Thread by @RVAwonk

A lot of Trump supporters are talking about civil war after the #ImpeachmentVote. It's easy to laugh at the keyboard warriors in the mix, but there are definitely extremists using this opportunity to try to bring about social & political upheaval by issuing calls for violence.

Keep in mind, too, that multiple Republican lawmakers have threatened that going forward with #impeachment would lead to civil war. This type of rhetoric absolutely emboldens extremists and other violent individuals.

msnbc.com/am-joy/watch/g…

Per an Oct 2018 DOJ indictment, Russia's Internet Research Agency directed its operatives to use impeachment to call for civil war:

"Any attempt to remove Trump is a direct path to a civil war in the United States. Name those who oppose the president..."

justice.gov/usao-edva/pres…

The DOJ cited an Aug '17 article as the basis for Russia's guidance re. using impeachment to call for civil war.

Also in Aug '17: Roger Stone warns if Congress tries to impeach Trump, "You will have a spasm of violence in this country — an insurrection — like you’ve never seen"

Right-wing pundit Michael Savage's Aug 2017 remarks about civil war/impeachment -- which were used as guidance by Russia's Internet Research Agency -- were also amplified by Kremlin-aligned right-wing media the same month that Roger Stone was parroting this narrative.

So the takeaway message here is that there are extremists who will try to use impeachment to call for violence, plus Republicans (esp. Trump) who will engage in stochastic terrorism -- and we're already seeing Russian propaganda outlets amplify those narratives.

And here is an example of one of those Russian propaganda outlets pushing the impeachment/civil war narrative.

https://twitter.com/RVAwonk/status/1207523465076658176?s=20