Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #stochasticterrorism

Most recents (24)

So @DrAseemMalhotra doesn’t think he is promoting qvaccine conspiracy theories as he attacks to @GoodLawProject
Let’s examine his own statements - if you believe he is wrong please support
actions.goodlawproject.org/gmc
Retweet share 🧵- I brought receipts ! ! Image
Let’s start with the basics - what is a conspiracy ?

Did he “promote” conspiracy theories - “promote” would include sharing ,endorsing , spreading as well as originating.

A scheme , a plot , a cabal , treason !

Strap in ! Image
Hmm ideological “cabal” is out suppress him and the truth about vaccine ..: ImageImage
Read 27 tweets
Reminder: Roger Stone was slapped with a gag order after he threatened the judge in his criminal case. Why wasn’t the same done to Trump given that he threatened DA Alvin Bragg by posting an image of himself wielding a bat near Bagg’s head??? 1/ buckscountybeacon.com/2023/04/roger-…
Read 6 tweets
Trump and his allies have normalized the incitement of violent political extremism. It is a form of terrorism. The grim results are real and ongoing. There will be more. motherjones.com/politics/2023/…
Drive-by shootings against Democrats in New Mexico. A hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi's husband. Murder plots against FBI agents in Ohio & Tennessee.

That's just since August. What happens after Trump regains a much larger platform? motherjones.com/politics/2023/… 2/x #StochasticTerrorism
Trump declaring on social media today that more of his political rallies "will be wild" is no accident, obviously. Not just an echo of his infamous call to January 6 extremists, but he also knew it would draw him attention... 3/x
Read 3 tweets
@gittletron @AmbienStupor If I could get these following terms discussed around most kitchen tables across the country of every liberal democracy, it will make huge strides in defending against Putin‘s hybridized warfare /psyop tactics.
…+
@gittletron @AmbienStupor #NeurolinguisticManipulation

* Neurolinguistic Manipulation (essentially the same as neurolinguistic programming, but aimed towards more nefarious/subversive goals)
Read 16 tweets
Good point, @SCOTUSBlog.

Supporters of the former guy who say his tax records should remain private are missing the point. The records show evidence of longstanding white collar crime, which exposes the fact they fell for a scam & enabled a Kremlin-compromised, violent traitor.
That's right. I called him a:

>longstanding white collar criminal
>scammer
>Kremlin-compromised
>violent
>traitor.

Each of those points is supported by a massive amount of credible evidence. One label would be enough, but he is all five.
As an empathic, educated person it was still possible for me to believe the lies, until it wasn't. The nature of the scamming, manipulation, gaslighting & brainwashing was & is such that many otherwise good people are still in it's thrall. That is heartbreaking to their families.
Read 18 tweets
Regarding the awful attack on Paul Pelosi: it's important not to get ahead of verified facts. We know little yet about the suspect's circumstances & motive. That said, it's worth highlighting again more broadly the dangers of #StochasticTerrorism that I’ve long written about. 1/x
We’re in an era in which the Trump-dominated GOP has more openly accepted—and participated in—dangerous political incitement. It will cause further bloodshed. And let's be clear: There is little if any equivalent behavior from the Democratic Party. motherjones.com/politics/2022/… 2/x
The incitement Trump has long used—which is knowingly enabled by his GOP and Fox News allies—has had a grim effect. As I reported recently, new research shows that Americans have grown more accepting of political violence, foremost partisan Republicans motherjones.com/politics/2022/… 3/x
Read 5 tweets
THREAD: Trump is continuing to spew rhetoric that could easily incite more bloodshed motherjones.com/politics/2022/… #MassShootings #StochasticTerrorism
2/ I know many are sick of this and just want to tune him out, but many millions of Americans still back Trump—including partisan extremists who think political violence is justified. What happens when “armed citizens” patrol polling places on November 8? motherjones.com/politics/2022/…
3/ Trump’s efforts to dehumanize and breed contempt for his purported enemies increase the risk for political violence, research shows. And he has spread these tactics. Republican leaders aren't rejecting his dangerous incitement—they're now copying him motherjones.com/politics/2022/…
Read 5 tweets
NEW: Trump's ongoing incitement is feeding into a growing appetite for political violence in America, new research shows motherjones.com/politics/2022/… #January6th #StochasticTerrorism
"12 percent of 'strong' Republicans indicated support for violence to 'return Trump to the presidency this year,' and 17 percent indicated the same to 'stop an election from being stolen.' They were also more likely to agree that 'armed citizens should patrol polling places'" 2/x
Threat assessment experts I spoke with this month told me that that they continue to see alarming levels of political extremism in threat cases, foremost driven by Trump’s rhetoric and the so-called ultra MAGA movement motherjones.com/politics/2022/… 3/x
Read 6 tweets
NEW: Trump has spread incitement of violence throughout the GOP. Here's my latest reporting on the growing danger from one of the ex-president’s darkest legacies motherjones.com/politics/2022/… #StochasticTerrorism
The temperature has risen ever since Trump and his allies went ballistic over the seizure of highly classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, with various GOP figures helping fuel the fire. Violence experts told me they’re deeply worried about the incitement motherjones.com/politics/2022/… 2/x Image
What’s so insidious about 'stochastic terrorism' is that politicians engaging in this form of rhetoric give themselves cover to deny responsibility for violence that isn't specifically predictable but that is likely to come from extremist followers motherjones.com/politics/2022/… 3/x ImageImage
Read 5 tweets
We have a growing threat of domestic terrorism from individuals and militias who are misinformed, brainwashed, and incited by the former POTUS and his enablers in politics, media, and even some clergy. The 🧵 below tracks with videos and statements I’ve observed in recent years.
My response to @TheValuesVoter, who expresses similar concerns. It doesn’t take thousands of radicals to create a crisis. Nineteen terrorists on 9/11 caused thousands of immediate deaths (perhaps more than a million afterwards) and trillions of 💰 in ongoing costs.
It took just a few far right radical extremists to destroy the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. One small cell. We have hundreds or more such cells in America today. They are being incited by Trump and allies.

#DomesticTerrorists #StochasticTerrorism
Read 3 tweets
Evidence continues to mount that Trump wanted "so badly" to lead his supporters in swarming the Capitol on January 6

"I know that there [was] a conversation about him going into the House chamber at one point,” Cassidy Hutchinson testified washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/…
Also notable here, yet again, is this core tactic of #StochasticTerrorism frequently used by Trump and his allies—the claim that he was just "joking" about leading the march on the Capitol. The aim is to establish plausible deniability for Trump's incitement. 2/x @juliettekayyem
Again, it's key to recognize that the bloodthirsty mob incited by Trump on January 6, 2021, was the culmination of a long, deliberate campaign. Denying it after the fact is simply continuation of the method. See the deep evidence➡️ motherjones.com/politics/2021/… 3/x #StochasticTerrorism
Read 3 tweets
On two occasions in the last four months, I have been interviewed by staff of the 1/6 Committee based on my academic and book work. I have no hot takes or breezy assessments before they even start. But I do have some thoughts, solely mine, based on those conversations. 1/
Again, these were staff level, quite casual, by zoom. I can't pretend to say "this is what they were thinking" just more that very smart, committed people were thinking through a narrative about that day. I don't do the minute by minute accounts. 2/
I write and work in the crisis and disaster world; I teach in the radicalization space. I can sound wonky at times, I know, with words like #stochasticterrorism to describe what happened in the years before 1/6 and the ongoing threat. I've written of it before so won't repeat. 3/
Read 15 tweets
A note on replacement theory (RT) since #BuffaloMassacre. RT has come to be used by its critics for a broad array of issues across legal and policy disagreements. We should stop. We risk diluting RT's violent underpinnings and help its proponents wiggle out of consequences. 1/
As I've noted many times before, RT is about eliminating the "other" in a world where opportunity is limited: us or them, me or you. #stochasticterrorism is the means. When political and media leaders promote RT, they promote random violence but maintain plausible deniability. 2/
You see that now; they too are diluting RT, claiming it is merely a reflection of accurate demographic shifts in this country. Those shifts are real, but they of course don't call it a demographic issue. They call it RT for a reason; RT justifies violence. It is unique, evil. 3/
Read 6 tweets
"Elected Republicans haven’t merely inspired far-right extremists. They have become far-right extremists.

A new report shows just how extensively the two groups have intertwined."

#GOPDomesticTerrorists
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/…
"The study, released on Friday by ... a decades-old group that tracks right-wing extremism, found that more than 1 in 5 Republican state legislators in the United States were affiliated with far-right groups."

#GOPDomesticTerrorists
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/…
“The ideas of the far right have moved pretty substantially into the mainstream...

... not only as the BASIS FOR ACTS OF VIOLENCE [emphasis mine] but as the basis for [GOP] public policy.”

washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/…
Read 6 tweets
Are we afraid to test the principle that no one is above the law?

Good question from @MattDallek
washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/0…
"If Trump were indicted, he would become the first former president to stand criminal trial...

This list is hardly exhaustive and omits the dozen-plus civil lawsuits and civil investigations Trump faces."

washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/0…
"The rule of law, the notion that we are all equal under our criminal justice system, is among the noblest of principles but also the ugliest of myths.

The question of putting Trump on trial ... is a test for a principle of democracy"
~@MattDallek

washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/0…
Read 10 tweets
The GOP & NRA also have a pretty good idea that plenty of aimless White #MAGAYouth (and adults) are considering school/workplace/mall shootings, vigilante killings and domestic terror attacks but they don’t give a shit b/c the blood money keeps flowing. #WhereWereTheyRadicalized
Michigan school massacre suspect’s mother wrote open letter to Trump praising his support for gun rights | via @MSN h/t @shannonrwatts #AmericanSociopath #MAGAMom #StochasticTerrorism #MAGAYouth #WhereWhereTheyRadicalized a.msn.com/01/en-gb/AARmM…
IOW, the #OxfordHighSchool shooting is yet another example of the stochastic terrorism borne of the Trump era and the ongoing radicalization of MAGA Youth at the behest of the GOP & NRA. The insurrection rages on and it doesn’t stop at the school doors either.
Read 9 tweets
Aside from obv irresponsible gun use, it's another example of this prosecutor's bad strategic calls. The facts of this case do not require such a demonstration. It risks putting some jurors off a conviction.

Either way, I predict rioting. Bc no one can call off rioters now...
There was a time, in recent years, where the instigators of #StochasticTerrorism eg Trump could've called off their self-sacrificing minions, but we have passed that point.

1/6 had a lot to do with it. A week prior, I predicted the riot & that he wdn't be able to call them off
What I didn't predict was the extent of the terrorist violence on 1/6, and that he would have no intention of using his powers as POTUS to forcibly bring the rioting to an end.

Others had to do that, and it took hours and hours to do.
Read 14 tweets
Found on the #WhiteWomen hashtag feed.

It's common for a far right account like @libsoftiktok to:

1. Deny they're far right
2. Conflate "woke" with "racist" and
3. Completely misunderstand the outcome of the VA Gov race.

My thoughts on why, follow.
IMO (as a political scientist and longtime observer of US politics) there are multiple reasons why Youngkin won #VAgov over McAuliffe.

First, no VA governor has won a second term in generations.

And elections soon after the WH changes hands almost always go to the oppo party.
I firmly believe that the VA outcome was based largely on local, idiosyncratic reasons, not a national trend.

Accordingly, fellow pro-democracy folk need not be sad today. Nothing has changed.

But it's good that more are waking up to the five alarm emergency the US is in rn.
Read 20 tweets
you might even say that Trumpism is terrorism wral.com/odni-releases-…
In fact, veteran national security experts do say this. The January 6 assault on Congress was part of an ongoing story, not an ending. With GOP acolytes continuing to push Trump's Big Lie, there will be more of this. Not if, but when. #StochasticTerrorism motherjones.com/politics/2021/…
“The FBI and DHS have warned that the Jan. 6 riot could have lasting consequences. Some domestic violent extremists “have been emboldened in the aftermath of the breach of the US Capitol,” Jill Sanborn, head of counterterrorism at the FBI, told Congress” nytimes.com/2021/03/17/us/…
Read 5 tweets
“I could cause an insurrection at the capital and wouldn’t lose any followers” is the logical outcome of “I could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue & not lose any followers.” As a candidate, he ran on the platform that he could openly commit crimes without consequence.
This is in large part why his supporters voted for him. The media breathlessly covered each step of the way as he egged them on, incrementally. Obliterating guardrails & norm-busting was not the problem, although it was the story, ran on a loop on CNN & MSNBC #StochasticTerrorism
#StochasticTerrorism Has been and still is the uncovered story.
If only 1 out of a million MAGAts is willing to commit violence, some on a mass scale, that would be 74 people. One out of 100,000 would be 740 potential violent terrorists. Whatever the number, I submit that there
Read 28 tweets
I appreciate the sentiment this reflects. I (of all people) also appreciate that we draw conclusions about Arabs and Muslims as well. So, I want to start there. But there is a reason in this very unique case why (some of us) use words like suicide bomber but not terrorist. 1/
I'm not here to defend analysis, I'm thick skinned, simply to explain thinking. As we all know, terrorism is a motivational crime, violence for political or ideological impact. A lot of things can elicit terror, seem "terrorist" like, but not be that 2/
Why does it matter? The long game. I too am worried about white radical terrorism in US. Trump condones it as well by using tactic known as #stochasticterrorism to incite without directing. More on my thoughts @markfollman @motherjones 3/
motherjones.com/politics/2020/…
Read 6 tweets
Thread on Stochastic Terrorism: For years, the President of the United States Donald Trump has utilized his pulpit, twitter and his WH team to perfect a technique known as #stochasticterrorism, inciting random but predictable violence by supporters. His goal was this⬇️
His goal was to promote violence for political gain. That's terrorism. The first time I used the words publicly was in Oct, 2018 after the serial bomber arrest, but Trump was already a pro.
This:

dictionary.com/e/what-is-stoc…


2/
Read 9 tweets
On #stochasticterrorism. For years, it's been Trump's plan -- promote violence without saying when/where. His words -- "stand back and stand by" -- were odd enough that his team feigns plausible deniability, but his adherents know exactly what he meant #debates 1/
We shouldn't be afraid to say Trump incites terror. Don't just say violence. That misses the point. It is violence for political purposes, which is terrorism.
Stochastic is awkward, but here is @Dictionarycom definition after I used it on air
2/
Read 4 tweets
Thread. Civil war? This is nonsense and not helpful. It assumes we don't have agency. Anyone who goes from Defcon 5 to 1 like this is lacking in analysis. Just lazy. Am I worried? Of course, so plan. Do I think there is a likelihood Trump follows his words? #homelandsecurity 1/
Low likelihood but high consequence event so we shouldn't be shy calling him on it, nor "ratchet it down." The most likely scenario still is a peaceful transition of power to Biden with violence by radicalized Trump supporters who listen to his words. #stochasticterrorism
2/
But between Trump's words, his campaigns actions and Friedman's civil war, mayors and governors are on notice and they are doing a lot in anticipation of both unlawful vigilantes as well as "color of law" deployment. Trainings and briefings and comms strategies are ongoing. 3/
Read 7 tweets

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