South Carolina Republican Senator and Trump ally Lindsey Graham recently threatened rioting if the former Republican President is prosecuted for any of the crimes he is currently being investigated for.
With investigations ongoing in the states of Georgia, New York and federally, the idea of Donald Trump facing criminal charges looks more and more likely.
In an appearance on Fox News, Graham decided to issue a warning of dire consequences if Trump is ever held accountable for attempted election interference, financial impropriety, inciting an insurrection or jeopardizing national security through the mishandling of classified and top secret documents.
You can see Graham's warning here:
\u201cGraham says there will be riots in the streets if Trump is prosecuted\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1661728551
The South Carolina Republican said:
"If there's a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information, after the Clinton debacle [...] there'll be riots in the streets."
He was referring to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server during her time in that office. After a thorough 3-year investigation, it was found there was "no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information" in that case.
Several people on Twitter called for Graham to be censured for his comments.
\u201c@Acyn This is a threat. The Senate should censure him.\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1661728551
Former acting Attorney General for National Security Mary McCord also called Graham's comment a threat.
\u201cSen. Lindsey Graham said there will be "riots in the streets" if Trump is prosecuted.\n\nMary McCord, fmr acting Asst AG for Nat Sec: "It is incredibly irresponsible for an elected official to make veiled threats of violence just if law enforcement and the DOJ" do their jobs.\u201d— Brianna Keilar (@Brianna Keilar) 1661778572
\u201c@CivisMundusSum @Acyn A simply unacceptable threat! The Senate should absolutely censure it.\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1661728551
\u201c@brikeilarcnn He should be sanctioned on the floor this morning! If he doesn\u2019t believe in the very principles of our democracy then quit now, and find another job.\u201d— Brianna Keilar (@Brianna Keilar) 1661778572
\u201c@brikeilarcnn Decades of no accountability have brought us to the point where a sitting Senator can call for riots in the streets if the DOJ dares prosecute a traitor who committed treason\u2026& that Senator has no concern of ever being held accountable for his terroristic threat against the USA.\u201d— Brianna Keilar (@Brianna Keilar) 1661778572
Other people laughed at the idea of riots, thinking there would be more celebrating than rioting.
\u201c@MeidasTouch They'll have to deal with the rest of us who will be dancing in the streets, in celebration. Don't even think about raining on that parade.\u201d— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) 1661729052
\u201c@MeidasTouch Hahaha! He wishes. More likely there will be very few disgruntled haters. Most people will be celebrating- {HUGELY. It will be the largest celebration, so big, so great, like you have never seen.} but I digress. Many people with \ud83d\ude03 smiles for days.\u201d— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) 1661729052
\u201c@MeidasTouch right?\nI'm still wondering if I have time to learn to play "ding dong the witch is dead" on a trumpet when I march up and down the neighborhood\u201d— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) 1661729052
\u201c@MeidasTouch I think he meant "Parties" in the street, not "Riots".\u201d— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) 1661729052
\u201c@Acyn But I was repeatedly told only \u201cAntifa\u201d and \u201cBLM\u201d do riots on the streets.\u201d— Acyn (@Acyn) 1661728551
Graham is himself currently trying to fight a subpoena to appear to testify before a special grand jury in Georgia.
The jury is investigating the possibility of illegal efforts to overturn Trump's 2020 election loss in the state.
The investigation was opened by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis after a January 2021 call between former President Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which Trump suggested Raffensperger "find" the votes to change the election outcome in his favor.
Graham—who also placed a call to Georgia election officials—was subpoenaed because he may be able to provide insight into any intentional efforts to influence Georgia's election results in 2020.