McCarthy is not calling for protests or violence over Trump’s potential arrest
ORLANDO, Fla. (The Hill) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has sought to crack down on former President Donald Trump’s call for protests in response to a possible arrest of the president in connection with an investigation by the District Attorney of Manhattan.
“I don’t think people should be protesting these things,” McCarthy said at a press conference Sunday on the House GOP’s retreat, when asked about Trump’s statement.
McCarthy suggested that Trump was asking others to “educate people about what’s going on”.
“He’s not speaking maliciously,” McCarthy said. “Nobody should be hurting each other…And that’s why you should really make the law equal because if that were the case, nothing would happen.”
“If that happens, we want calm out there,” McCarthy said, calling for “no violence or harm.”
Trump’s potential arrest looms over Capitol Hill
Trump told Truth Social on Saturday that he could be arrested Tuesday in connection with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into a cash payment he made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign.
“Protest, take back our nation!” Trump said, sparking concerns about potential violence.
Trump has also emboldened protests over false claims that the 2020 election was stolen on January 6, 2021, when his supporters violently breached the United States Capitol.
McCarthy also condemned Bragg’s investigation and called it a political attack, promising investigations into any use of federal funds in connection with the investigation.
McCarthy said he expects action from Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chair of the select subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee on government arming, in relation to Bragg’s investigation of Trump.
“Attorney after attorney after attorney will tell you this is the weakest case out there,” McCarthy said.
“The last thing we want is for someone to put a thumbs on the scale simply because they disagree with someone else’s political point of view. That’s what’s wrong, and that’s what infuriates people. And that won’t hold up in court,” McCarthy said.
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Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), an advocate for both McCarthy and Trump, also She said that “we don’t need to protest” the potential arrest.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with asking for…protests. Americans have a right to assemble and a right to protest,” Greene told reporters in Orlando on Sunday, adding that Trump “must not say peaceful because it means peaceful. Sure, he means peaceful.
Greene said she wouldn’t personally come out to protest any arrests, but she plans to support Trump at an upcoming rally in Texas.
“I don’t need to protest,” Greene said. “I know what I will do with the 2024 election. I will vote every single Democrat out of office that I can, and I will spend all my energy raising money and fighting to end this extreme corruption in America. This is what I think we should do.
But Greene added, “People have the right to choose.”
