[Content Note: Bombs; threats of violence; terrorism.]
The Clintons and the Obamas have reportedly received suspicious packages similar to the one received by George Soros, which turned out to be an explosive device.
I had a few thoughts on Twitter:
It's important to note that Trump has used stochastic terrorist strategies against Hillary Clinton since August 2016, when he bellowed at a rally: "If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although, the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don't know."
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) October 24, 2018
Of course there won't be a direct line between people who commit these acts and Trump. That's the entire fucking point of stochastic terrorism. It's about creating an environment in which *someone* will be moved to violence, while maintaining distance and refusing accountability.
— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) October 24, 2018
It's also important to note that Trump didn't put targets on their backs. Soros, the Obamas, and the Clintons have been targeted by conservative extremists using campaigns rife with eliminationist language for decades (in the Clintons' case). Trump just exploited and amplified that existing hatred.
* * *
There are reports that a similar package was sent to CNN headquarters, which has been evacuated. It is thought to be related to the devices sent to Soros, the Obamas, and the Clintons.
Additionally, there is a report that another one was intercepted on its way to the White House. As of this writing, I have not seen any confirmation that package is thought to be similar or related. Which doesn't mean it isn't; I just haven't read that, unlike the others.
Naturally, the report that a package, related or otherwise, has been sent to the White House, too, is underwriting arguments that Trump bears no accountability. Whoooooooops that is not how it works.
As evidenced by the long history of dictators done in by the very violence that they endorsed and used to oppress.
Even if Trump is a target, he is not absolved of his own responsibility in creating the environment in which this is happening.
People get hurt when dehumanization and eliminationism become normalized. That's why decent people don't do that.
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UPDATE: Reuters is now reporting "that there was no suspicious package addressed to the White House."
So, the only related "suspicious packages" have gone to: George Soros, the Clintons, the Obamas, and CNN. All routine and sustained targets of Trump's incendiary rhetoric.
UPDATE 2: Another "suspicious package" has been sent to a Florida office building where the office of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz is located. The building has been evacuated. No details at the moment whether this package is considered similar and related to the others.
UPDATE 3: CNN's Jake Tapper reports: "The package with an explosive device sent to CNN's NY offices today was addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan, according to city and local law enforcement officials." Brennan has been a frequent critic of the Trump Regime, and Donald Trump revoked his security clearance in August.
UPDATE 4: A suspicious package has been found outside a California building in which Sen. Kamala Harris' office is located. The building has been evacuated.
UPDATE 5: Law enforcement officials have told NBC that the return address name on the packages sent to Soros, the Clintons, and the Obamas is "Debbie Wasserman Schultz." Which, in addition to trying to blame DWS of harming fellow Democrats, also suggests that the package sent to her office is indeed related.
UPDATE 6: A suspicious package was intercepted on its way to former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, too.
UPDATE 7: The package intended for Holder (or perhaps a second package) was apparently the package that arrived at Debbie Wasserman Schultz's office — because, as mentioned in Update 5, her name and address were used as the sender's info. Holder's address was incorrect, so it was "returned to sender."
So, suspicious packages have been sent to: George Soros, the Clintons, the Obamas, John Brennan, Kamala Harris, and Eric Holder, with Debbie Wasserman Schultz's information used to implicate her.
UPDATE 8: Law enforcement has cleared the package reported at the building in which Senator Kamala Harris' office is located. Tom Winter at NBC News: "Per a statement from Sen. Kamala Harris' office and local police there is NO suspicious package at the Senator's office in San Diego and the item police did check out was not addressed to her and was found to not be a device of any kind."
UPDATE 9: Another package was sent to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo: "Feds wouldn't disclose during the press conferences exactly what was in the package, but said 'it was consistent with the other packages.'"
UPDATE 10: Tara Palmeri at ABC News: "Suspicious package intercepted by Capitol Hill police was addressed to Democratic California congresswoman Maxine Waters, according to three sources."
UPDATE 11: Law enforcement has cleared the package sent to Cuomo. Via the New York Post: "'A device has been sent to my office in Manhattan, which we were just informed about,' Cuomo said at a press conference outside CNN's Columbus Circle headquarters. But police later said his office didn't receive a bomb — it was actually an envelope that said 'From Proud Boys' and contained the thumb drive inside."
It sounds to me like the Proud Boys (or someone pretending to be the Proud Boys) exploited what is happening to try to intimidate Cuomo, who recently ordered state police to investigate the Proud Boys, a patriarchal, white supremacist group.
