Perhaps it's worth reframing today's news: A friend and ally of Trump's long-time adviser was just convicted of engaging in a conspiracy to commit sedition on Trump's behalf. https://t.co/qj2Agbkl2z
— Philip Bump (@pbump) May 4, 2023
Unpaywalled (gift) link:
… Roger Stone is one of Trump’s oldest advisers, having not only encouraged him to run for president in 2016 but also advocated that he do so more than once previously. Stone, alongside his partner Paul Manafort (whom Stone encouraged Trump to hire on his 2016 campaign), was for decades a fixture in D.C., where he gained — and fostered — a reputation for being cutthroat.
… By early 2018, Stone, joined by Tarrio, had sworn fealty to “Western chauvinism” in keeping with the Proud Boys tradition. When Stone traveled to Oregon that March, he brought the Proud Boys with him. In May 2018, Proud Boys joined Stone in the green room of Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show. A few months later, Stone offered a message of support that the Proud Boys shared on their website.
As Trump’s reelection bid gained steam, so did Tarrio and the Proud Boys. Tarrio became the Florida state director of Latinos for Trump. He appeared at several Republican Party events, landing photos with prominent Trumpworld figures including Donald Trump Jr.
Meanwhile, the activities of his organization, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project reported, had become “strongly correlated with the fortunes of former president Trump.” Of the 150-plus events in which Proud Boys had a public presence in 2020, ACLED tallied, nearly two-thirds were explicitly supportive of Trump’s reelection.
Most of those events came after Trump failed to repudiate the Proud Boys during a presidential debate. Moderator Chris Wallace asked if Trump — who had been hyperactively demanding Joe Biden disown left-wing violence — would do the same of extremists on the right by asking them to stand down. Trump asked whom he should address, and Biden suggested the Proud Boys.
“Proud Boys,” Trump said: “stand back and stand by.”…
Domestic Terrorism Open Thread: The Friends of Enrique TarrioPost + Comments (232)