up his goon squad by repeating “get ‘em out of here,” the suit states. It is the suit’s assertion that Trump was, and remains, fully aware of the impact his rhetoric has on his audience, yet continues to inflame the already enraged crowd, essentially scapegoating their political frustrations onto peaceful protesters who believe Trump and his campaign could very well be ushering in the latest wave of American fascism. Underlining that point, the suit also refers to past statements made by Trump, such as offering to pay the legal bills of those who violently lash out; stating that he, himself, would like to punch a protester “in the face;” as well as stating his belief that a protester deserved being “roughed up.”
Trump’s campaign has yet to comment on the suit, nor have the two Trump supporters named in the suit offered any statements. One violent Trump supporter showed in the Louisville video, however, has since apologized for his behavior.
No specific monetary amount has been stated in the suit that follows on the heels of Trump’s campaign manager, Corey Lewnadowski, being charged in Florida for forcefully grabbing former Breitbart reporter Michelle Fields by the arm.
How can Trump continue to deny his role in inciting violence while simultaneously supporting his campaign manager caught on tape enacting violence, himself? If that is the example being set by Trump’s campaign running for allegedly the most powerful political office in the world, it will be a tough, uphill argument for him to prove he has had no role in inciting violence at his campaign rallies.
