Political assassination becomes political tool for Trump

ALSO INSIDE: Watch what happened when a Trump supporter tried to disrupt the ‘No Kings’ protest in Phoenix.

Jun 16, 2025

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What Happened

Shortly after he released a statement condemning the political assassination and attempted murder that took place in Minnesota, President Donald Trump issued a statement five times longer, laced with some of his trademark violent rhetoric, which is known to incite political violence.

“Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities — And they are doing a good job of it! There is something wrong with them,” Trump posted on Sunday. “The American People want our Cities, Schools, and Communities to be SAFE and FREE from Illegal Alien Crime, Conflict, and Chaos.”

From what’s known about the suspected shooter in Minnesota, he’s a supporter of Trump who appears to have radicalized over abortion rights and targeted lawmakers who voted to protect abortion rights, advocates, and healthcare providers who offer abortion services. Violent rhetoric from conservative politicians and evangelical figures around abortion access has been the cause of political violence for decades—but when violence takes place, those same figures actively spread disinformation to pass the blame.

Before the shooter was even identified, lies began to circulate on the far-right corners of the internet that he was working for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who “ordered a hit” on the victims because they voted with Republicans on the state budget (in reality, it was a bipartisan budget Walz praised). Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk took it a step further and played the victim, falsely claiming the shooter and others have been radicalized by journalists who report on the rise of fascism and “policing things like ‘ethnic cleansing,’ ‘white supremacy,’ and even ‘genocide.’"

But a study by the International Center for Counter-Terrorism found that it isn’t language like what Kirk outlined that causes violence—it’s the dehumanizing wording like what Trump has been using for the past decade.

“An important device in the demagogue’s linguistic toolbox blemishes the humanity of groups that do not belong to the ingroup. The goal is to reduce ‘an entire segment of the population into profligate, pernicious, and dastardly subhumans,’” the study found. “Trump called unwelcomed immigrants repeatedly ‘animals’—not only when he singled out Latinos in the criminal MS-13 gang.”

By spreading the false narrative that violence like what happened in Minnesota is because of Democrats, coupled with Trump’s false claim that anyone who opposes his administration—particularly the 5 million people who attended “No Kings” protests—are violent, mentally ill, destructive, criminals who can only be stopped by the use of force, Trump is laying the groundwork to expand military presence to cities where opposition is strongest.

And that’s not conjecture: he said as much.

“We must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York,” Trump wrote. “These, and other such Cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center.”

Attempts to Sanewash

Far-Right Spin

Millions turned out for ‘No Kings’ protests

Massive crowds gathered Saturday in every major city in the country — except in DC, where Trump’s military parade failed to attract much of an audience. Organizers for the “No Kings” protests held around 2,000 protests to coincide with the parade but intentionally decided not to host one at the Capitol so Trump’s team couldn’t claim the protests’ crowd as its own.

Thousands of DC residents joined neighboring events in Virginia and Maryland and were part of an estimated 5 million people who showed up Saturday in opposition to Trump’s authoritarian power grabs. Elected officials brought their political weight to the events, like US Sen. Chris Van Hollen in Baltimore and US Rep. LaMonica McIver in Newark.

Van Hollen and McIver have both emerged in recent months as influential leaders who have found ways to effectively counter the Trump administration: Van Hollen’s efforts to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the US succeeded despite fierce opposition from two world leaders, and McIver’s attempt to inspect an ICE detention center in her district has brought intense, consistent scrutiny on how these facilities are being operate, as well as a retibutive federal indictment from US Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“They won’t bully me,” McIver said at Saturday’s protest. “We must continue to rise up. We must continue to speak out. We have to be on the front lines of this.”

Turnout for the protests suggests public opposition to Trump’s presidency has remained consistent: Anywhere from 3 to 5 million people attended the 50501 protests in February, the Hands off protest in April, and the May Day protests in May.

US Rep. Abe Hamadeh, Arizona’s 8th Congressional District

Since taking office in 2025, Rep. Hamadeh has:

Sponsored 10 bills, none of which have been scheduled for a vote
Praised Trump’s military birthday parade and was rewarded with Trump’s endorsement
Allegedly altered his mom’s ballot to vote for Barack Obama in 2008
Ran on election denialism because “the crazies love to see me fighting”
Spent his teenage years on Ron Paul message boards, where his 4,000+ posts are littered with sexism, antisemitism, and confessions of voter fraud

Fun Facts

Shortly after winning his election, an elderly Democratic constituent went to Hamadeh’s office to talk with him. Instead of meeting with her, his office had her car towed. They then lied about it, but records from the tow yard have Hamadeh’s office as the point of contact for the tow. Not the most neighborly move, but odds are Hamadeh and the people he represents live anywhere near each other, since he doesn’t live in the district.

When first running for office in 2022, Hamadeh was an unknown longshot. It wasn’t until he tricked Trump into endorsing him—thanks to his announcement that he raised a massive $1 million in campaign contributions—that he became a frontrunner. The war chest turned out to be smoke and mirrors: Hamadeh’s brother loaned the campaign $1 million shortly before the campaign finance reporting period ended, and the money was returned shortly after.

And, oddly enough, Trump endorses Hamadeh on his birthday weekend every year.

After losing his bid to be Arizona Attorney General, Hamadeh spent the next several years—including during his congressional run—suing the state to swear him in. He claimed in court that he was “personally entitled” to be the state’s chief legal officer.

In the early 2000s, when he wasn’t on the Ron Paul Forums advocating for ethnic cleansing—he believed it was “good we’re targetting [sic] Arabs now, next we target Jews” — he was writing Sarah Palin fan mail.

@couriernewsroom lol nice try i guess

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Phoenix protestors shut down agitator

I attended the “No Kings” protest at the Arizona Capitol on Saturday, which—for the most part—felt more like a festival than a protest. There was a drag show, a DJ, food trucks, and even a kids' area with games and bounce houses. It was also 110° out, so it made more sense to keep the crowd in a shaded area with cold water rather than marching down the hot city sidewalks.

The event was fairly peaceful, except for one incident at the end. There’s a road that runs through the area where the protest was held. It’s not a busy street, and most of the people driving through were supporters of the protest. A truck with a Trump flag drove through, then came back around and stopped in the middle of the street. The driver, who’s since been identified as Greg Gentry, got out of the truck, stole a Mexican flag out of one of the protesters’ hands, and tried to run away with it.

It didn’t work out quite the way he planned.

A group quickly formed to defend the protester and stop Gentry from stealing the flag. The protester fought back, another one got his flag back, and a few more stepped in to make sure a full-on fight didn’t break out. Eventually, Gentry got back into his car (where two women were awkwardly waiting inside), drove away, and was quickly pulled over and arrested by a state trooper.

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