Donald Trump is obsessed with stopping Black people from voting. He consistently mentions cities in which there is a large voting block of Black people as posing some kind of problem and of course, Trump’s thugs tried to stop the vote count at Detroit’s TCF Center in 2020.
So it’s not a surprise to discover that the Republican National Committee, co-led by Trumpâs daughter-in-law, is training their thugs to challenge voters in Detroit.
But is it a surprise that it was caught on tape, in what should serve as a warning to the DOJ that they will have a lot of work to do in order to protect people’s right to vote.
NBC News has video of the RNC training Michigan poll watcher volunteers who echo Trump’s “fraud lies” to challenge voters.
The RNC’s message to their thugs (who themselves could face more legal consequences than the elites lying to them will, as has been seen thus far in Trump’s attempted insurrection on 1/6 legal cases): “Detroit is always going to be our tier one.”
NBC points out there are “few guardrails on what makes a challenge real”:
And NBC News has obtained a video of a training session in Michigan for 2024 poll watchers showing the RNC is giving volunteers who echo Trumpâs claims of widespread fraud the tools to challenge votes and few guardrails on what makes a challenge legitimate.
In other words, challenge anyone you feel like challenging no matter if there is legitimate cause or not.
The RNC is “targeting cities with majorities of Democratic voters. Itâs the second consecutive presidential election in which the RNC is free from federal restrictions on coordinating poll watchers that were established in 1982.”
Not only does NBC have a video of the training session for 2024, but they have also analyzed “the extent of the Republican Party and Trump campaignâs involvement in the TCF Center ordeal in 2020 ” and found the Trump campaign itself involved in that effort to intimidate election workers.
“… dozens of Trump supporters, including people linked to the Trump campaign, played roles in the unrest at the TCF Center â more than was previously known. Among them were five campaign-linked activists who held signs outside the TCF Center encouraging the crowd to chant ‘stop the count,’ indicating that Trump himself wanted them to do so.”
In 2020, while Trump was still in office, he filed a lawsuit in Michigan claiming his poll watchers not being given access, but the Detroit Free Press published video of a racist poll challenger who was removed by police for disruptive behavior:
“An election supervisor reported the man referred to slavery using using racist language as well. He was wearing a horror mask âsimilar to the masks worn by the villains in the movies âHalloweenâ and âFriday the 13thâ,â which did not properly cover his mouth.”
So we already know what’s coming. We’ve seen this play before, but this time there are two differences: 1. Donald Trump is not in power and 2. Donald Trump is even more desperate than he was before and he has now already incited a deadly insurrection when he lost in 2020, so we know that he has no compunction inciting violence to get his way.
Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele pointed out the blatant racism in Trump’s attacks on Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta:
During a recent rally in Pa, Trump offered: âIâm here only because they cheat, and they cheat in this state, especially in Philadelphia. Philadelphiaâs out of control. Detroit is out of control. Atlanta is out of control.â Oh, cities with majority black populations are the ones âout of controlâ!? This is what Trump thinks of Black voters. We cheat. His BS is designed to stoke confusion, anger and resignation over fraud that does not exist. The only cheater in this race is Trump. Yâall can second-guess this ish all you want but, let me be clear, if we want to elect @KamalaHQ , early voting and on Election Day OVERWHELM the ballot box with YOUR VOTE.
The Department of Justice has clarified in advance of this election that the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section protects the right to vote via the Voting Rights Act; the National Voter Registration Act; the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act; the Help America Vote Act; and the Civil Rights Acts.
These laws (among many other provisons):
- prohibit election practices that have either a discriminatory purpose or a discriminatory result on account of race, color, or language minority status;
- prohibit intimidation of voters;
Also (my bold):
The Civil Rights Divisionâs Criminal Section enforces federal criminal statutes that prohibit voter intimidation and voter interference based on race, color, national origin, or religion.
- Throughout the election cycle, Civil Rights Division attorneys in the Voting, Disability Rights, and Criminal Sections in Washington, D.C., will be ready to receive complaints of potential violations of any of the statutes the Civil Rights Division enforces. The Civil Rights Division will work closely with counterparts at U.S. Attorneysâ offices and other department components to review and take appropriate action concerning these complaints.Â
- Individuals with complaints related to possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can call the Justice Departmentâs toll-free telephone line at 800-253-3931, and can also submit complaints through a link on the departmentâs website at www.civilrights.justice.gov/.
Complaints related to violence, threats of violence, or intimidation at a polling place should always be reported immediately to local authorities by calling 911. They should also be reported to the department after local authorities are contacted.Â
It’s become commonplace for an entire political party to plan and plot to harass and intimidate minority voters and (mostly Black) poll workers because they don’t trust that they can win on their own.
The fact that this is continuing now for a third cycle speaks to a disturbing level of corruption in our political processes largely egged on, abetted, incited and encouraged by Republican Party leaders, including ex-president and convicted felon Donald Trump.
This country is supposed to be a democracy and the right to vote is a fundamental freedom that must not be undermined. Anyone who is able and willing to assist poll workers, who might face abuse and are often older people and women, should call their local party office for information and training.
Republicans are continuing their assault on basic American freedoms because they are running a wanna be dictator and adjudicated rapist who has stolen women and girls’ right to live from them. Instead of changing their unpopular policies, they systemically and continuously resort to violence and intimidation.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
