On Sunday the NYT broke news of a violent video shown at a pro-Trump conference. I attended the full conference and can say-- there's a lot more where that came from. 1/8
First, the event-- it's the American Priority Festival and Conference, which founder Alex Phillips describes as a celebration of free speech. It was more like a three day Trump rally. Donald Trump Jr., Sarah Sanders and Corey Lewandowski were speakers. 2/8
At the opening ceremonies (which took place in the Donald J Trump Grand Ballroom, btw) Pastor Mark Burns asked the audience to echo him as he called for them to "go to war for Donald J. Trump." 3/8
Remember that Obama era chant, "fired up, ready to go"? Burns changed it to, "I'm fired up, I'm ready to go to war." Burns told me he condemns violence and was calling for conservatives to be vocal in their support of the President. 4/8
I also saw several men wearing clothing associated with the Proud Boys, a far right group with a violent history. Here's one at the Saturday prayer breakfast where former press secretary Sarah Sanders spoke. 5/8 
Conference organizers have condemned violence and said that the event was "organized professionally." Sarah Sanders and Don Jr. have both condemned the violent video played at the event. 6/8
When asked for comment, a White House rep said we should instead report on violent rhetoric from Obama and Biden (Biden has said he would “beat the hell” out of Trump if they were high school classmates, a comment Biden later said he regretted). 7/8
There's a lot more-- read the full story and hear the audio for yourself: propublica.org/article/trump-… 8/8
