Former President Trump’s defense team has shown video footage of various Democratic lawmakers using the word ‘fight’ on various occasions, including election campaigns and in media interviews.
His lawyers are trying to make the case that Trump’s language on January 6 told his supporters to ‘fight like hell’ was merely ‘ordinary political rhetoric’, and that the management of the accusation of the House Trump’s comments was out of account left in his speech that protesters should remain peaceful. You can read Trump’s entire January 6 speech here.
While it is common for lawmakers to use fervent language, the charge against the former president is that he “incited” violence – and not just violence in general, but “against the United States government.”
The single article of indictment passed by the House in January reads in part, “Donald John Trump was committing high-profile crimes and incitement by inciting violence against the United States government.” Read the whole case here.
The allegation of ‘incitement’ is the key to the accusations the Democrats are making against Trump for linking his words and actions to the January 6 uprising on Capitol Hill.
House executives this week devoted most of their presentation to the results, broadcasting graphic footage and audio of the attack on the Capitol – personally endangering Senate members who will vote on the charges.
But what exactly is incitement? The dictionary definition of “incite”, according to Merriam-Webster, is simple: “to take action: arouse: urge: insist.” Trump made this clear when he instructed his supporters to march in the direction of Capitol Hill from a rally held under the banner of “Stop the Steal”.
But there is a much more detailed definition in US law:
“… the term ‘to incite a riot’, or ‘to organize, promote, encourage, participate or act on a riot’, includes, but is not limited to not to incite or incite other persons to riot, but shall not be deemed to be the mere oral or written (1) advocacy of ideas or (2) expression of faith, it does not involve advocacy of any act or acts of violence or assertion of the right of, or the right to commit or act in such an act. ‘
Federal courts said Trump did not incite a mob in 2016 when he told supporters to turn on protesters who later sued the president.
The New York Times thoroughly investigates how courts viewed “incitement.” Read it here.