Dozens of supporters of Donald Trump have carried out or threatened acts of violence. Here, the Guardian lists them all
by Jon Swaine and Juweek Adolphe
Since Trump embarked on his campaign for the US presidency in June 2015, dozens of attacks or threats involving his supporters have been reported. Here, the Guardian has compiled details of 52 incidents reported since 2015 involving Trump supporters.
This list includes people who:
- Explicitly declared support for Donald Trump, or used his slogans, during or in connection with acts or threats of violence.
- Cited Trump or his rhetoric in subsequently explaining acts or threats of violence.
- Committed or threatened violence against opponents of Trump at political events, or while wearing Trump-branded attire signifying their support for the president.
- Publicly declared an allegiance to Trump before committing or threatening violence against members of political or racial groups that Trump has denounced
William Celli – December 2015
Richmond, California
In December 2015, Celli allegedly threatened to kill Muslims as they left a mosque in Richmond, California. He constructed a makeshift pipe bomb and posted a photograph of the device to Facebook, where he left anti-Muslim comments. In Facebook posts Celli, 55, mixed anti-Islam and pro-Trump remarks. He said Muslims should be sent back to their “country of origin” and said of Trump: “I’ll follow this MAN to the end of the world”. Authorities charged Celli with making criminal threats as a hate crime and violating the civil rights of mosque attendees. He was found guilty of the civil rights charge and sentenced to 90 days in jail. The threats charge was dismissed.
Nicholas Tavella – December 2015
State College, Pennsylvania
Tavella, a student at Penn State university, grabbed an Indian-American student by the throat in December 2015 and told him: “Don’t make me put a bullet in your chest”. He told police he was “racially profiling” the victim because he “looked suspicious”. An attorney for Tavella told a court Tavella’s actions were due to “Donald Trump rhetoric, covered in the media, that may have incited fear of suspicious individuals.” Tavella, 20, pleaded guilty to charges including felony ethnic intimidation. He was sentenced to between 15 days and 23.5 months in jail. He was released on parole 18 days later, according to court records.
Scott and Steven Leader – August 2015
Boston, Massachusetts
The Leader brothers beat and urinated on a homeless Latino man in Boston in August 2015 and told police: “Donald Trump was right, all these illegals need to be deported.” Their victim, 58-year-old Guillermo Rodriguez, said he was a permanent US resident from Mexico. Scott, 38, and Steven, 30, repeatedly hit Rodriguez with a metal pole and kicked and punched him. Rodriguez suffered broken ribs, bruising and other injuries. The Leaders pleaded guilty to felony charges of assault and battery, intimidation, and civil rights violations. Scott was sentenced to three years in prison and Steven was sentenced to two years in prison.
Jacob Holtzlander – November 2016
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Holtzlander repeatedly punched a taxi driver while shouting “Trump!” following a dispute over a fare in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in November 2016. He also used racist slurs against the driver after being arrested, according to police. The driver, an immigrant from Ethiopia, suffered minor injuries to his head and face. Holtzlander, 23, pleaded guilty to ethnic intimidation. A charge of assault was dropped as part of the plea agreement. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
Curtis Allen, Patrick Stein and Gavin Wright – November 2016
Garden City, Kansas
Allen, Stein and Wright plotted to blow up an apartment complex where Muslim immigrants lived in Garden City, Kansas, in November 2016. The men were members of a far-right group calling themselves “the Crusaders”. At trial, they complainedjurors were being drawn from an area that supported Hillary Clinton, and requested jurors from a pro-Trump area. Their attorneys said the case was “uniquely political and that much of the evidence would “center around, and was in reaction to, the 2016 presidential election”. Stein’s attorney said he feared Obama would not accept the result of the election if Trump won. A jury convicted them of charges including conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction. They were sentenced to 25-30 years in prison.
Unidentified man – November 2016
Brooklyn, New York
The man punched a woman in the face at a restaurant in Brooklyn, New York, after they argued about Trump, according to the manager. He was said to have been angered by hearing the woman express disappointment about Trump’s election win. Onlookers said the man fled and drove away in a white car following the incident in November 2016. The woman, 49, filed a report on the attack to the police, who said they were investigating.
David Smith – October 2016
Greensboro, North Carolina
Smith, of the group Gays For Trump, placed a demonstrator in a headlock and shoved him at a Trump campaign rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, in October 2016. The demonstrator, Derek Dunham, had interrupted the event while holding a US flag upside down. From the stage, Trump accused Dunham of showing “total disrespect for the American flag.” Dunham accused Smith of assaulting him but declined to press charges.
Todd Warnken – October 2016
Albany, New York
Warnken threatened to beat a black woman and hurled racial abuse at her outside a grocery store in Albany, New York, during the final weeks of the 2016 election campaign. The woman was waiting for a taxi. “Trump is going to win and if you don’t like it I’m going to beat your ass,” Warnken shouted, according to police. He also told her: “You [racial slurs] had your time. Your eight years are up”. Warnken, 55, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor aggravated harassment.
Mark Feigin – September 2016
Los Angeles, California
Feigin was arrested on suspicion of threatening to kill people at the Islamic Center of Southern California in a September 2016 telephone call. He denied this. Police discovered 15 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition at his home. Social media accounts used by Feigin, 40, contained violent threats in addition to aggressive pro-Trump and anti-Muslim material. Feigin said in one tweet: “Death upon those who oppose Trump.” He was charged with felony criminal threats as a hate crime. Feigin pleaded no contest to posting harassing messages to the Islamic Center’s Facebook page, and to trying to dissuade investigators from testifying. The threats charge was dropped amid evidence the call was made by someone else.
Emirjeta Xhelili – September 2016
Brooklyn, New York
Xhelili attacked two Muslim women walking with their children in Brooklyn, New York, in September 2016. She tried to rip off the women’s headscarves and screamed at them: “Get the fuck out of America, bitches.” The 32-year-old posted anti-Muslim rants to Facebook, where she praised Trump and called herself “Mary MAGAdelene”. A few weeks before the attack she said: “YOU ANTI TRUMP, YOU ANTI AMERICA!!” Xhelili pleaded guilty to assault as a hate crime and was sentenced to six months in jail.
Read the details about all 52 incidents at The Guardian
