A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
Despicable
Days of xenophobic rhetoric from the Republican ticket for president toward Haitian immigrants have produced exactly the kind of threats, intimidation, and disruption you would expect.
Here’s the lede from the Springfield News-Sun in Ohio, which has been ground zero for the baseless and comical claims that Haitian immigrants were eating pets:
Several city, county and school buildings around Springfield were closed Thursday because of a bomb threat “to multiple facilities throughout Springfield,” according to a city statement released Thursday morning. Springfield City Hall was evacuated around 8:30 a.m.
Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott said at a Thursday afternoon press conference that City Hall, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Springfield Driver’s Exam Station, Ohio License Bureau on the south side, Springfield Academy of Excellence and Fulton Elementary School were all named in the threat and were cleared using explosive-detecting canines.
Real world effects from virulent political rhetoric.
On The Ground
The bomb threat in question included “used hateful language towards immigrants and Haitians in our community,” Springfield’s mayor told the WaPo.
The racist attacks from the Trump-Vance ticket have left Haitian immigrants under siege and scared. Here’s a report from Wednesday on the ground in Springfield:
My story for @nbcnightlynews from Springfield, Ohio where Haitian immigrants told me they are hurt and scared because of the baseless claims being spread about them by former President Trump and Senator JD Vance. pic.twitter.com/0gkEOHg4mD
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) September 12, 2024
We know exactly where this kind of rhetoric leads. We’ve seen it over and over in the Trump era. It incites those already vulnerable to persuasion to take action and it always ends with Trump protesting that he can’t possibly be responsible for what other people did. The only thing new about any of this is which particular group or subset of society is the target.
Pure Incitement
Trump: Springfield, Ohio, 20,000 Haitian immigrants have descended upon the town of 58,000 people, destroying their entire way of life. This was a beautiful community and now it’s horrible pic.twitter.com/bFx1IdSbqp
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 12, 2024
Springfield’s Finest
Chief Wiggum, Springfield PD, here… they’re doing WHAT? pic.twitter.com/KiK3srkb0i
— Hank Azaria (@HankAzaria) September 12, 2024
Merrick Garland Steels DOJ For What May Be Ahead
Attorney General Merrick Garland addressed Justice Department employees Thursday, decrying “an unprecedented spike” in threats against them and seeming to fortify them for the possibility of Trump misusing the department if he were to win in November:
Our norms are a promise that we will not allow this department to be used as a political weapon. And our norms are a promise that we will not allow this nation to become a country where law enforcement is treated as an apparatus of politics.
Judge Tosses Out More Charges In Georgia RICO Case
State Judge Scott McAfee threw out three of the charges in the sprawling RICO case against Donald Trump and several co-defendants. Two of the charges involved the former president. McAfee relied on an 1890 Supreme Court decision in ruling that precludes states from prosecuting perjury and false filings made in federal court. The core of the case, including the most serious charges, remain intact.
2 Jan. 6 Rioters Charged With Assaulting NYT Photographer
Brothers Philip and David Walker were hit with federal charges for allegedly assaulting NYT photographer Erin Schaff inside the Capitol on Jan. 6. Schaff’s account of the assault, published the next day, remains among the most poignant recollections of the Jan. 6 attack.
Nazi Sympathizer Gave Two Speeches At Trump’s Club
A convicted Jan. 6 rioter who likes to cosplay as Adolf Hitler gave speeches at two separate events this summer hosted by Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, NPR reports. The Trump campaign said Trump did not attend either event, but NPR noted that one of the events “was personally endorsed by Trump himself in a video message that was played for the room.” More on the Nazi sympathizer here and here.
Election Certification Refusers Are Now A Movement
Adam Klasfeld at Just Security: “Emboldened by Trump’s attempts to subvert the 2020 presidential contest, once-modest public servants tasked with a clerical yet crucial role in election administration have tried to anoint themselves as the arbiters of the races within their jurisdictions — and grown into a national movement.”
What Is Up With Donald Trump And Laura Loomer?
After 9/11 conspiracist Laura Loomer, 31, accompanied Donald Trump, 78, to his debate with Kamala Harris and gobsmackingly to a 9/11 anniversary event, the story spilled over into Day 2 coverage by the bigs:
- NYT: At a Key Moment in Trump’s Campaign, a Social-Media Instigator Is at His Side
- WaPo: Trump’s time with Loomer, a far-right activist, upsets his GOP allies
- NBC News: Far-right activist Laura Loomer’s access to Trump reveals a crisis in his campaign
- CNN: Laura Loomer, far-right provocateur who spread 9/11 conspiracy theory, influencing Trump as he searches for a message
Great Read
Michael Hirschorn: How a Naked Man on a Tropical Island Created Our Current Political Insanity
Charges Expected In Iranian Hack Of Trump Campaign
Federal criminal charges are expected in a matter of days in the Iranian hack-and-leak scheme that targeted the Trump campaign. “The FBI investigation has focused on an online persona named ‘Robert’ who contacted American reporters, these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe details of an ongoing investigation,” the WaPo first reported.
The AP subsequently ran a similar report that suggested a criminal case already exists under seal: “The two people who discussed the looming criminal charges spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they were not authorized to speak publicly about a case that had not yet been unsealed.”
2024 Ephemera
- No más: Donald Trump bails on a second debate with Kamala Harris.
- NYT: A group with Republican ties is running antisemitic ads about Doug Emhoff that target Muslim voters in Michigan.
- The Taylor Swift effect:
Following Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris, there has been a “400% or 500% increase” in voter registration — between 9,000-10,000 people per hour, according to data firm TargetSmart.
“It’s really unlike anything I’ve seen,” says TargetSmart senior adviser Tom Bonier. pic.twitter.com/4wC4ejdfaX
— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 12, 2024
The Less Obvious Impacts Of Climate Change
TPM Cafe: The Skyscraper-Sized Tsunami That Vibrated Through The Entire Planet And No One Saw
Have Yourself A Weekend
My morning got off to a rough start when I realized it’s been … 35 years … since the release of James McMurtry’s perfect little debut album. Enjoy:
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