We’ve got guns, and we’ll use them, say Trump supporters

His one-time attorney-general says the charges against the former president are daunting and could finish him politically.

‘A public service announcement’: Kari Lake at the Georgia state GOP convention in Columbus. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump’s federal indictment has unleashed a wave of violent rhetoric from his supporters, creating a tinderbox atmosphere as the former president insists he is the victim of political persecution.

The frontrunner for the ­Republican presidential nomination will appear in a Miami court on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) where he will be arraigned on 37 counts related to his handling of hundreds of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

With the US in uncharted waters as it prosecutes a former president for the first time, his most loyal backers warned the process could end in violence.

Kari Lake, a right-wing Republican who ran an unsuccessful campaign to become the governor of Arizona last year, appeared at a Republican Party event in Georgia on Saturday alongside the former president and directed an ­ominous message to President Joe Biden, Attorney-General Merrick Garland and Jack Smith, the special counsel in the classified documents case.

Referring to the fact many in Mr Trump’s base were heavily armed, Ms Lake said: “If you want to get to President Trump, you are going to have to go through me and you are going to have to go through 75 million Americans just like me. And I’m going to tell you, most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA (National Rifle Association).”

To cheers from the crowd, Ms Lake, a possible running mate of Mr Trump’s who refuses to accept the legitimacy of her gubernatorial election defeat, added: “That’s not a threat, that’s a public service announcement.”

Andy Biggs, a Republican congressman from Arizona who is part of the Freedom Caucus, the group of the party’s most conservative members, tweeted on Friday: “We have now reached a war phase. Eye for an eye.”

Clay Higgins, a house of representatives Republican from Louisiana, described Mr Trump’s latest indictment as “a perimeter probe from the oppressors”.

Speaking on Saturday, a defiant Mr Trump insisted he would not drop out of the race regardless of what legal obstacles he faced. “I’ll never leave,” he told Politico from his plane after his speech in Georgia.

He predicted that he would not be convicted but evaded the question of whether he would pardon himself if he won a second term: “I don’t think I’ll ever have to. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Mr Trump is not legally prohibited from running for president from prison or as a convicted felon, though it is doubtful that independent voters would be keen to send him back to the White House if he were found guilty.

Alina Habba, a member of Mr Trump’s legal team, said on Fox News she “could never ­imagine” the former president ­accepting a plea deal to resolve the charges. “You plead when you’ve done something wrong or when you have no shot; we have strong defences,” she said.

However, Bill Barr, Mr Trump’s former attorney-general, said the charges against the 76-year-old were daunting and could finish him politically. “If even half of it is true, he’s toast,” Mr Barr said. “It’s a very detailed indictment and it’s very, very damning.”

Mr Trump has sought to raise tensions with incendiary comments at his event in Georgia and another in North Carolina. “They’ve launched one witch-hunt after another to try and stop our movement, to thwart the will of the American people,” he said in Georgia after receiving a hero’s welcome, adding: “In the end, they’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you.”

Mr Trump’s federal criminal case could take years to resolve, meaning his legal battles are likely to play a key role in the 2024 presidential election, either with him as the candidate or another Republican nominee having to field constant questions about him.

Law enforcement agencies in Miami are braced for the possibility of unrest on Tuesday, with supporters of Mr Trump and also his most vehement detractors ­expected to rally at the courthouse for his arraignment.

Security will be tight at the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr federal courthouse and will be overseen by the US Secret Service and US Marshals Service.

Mr Trump is also facing an indictment in New York related to allegations, which he denies, that he concealed hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. He is being investigated in Georgia over his efforts to overturn his election defeat in the state, with prosecutors expected to announce a decision on charges this summer.

It remains to be seen how the charges in Florida will affect the Republican primary race, which Mr Trump dominates. Polls show he holds a commanding lead over closest challenger Ron DeSantis.

THE TIMES