Two Britons evacuated from hantavirus-hit ship ‘improving’ in hospital
Two Britons evacuated from hantavirus-hit ship are improving in hospital care.
The Guardian World1 min read
Trump calls for ‘incitement’ charges against top Democrat Hakeem Jeffries
TL;DR
Donald Trump has called for incitement charges against Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, linking him to a shooting incident. This move continues Trump's strategy of using legal actions against political opponents.
Key points
- Trump calls for charges against Hakeem Jeffries
- Alleges Jeffries incited violence related to a shooting
- Continues legal strategy against political opponents
- Links Jeffries' comments to a shooting incident
- Criticizes Radical Left Democrats
Mentioned in this story
Donald TrumpHakeem JeffriesDemocratic Party
United States President Donald Trump has called for criminal charges of “incitement to violence” against top Democratic lawmaker Hakeem Jeffries, escalating his push to use the legal system against his political rivals.
Trump shared a social media post on Thursday attempting to link past comments by the minority leader in the House of Representatives to the White House correspondents’ dinner shooting incident that prosecutors said targeted the US president.
“This lunatic, Hakeem ‘Low IQ’ Jeffries, should be charged with INCITING VIOLENCE! The Radical Left Democrats actually want to Destroy our Country,” Trump wrote.
Since returning to the White House last year, the US president has successfully pushed for criminal charges against political opponents, including New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey.
Thursday’s post showed an image of Jeffries standing next to a poster saying, “Maximum warfare everywhere all the time”, side-by-side with a photo of the alleged press gala gunman approaching a security checkpoint.
But Jeffries’ remarks and poster were not about political violence. The House minority leader was referring to the partisan fight over redistricting after voters in Virginia approved an electoral map that favours Democrats.
Gerrymandering standoff
In a news conference on April 22, Jeffries hailed the vote in Virginia and accused Republicans of launching a “gerrymandering war”, referring to efforts to draw partisan electoral maps.
Trump has been publicly pressuring state Republican officials to draw US House maps that boost the party’s chance of retaining control of the legislative chamber in the midterm elections in November.
Jeffries pledged that Democrats would respond in the states they control, as they have in Virginia and California, while also pushing back against Republican-drawn maps.
“We are in an era of maximum warfare, everywhere, all the time,” he told reporters. “And we are going to keep the pressure on Republicans at every single state in the union, to ensure at the end of the day, that there is a fair, national map.”
Three days after the top Democrat’s comments, an alleged gunman tried to run through a security checkpoint at the White House press dinner in what prosecutors say was an assassination attempt against Trump.
Q&A
What incitement charges did Trump call for against Hakeem Jeffries?
Trump called for criminal charges of 'incitement to violence' against Hakeem Jeffries, alleging a connection to a shooting incident.
Why did Trump link Hakeem Jeffries to the White House correspondents' dinner shooting?
Trump attempted to connect Jeffries' past comments to the shooting incident that targeted him, claiming they incite violence.
What has been Trump's strategy regarding legal actions against political rivals?
Trump has been using the legal system to push for criminal charges against various political opponents since returning to the White House.
What comments did Trump make about Hakeem Jeffries on social media?
Trump referred to Jeffries as a 'lunatic' and suggested he should be charged with inciting violence, criticizing the Democratic party.
